THE BULLPEN

     Happy Bucs & Pucks Day! There's no place like home! Our Pittsburgh Pirates return home to the friendly confines of PNC Park tonight when they battle the Atlanta Braves in the 1st game of a 4-game set. These are your keys for tonight's game. 1)The scheduling gods have rewarded the Pirates following a 4-4 road trip versus their NL Central rivals. They managed to salvage a 2-1 win yesterday against MLB's best team, the Chicago Cubs. Now they'll face the worst team in baseball in the Braves. Although Atlanta is 9-26 this season, they're a not-so-bad 7-10 on the road. Make road kill out of them! 2)The Braves start RH Williams Perez, 1-0, 3.54 ERA. The Buccos will go with LH Jon Niese, 3-2, 5.63 ERA. No time like the present for the lefty to get back in the win column. A win for Niese would be nice! 3)The Pirates have only scrapped together 4 runs in their last 2 games. Got to do more Hit, Run, & Score! Let's Go Bucs!!!!!