AP Photo/Matt Slocum

Philadelphia Phillies’ Hunter Pence pops out in the second inning of a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Sunday, July 31, 2011, in Philadelphia.

Raul Ibanez homered twice and hit the game-winning double in the 10th inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
The Phillies trailed 5-3 in the eighth when Ibanez hit a two-run shot for his second homer of the game. He doubled to right off Tony Watson (0-2) in the 10th to score Hunter Pence and help the Phillies complete a three-game sweep.
Antonio Bastardo (4-0) struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the win.
Ibanez hit a solo homer in the second off Pirates starter Jeff Karstens and his tying blast was off Jose Veras.
The Pirates, trying to keep pace in a crowded NL Central race, left Philadelphia reeling but with two new bats. A day after they traded for Derrek Lee, the Pirates acquired outfielder Ryan Ludwick from the San Diego Padres.
Pence, acquired Friday from Houston, hit a one-out double in the 10th and Ibanez followed with his 21st double of the season. The Phillies increased their lead to six games over Atlanta in the NL East and are starting to pull away.
The Pirates are fading in the division and hope Lee and Ludwick can get them back on track.
Lyle Overbay hit a two-run homer and Karstens pitched seven solid innings for the Pirates.
On the brink of losing his starting first baseman’s job, Overbay connected on a two-run shot off Phillies starter Vance Worley in the sixth for a 4-3 lead. Overbay, a disappointment in his first season with the Pirates, will hit the bench once Lee joins the team. Lee, acquired from Baltimore on Saturday should take over at first when the Pirates return home.
The Pirates then got Ludwick from the Padres for a player to be named or cash considerations.
Ludwick batted .238 with a team-leading 11 home runs and 64 RBIs in 378 at-bats. He was scratched two minutes before the start of the Padres game Sunday against Colorado.
Karstens got a big boost when Overbay connected to right to put the Pirates ahead. It was one of the few times this season Overbay delivered in the clutch as the Pirates hoped when they signed him a one-year deal in the offseason.
The veteran first baseman was signed to provide Pittsburgh’s offense with some much-needed pop, but he has struggled in hitter-friendly PNC Park. He entered the Philadelphia series with just one RBI since July 4, or two fewer than pitcher Kevin Correia. Overbay was batting only .217 in July and was 2 for 22 in his last eight games entering Sunday.
With Lee on the way, he was scheduled to join the team Monday, Overbay should find himself on the bench.
The Pirates open a seven-game game homestand Monday against the Cubs.
After allowing 17 runs to the Phillies in the first two games of the series, Karstens turned in a nice little outing. But the Pirates couldn’t solve Ibanez.
He hit his 15th homer in the second, a solo shot, for a 1-0 lead and Jimmy Rollins singled in two runs in the fifth that gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead.
The Pirates scored another run in seventh on Garrett Jones’ RBI double off reliever Brad Lidge. Xavier Paul had a two-RBI single in the fifth.
Worley, coming off his first career complete game, picked up where he left off, fanning five straight batters over the first and second innings. With his glasses and quirky mohawk, Worley has become an instant fan favorite. He struggled after his fast start, allowing seven hits and four runs in six innings.
Notes: The Pirates transferred C Ryan Doumit to the 60-day disabled list. … The Pirates have three games left vs. the NL East. … Ibanez had his first multi-homer game of the season

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—New to the area, Hunter Pence(notes) hitched a ride to the
ballpark with Chase Utley(notes).

Pence knows his way around the bases, though, and when he scored the winning
run on Raul Ibanez’s(notes) double, he found Utley and most of his new teammates at the
plate to mob him.

Two days into his stint with the Phillies, Pence knows this: “They have
fun, they work hard, they play hard.”

And they win.

Ibanez homered twice and hit the game-winning double in the 10th inning to
lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on
Sunday.

“Any of these guys can carry you for a day,” Pence said. “That’s the
beauty of it,”

The Phillies trailed 5-3 in the eighth when Ibanez hit a two-run shot for
his second homer of the game. He doubled to right off Tony Watson(notes) (0-2) in the
10th to score Pence and help the Phillies complete a three-game sweep.

“We stay together and pull together when we need to,” Ibanez said.

