THE BULLPEN

Take me out to the ballgame! Your Pittsburgh Pirates return home for a 10-game homestand starting tonight at PNC Park versus the Cincinnati Dreds. These are your keys to tonight's game. 1)Remember last year, late in the season, during the heat of the pennant race, when the Pirates went to Cincy? About the only hits the Pirates got were hit by pitches from the Cincy pitchers. The Bucs never did retaliate for the plunkings that their batters suffered. The best revenge is victory. What these Dreds need is a good beating. I'm not talking bench-clearing brawl, either. The Dreds have lost 2 in a row. Hit 'em early, hit 'em often, hit 'em HARD! 2)What the Pirates need is a good "O", as in offense. They have the worst batting average, .153, in the league. They're also next to last in runs scored with 21 total runs. How about some Hit, Run, Score, tonight?! 3)It's Mike Leake, 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA against AJ Burnett, 0-2, 3.27 ERA. AJ hasn't gotten any support from his teammates this year. They've only scored 1 run in his 2 starts. Meanwhile, Leake has the leaky ERA. The Bucs usually make chumps like Leake look like Cy Young. C'mon, Bucs. AJ deserves a big win in front of the home crowd tonight! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!