The Pirates have released their 2012 season schedule. The season begins April 5 at PNC Park against the Philadelphia Phillies. After three against Philadelphia, they’ll head out for a West Coast trip against the Dodgers, Giants and Diamondbacks before returning home to face the Cardinals and Rockies beginning April 20. 

They’ll begin interleague play with a road series against the Detroit Tigers in mid-May. They’ll host the Royals, Twins and Tigers in June, and also play interleague series against the Indians and Orioles. 

After only nine games at home in April, they’ll play 18 home games in May. It’s June that might pose problems for them, as they’ll have a ton of interleague games (which they’ve historically been awful in) and road series against the Brewers, Reds, Phillies and Cardinals.

They’ll be at home Wednesday, July 4 against the Houston Astros.

Their season will end with a home series against the Atlanta Braves from October 1-3. 

For more on the Pirates, check out Bucs Dugout.

AP Photo/John Amis

Atlanta Braves’ Julio Lugo, right, slides into home plate safely to score the game-winning run as Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Michael McKenry tries to make the tag during the 19th inning of a baseball game, early Wednesday, July 27, 2011. in Atlanta. The Braves won 3-2.

Upon further review, he’s out.

Major League Baseball acknowledged Wednesday umpire Jerry Meals made the wrong call in Atlanta’s 4-3, 19th-inning win over Pittsburgh.

Meals ruled Pittsburgh catcher Mike McKenry failed to tag Atlanta’s Julio Lugo in the bottom of the 19th, allowing Lugo to score the winning run. Replays showed McKenry clearly tagging Lugo well before Lugo got to the plate.

The Pirates filed a formal complaint hours after the longest game in team history, and MLB executive vice president for baseball operations Joe Torre said it appeared Meals got the call wrong.

Torre said the tag was applied and the game should have remained tied. Torre said he spoke to Meals and “no one feels worse than him.”

ATLANTA (AP) — Julio Lugo scored from third base on a contested play at the plate, giving the Atlanta Braves a 4-3 win in 19 innings over the Pittsburgh Pirates early Wednesday morning.

The game, which ended at 1:50 2 a.m., was the longest in Turner Field history and matched the longest in the major leagues this season. At 6 hours, 39 minutes, it was the longest by time for both teams.

Lugo took on Scott Proctor’s grounder to third baseman Pedro Alvarez, whose throw to catcher Michael McKenry easily beat Lugo to the plate.

Lugo tried to avoid McKenry’s tag with a pop-up slide. Replays indicated McKenry made the tag, but home plate umpire Jerry Meals called Lugo safe.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle argued the call vigorously, following Meals off the field as the Braves celebrated.

With one out in the 19th, Daniel McCutchen walked Lugo. Jordan Schafer followed with a single to center, moving Lugo to third.

With their bench and bullpen depleted, the Braves had to let Proctor (2-3), their eighth pitcher of the game, hit for himself. Schafer advanced to second without a throw before Proctor’s grounder led to the final play.

The Phillies and Reds played 19 innings on May 25.

The Pirates’ previous longest game was 6:12 at San Diego on Aug. 25, 1979. The Braves’ previous longest game by time was 6:10 against the Mets on July 4, 1985, at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

The Pirates scored two runs in the first and pushed their lead to 3-0 in the second on McKenry’s homer. The Braves answered with three runs in the third, and the score remained 3-3 through the next 15 innings.

Several thousand fans from the announced crowd of 22,036 were still in the stands in the 19th inning, many standing and chanting.

The Braves lost catcher Brian McCann in the 10th inning when he strained his left oblique. He will be placed on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday.

McCutchen (3-2) gave up one run in 5 1-3 innings.

The Pirates fell one game behind first-place St. Louis in the NL Central.

The Pirates had a chance to avoid extra innings but wasted a scoring chance in the ninth. McKenry had an infield single off Craig Kimbrel and moved to third on pinch-hitter Brandon Wood’s single.

The Braves called a pitchout as Xavier Paul was squaring to bunt and McKenry was running toward the plate. McKenry stopped too late and was thrown out at third. Kimbrel struck out Paul to end the inning.

Atlanta’s Chipper Jones, who strained his right quadriceps in Monday night’s game, hit a groundout as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.

Jones, 39, came off the 15-day disabled list on Monday following arthroscopic surgery on July 9 to repair torn cartilage in his right knee.

Nate McLouth and manager Fredi Gonzalez were ejected by Meals in the ninth. McLouth struck out swinging and then remained at the plate, apparently to argue a called strike two by Meals. Gonzalez ran onto the field too late to intervene and keep McLouth in the game.

NOTES: It was the Pirates’ longest game since May 27, 2006, when they beat Houston 8-7 in 18 innings. It was the Braves’ longest since Oct. 5, 2006, when they won 7-6 at Houston in 18 innings…. McKenry ended the Pirates’ streak of 77 innings without a homer since a shot by Brandon Wood at Houston on July 16. … Schafer, still bothered by his jammed left middle finger he hurt Wednesday in Colorado, was scratched from the Braves’ lineup. He entered the game in the ninth as a defensive replacement in center. … Pirates C Ryan Doumit (left ankle sprain) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis.