Antonio Bastardo(notes) (4-0) struck out one in a scoreless inning to earn the win.

Ibanez hit a solo homer in the second off Pirates starter Jeff Karstens(notes) and
his tying blast was off Jose Veras(notes). The Phillies are a season-high 29 games over
.500 (68-39) and swept their fifth series of the season.

The Pirates, trying to keep pace in a crowded NL Central race, left
Philadelphia reeling but with two new bats. A day after they traded for Derrek
Lee(notes), the Pirates acquired outfielder Ryan Ludwick(notes) from the San Diego Padres.

Pence, acquired Friday from Houston, hit a one-out double in the 10th and
Ibanez followed with his 21st double of the season. The Phillies increased their
lead to six games over Atlanta in the NL East and are starting to pull away.

“It’s electric,” Pence said. “Everyone has a different charisma about
them where you expect it to happen.”

The Pirates are fading in the division and hope Lee and Ludwick can get them
back on track.

Lyle Overbay(notes) hit a two-run homer and Karstens pitched seven solid innings
for the Pirates.

On the brink of losing his starting first baseman’s job, Overbay connected
on a two-run shot off Phillies starter Vance Worley(notes) in the sixth for a 4-3 lead.
Overbay, a disappointment in his first season with the Pirates, will hit the
bench once Lee joins the team. Lee, acquired from Baltimore on Saturday, should
take over at first when the Pirates return home.

The Pirates then got Ludwick from the Padres for a player to be named or
cash considerations.

Ludwick batted .238 with a team-leading 11 home runs and 64 RBIs in 378
at-bats. He was scratched two minutes before the start of the Padres game Sunday
against Colorado.

“I’m excited because I’ve got another chance to make the playoffs, going to
a team that’s in the pennant race, back in the Central to an area I’m familiar
with,” Ludwick said. “It’s just sad things didn’t work out here.”

Karstens got a big boost when Overbay connected to right to put the Pirates
ahead. It was one of the few times this season Overbay delivered in the clutch
as the Pirates hoped when they signed him a one-year deal in the offseason.

The veteran first baseman was signed to provide Pittsburgh’s offense with
some much-needed pop, but he has struggled in hitter-friendly PNC Park. He
entered the Philadelphia series with just one RBI since July 4, or two fewer
than pitcher Kevin Correia(notes). Overbay was batting only .217 in July and was 2 for
22 in his last eight games entering Sunday.

With Lee on the way, he was scheduled to join the team Monday, Overbay
should find himself on the bench.

Asked for an interview, Overbay said, “As long as it’s not about the Derrek
Lee trade.”

He later said he didn’t know what was ahead for him after a talk with
manager Clint Hurdle.

The Pirates open a seven-game game homestand Monday against the Cubs.

After allowing 17 runs to the Phillies in the first two games of the series,
Karstens turned in a nice little outing. But the Pirates couldn’t solve.

“They have a bunch of answers,” Hurdle said. “Today, it was Ibanez.”

He hit his 15th homer in the second, a solo shot, for a 1-0 lead and Jimmy
Rollins(notes) singled in two runs in the fifth that gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead.

The Pirates scored another run in seventh on Garrett Jones’(notes) RBI double off
reliever Brad Lidge(notes). Xavier Paul(notes) had a two-RBI single in the fifth.

Worley, coming off his first career complete game, picked up where he left
off, fanning five straight batters over the first and second innings. With his
glasses and quirky mohawk, Worley has become an instant fan favorite. He
struggled after his fast start, allowing seven hits and four runs in six
innings.

Notes: The Pirates transferred C Ryan Doumit(notes) to the 60-day disabled list.
… The Pirates have three games left vs. the NL East. … Ibanez had his first
multi-homer game of the season

July 31, 2011

Pirates get Ludwick from Padres

Anonymous


The Tribune-Democrat
The Tribune-Democrat

Sun Jul 31, 2011, 05:06 PM EDT

Read More: Pittsburgh Pirates

In a deadline shocker, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded for San Diego Padres outfielder Ryan Ludwick. Your definition of shocker may vary. Live a little! The Padres will receive a player to be named later, according to Jon Morosi.

