Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Bucs bombed the Braves, 10-0.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Craig Monroe came out of the dugout for a curtain cull following his second home run of the game.
For the nine-year veteran, it was his official welcome to Pittsburgh.
“That was awesome,” he said. “To be with a new team and to get that appreciation from the crowd. It was spectacular.”
Monroe hit a pair of three-run homers and Ian Snell allowed four hits in seven-plus innings, lifting the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
Monroe, making his second start of the season, homered off Atlanta starter Jo-Jo Reyes (0-1) with two outs in the sixth inning. He again went deep off reliever Buddy Carlyle with two outs in the seventh.
It was the fourth multihomer game of the right-fielder’s career and the third time he had six RBIs.
“Obviously, it was a great day for him,” Pittsburgh manager John Russell said. “He’s capable of that. He can drive the ball for us.”
The 32-year-old sign with the Pirates in January after hitting .202 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs in 163 at-bats for Minnesota last season. He earned a spot on the Pirates’ bench after leading the team with eight home runs and 16 RBIs in spring training.
Monroe had been 1-for-8 this season before Saturday’s performance.
“That was fun,” he said. “To be able to come off the spring training I had and continue to be able to help the team. It feels good. I look forward to staying productive.”
Snell (1-2) walked three, struck out three and benefited from three double plays. The right-hander was replaced by Sean Burnett after walking Martin Prado to lead off the eighth.
Jesse Chavez worked a perfect ninth to complete the four-hitter.
Pittsburgh, which blanked Atlanta for the second consecutive game, has three shutouts in its past five games.
The Pirates, under first-year pitching coach Joe Kerrigan, entered Saturday’s game with a major league-best 2.90 ERA. Though its still early, it’s a dramatic improvement from 2008, when the Pittsburgh pitching staff was the worst in the National League with over five earned runs allowed per game.
“I knew we would be better,” Russell said. “Last year, we were not good at all. With Joe, there’s now a sense of urgency to go out there and compete.”
Pittsburgh’s offense had 13 hits against Reyes and two relief pitchers. Ryan Doumit and Andy LaRoche had three hits, and Nate McLouth and Freddy Sanchez added two hits each.
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