	   2011 -- Gerrit Cole, rhp (Pittsburgh Pirates)
	   2010 -- Bryce Harper(notes), c-of (Washington Nationals)
	   2009 -- Stephen Strasburg(notes), rhp (Washington Nationals)
	   2008 -- Tim Beckham(notes), ss (Tampa Bay Rays)
	   2007 -- David Price(notes), lhp (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
	   2006 -- Luke Hochevar(notes), rhp (Kansas City Royals)
	   2005 -- Justin Upton(notes), ss (Arizona Diamondbacks)
	   2004 -- Matt Bush(notes), ss (San Diego Padres)
	   2003 -- Delmon Young(notes), of (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
	   2002 -- Bryan Bullington(notes), rhp (Pittsburgh Pirates)
	   2001 -- Joe Mauer(notes), c (Minnesota Twins)
	   2000 -- Adrian Gonzalez(notes), 1b (Florida Marlins)
	   1999 -- Josh Hamilton(notes), rf-lhp (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
	   1998 -- Pat Burrell(notes), 3b (Philadelphia Phillies)
	   1997 -- Matt Anderson, rhp (Detroit Tigers)
	   1996 -- Kris Benson(notes), rhp (Pittsburgh Pirates)
	   1995 -- Darin Erstad(notes), of-1B (California Angels)
	   1994 -- Paul Wilson, rhp (N.Y. Mets)
	   1993 -- Alex Rodriguez(notes), ss (Seattle Mariners)
	   1992 -- Phil Nevin, 3b (Houston Astros)
	   1991 -- Brien Taylor, lhp (N.Y. Yankees)
	   1990 -- Chipper Jones(notes), ss (Atlanta Braves)
	   1989 -- Ben McDonald, rhp (Baltimore Orioles)
	   1988 -- Andy Benes, rhp (San Diego Padres)
	   1987 -- Ken Griffey Jr.(notes), of (Seattle Mariners)
	   1986 -- Jeff King, inf (Pittsburgh Pirates)
	   1985 -- B.J. Surhoff, c (Milwaukee Brewers)
	   1984 -- Shawn Abner, of (N.Y. Mets)
	   1983 -- Tim Belcher, rhp (Minnesota Twins)
	   1982 -- Shawon Dunston, ss (Chicago Cubs)
	   1981 -- Mike Moore, rhp (Seattle Mariners)
	   1980 -- Darryl Strawberry, of (N.Y. Mets)
	   1979 -- Al Chambers, of (Seattle Mariners)
	   1978 -- Bob Horner, 3b (Atlanta Braves)
	   1977 -- Harold Baines, of (Chicago White Sox)
	   1976 -- Floyd Bannister, lhp (Houston Astros)
	   1975 -- Danny Goodwin, c (California Angels)
	   1974 -- Bill Almon, inf (San Diego Padres)
	   1973 -- David Clyde, lhp (Texas Rangers)
	   1972 -- Dave Roberts, inf (San Diego Padres)
	   1971 -- Danny Goodwin, c (Chicago White Sox)
	   1970 -- Mike Ivie, c (San Diego Padres)
	   1969 -- Jeff Burroughs, of (Washington Senators)
	   1968 -- Tim Foli, inf (N.Y. Mets)
	   1967 -- Ron Blomberg, 1b (N.Y. Yankees)
	   1966 -- Steve Chilcott, c (N.Y. Mets)
	   1965 -- Rick Monday, of (Kansas City Athletics)

(For complete Pirates coverage, see Piratesreport.com.)

PITTSBURGH – The drastic improvement of the Pirates rotation isn’t the story of the first third of the season. At this rate, it may be the story of the century.

The starters have a combined 3.53 earned run average, a silly 1.75 earned runs per game better than last season. National League starters have a 4.07 ERA as a whole, the same as it was last season, so the hike isn’t artificial, either.

After last season, when the rotation had a league-worst 5.28 ERA, it couldn’t help but get better, the theory went. Yet nobody expected it to improve this much, this soon. Not only that, but the group is pretty much the same one that finished last season, as Kevin Correia is the only new member.

Can the starters maintain this pace for the rest of the season? Maybe, probably not. I mean, the Philadelphia Phillies’ Phab Phive have a comparable ERA at more than five times the cost for godsakes. Still, pitching coach Ray Searage deserves a gold star at the very least.

At the start of the day, here was the breakdown of National League starters’ ERAs last season and this season and the difference between them:

1. Pirates 5.28 3.53 +1.75

2. Atlanta Braves 3.80 3.15 +0.65

3. Los Angeles Dodgers 3.99 3.64 + 0.35

4. San Francisco Giants 3.54 3.19 +0.35

5. Washington Nationals 4.61 4.27 +0.34

6. Milwaukee Brewers 4.65 4.33 +0.32

7. Florida Marlins 4.14 3.93 +0.21

8. Philadelphia Phillies 3.55 3.39 +0.16

9. Arizona Diamondbacks 4.39 4.27 +0.12

10. San Diego Padres 3.73 3.88 -0.15

11. Colorado Rockies 4.21 4.39 -0.18

12. St. Louis Cardinals 3.50 3.78 -0.28

13. New York Mets 3.80 4.19 -0.39

14. Houston Astros 3.90 4.62 -0.72

15. Cincinnati Reds 4.05 4.88 -0.83

16. Chicago Cubs 4.00 5.60 -1.60