In the past week, the Pirates started Xavier Paul, Alex Presley, and Matt Diaz in left field. While Presley has done well in limited action — with a .402 OBP in 81 at-bats — he was put on the disabled list last Monday with a thumb injury. The Pirates entered Sunday’s action 3-1/2 games out of first place, which is close enough to want to improve, but far enough away to feel wary about making a huge short-term move. This trade strikes a pretty fair balance.

Ludwick is hitting .238/.301/.373 for the Padres this year, which looks bad until you shine the numbers through the Petco Park prism, and then … they still don’t look that good (92 OPS+). But he’s doing okay against left-handed pitching, and the Pirates didn’t exactly mortgage the future for him. Of course, Jameson Taillon was a first rounder last year, so if he were in any deal, he’d have to be a player to be named later. Hint hint!

Read More: Ryan Ludwick (LF – PIT), Derrek Lee (1B – PIT), Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates

After the rumored deal fell through that the San Diego Padres were sending Ryan Ludwick to the Cleveland Indians, the Padres are now keeping Ludwick in the National League by sending him to another team at the MLB Trade Deadline looking for some power in their line-up, the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates have been looking for some muscle in their line-up and already added Derrek Lee from the Orioles, and it seems they’re willing to move another prospect to SD, although the person is unknown at this point. All that’s coming out are rumors that the Pirates and Pads are in discussions to make the deal happen today, which is the deadline to do so before all players must clear waivers for a trade — a process that can become political as one team tries to keep another from getting an asset by claiming him.

Ludwick is hitting .238 on the year but plays his home games at Petco which is important to remember. He also has 62 RBI.

Baltimore also traded setup man Koji Uehara and cash to Texas for right-hander Tommy Hunter and infielder Chris Davis.

As a smooth-fielding first baseman with a capable right-handed bat, Lee fills a pair of holes for the Pirates (54-51), who are looking to snap a record streak of 18 consecutive losing seasons.

“I’ve kind of known it’s been coming the last couple days, so it’s not a shock or anything. It’s just the business of baseball,” Lee said in the Baltimore clubhouse minutes before the deal was announced.

Buoyed by their first shot at the postseason in years, the small-budget Pirates find themselves in an unusual and perhaps unexpected position at this year’s trade deadline, looking to add pieces instead of sell them off.

“They are playing good. They turned it around, so good for them. I’m still playing baseball, so that’s always a good thing,” Lee said. “It would be exciting if we won the World Series.”

A two-time All-Star, the 35-year-old Lee has playoff experience with Florida, the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta. He won a World Series ring with the Marlins in 2003.

Lee’s most productive days appear to be behind him, but he’s been coming on of late after a slow start in Baltimore. He is batting .246 with 12 homers and 41 RBIs this season.

Lee has hit safely in 14 of his last 18 games since July 8, batting .309 during that stretch. He had two homers and seven RBIs on Baltimore’s current road trip.

Lyle Overbay was supposed to provide steady play at first base for the Pirates this season, but he’s hitting only .227 with seven homers and 35 RBIs.

“We are pleased to add a quality veteran player like Derrek Lee to our ballclub,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement. “He is an experienced, productive right-handed hitter and solid defender who should add to our team on the field and in the clubhouse.”

Lee signed a $7.25 million, one-year contract with the Orioles before the season. In 15 major league seasons he has a .281 batting average, 324 homers, 1,060 RBIs and three Gold Gloves.

“I knew coming into the year there was a pretty good chance I wasn’t going to finish it here. So, I understood all of it,” Lee said.

Following a 17-3 loss to the New York Yankees that finished a doubleheader sweep, several Orioles teammates came over to Lee at his locker to ask about the trade and say goodbye with a hug or handshake.

“I enjoyed these guys,” Lee said. “Ballpark is beautiful. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to, I didn’t play as well as I wanted to. But I enjoyed my time.”

Baltimore said the 23-year-old Baker will be assigned to Class-A Frederick. He was hitting .285 with 15 homers, 21 doubles and 72 RBIs with Class-A Bradenton this season.

Baker was selected by Pittsburgh in the 11th round of the 2009 draft. He is a .263 career hitter in 289 minor league games.

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