Watch Nationals Pirates live streaming mlb 4/24 radio commentary espn: Playoffs, lineups, scores, roaster etc. Kevin Correia and Jason Marquis have been pleasant surprises for their respective teams early in 2011.
1:35 PM ET, April 24, 2011
PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Each takes the mound looking to build on their respective success as the Pittsburgh Pirates and visiting Washington Nationals continue their three-game set Sunday.
Correia (3-1, 2.48 ERA), who went 29-36 with a 4.64 ERA as a starter with San Francisco and San Diego over the previous four years, signed with Pittsburgh (9-11) in the offseason -- a move that has provided immediate positive results.
The right-hander allowed two earned runs and four hits en route to his first complete game of the season, a 9-3 victory at Cincinnati on Monday. Last season, no Pirates starter won three games prior to May 15.
"I threw a lot of fastballs," Correia told the Pirates' official website. "You obviously want as many runs as possible, but it's hard to go up there and throw a lot of offspeed pitches and get behind guys when you have that big of a lead. I threw a lot of two-seam fastballs early, and I got people out early."
Correia is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA over three career starts versus the Nationals (9-10). In his last start against them, he gave up three hits in 7 2/3 innings of a 7-0 Padres win on Sept. 2, 2009.
Marquis (1-0, 3.26), meanwhile, gave up two runs and nine hits in seven innings en route to earning his first victory in three tries during Sunday's 8-4 win over Milwaukee.
"I think as the game went on, (Marquis) got better and better with his slider," manager Jim Riggleman told Major League Baseball's official website. "He was getting ground balls and we were making plays for him. It was a kind of classic Marquis performance when he's healthy."
The right-hander has recorded a quality start in each of his three outings after going 2-9 in an injury-plagued campaign in 2010 -- his first with the Nationals.
Marquis, who is 11-6 with a 3.69 ERA lifetime as a starter against Pittsburgh, has won four straight starts against the Pirates while posting a 1.57 ERA, but will likely need the offense to pick up its recent effort if he hopes to extend his winning streak.
Jayson Werth hit his third homer for the Nationals, who couldn't get much else going offensively. They are batting .141 and have totaled five runs during a season worst-tying three-game skid.
The Pirates also have failed to score with any consistency. After getting shut out in the first two games of its road series with Florida and falling 9-5 on Thursday, Pittsburgh recorded its highest run total at home in 2011 by defeating Washington 7-2 on Saturday.
Prior to that, the Pirates had averaged just 2.5 runs at PNC Park, where they are now batting .190 after recording nine hits, a season-high at home.
"We finally showed the home fans what we're capable of doing," said Saturday's winning pitcher Jeff Karstens, who allowed two runs in six innings.
Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedeno went 2 for 4 with an RBI, and outfielder Andrew McCutchen went 1 for 2 to break an 0-for-11 slump with three runs and two stolen bases.
"Andrew is such a threat every time he gets on base," manager Clint Hurdle said.
Cedeno has six hits in 13 at-bats lifetime against Marquis while McCutchen is 2 for 9.
1:35 PM ET, April 24, 2011
PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Each takes the mound looking to build on their respective success as the Pittsburgh Pirates and visiting Washington Nationals continue their three-game set Sunday.
Correia (3-1, 2.48 ERA), who went 29-36 with a 4.64 ERA as a starter with San Francisco and San Diego over the previous four years, signed with Pittsburgh (9-11) in the offseason -- a move that has provided immediate positive results.
The right-hander allowed two earned runs and four hits en route to his first complete game of the season, a 9-3 victory at Cincinnati on Monday. Last season, no Pirates starter won three games prior to May 15.
Correia is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA over three career starts versus the Nationals (9-10). In his last start against them, he gave up three hits in 7 2/3 innings of a 7-0 Padres win on Sept. 2, 2009.
Marquis (1-0, 3.26), meanwhile, gave up two runs and nine hits in seven innings en route to earning his first victory in three tries during Sunday's 8-4 win over Milwaukee.
"I think as the game went on, (Marquis) got better and better with his slider," manager Jim Riggleman told Major League Baseball's official website. "He was getting ground balls and we were making plays for him. It was a kind of classic Marquis performance when he's healthy."
The right-hander has recorded a quality start in each of his three outings after going 2-9 in an injury-plagued campaign in 2010 -- his first with the Nationals.
Marquis, who is 11-6 with a 3.69 ERA lifetime as a starter against Pittsburgh, has won four straight starts against the Pirates while posting a 1.57 ERA, but will likely need the offense to pick up its recent effort if he hopes to extend his winning streak.
Jayson Werth hit his third homer for the Nationals, who couldn't get much else going offensively. They are batting .141 and have totaled five runs during a season worst-tying three-game skid.
The Pirates also have failed to score with any consistency. After getting shut out in the first two games of its road series with Florida and falling 9-5 on Thursday, Pittsburgh recorded its highest run total at home in 2011 by defeating Washington 7-2 on Saturday.
Prior to that, the Pirates had averaged just 2.5 runs at PNC Park, where they are now batting .190 after recording nine hits, a season-high at home.
"We finally showed the home fans what we're capable of doing," said Saturday's winning pitcher Jeff Karstens, who allowed two runs in six innings.
Pirates shortstop Ronny Cedeno went 2 for 4 with an RBI, and outfielder Andrew McCutchen went 1 for 2 to break an 0-for-11 slump with three runs and two stolen bases.
"Andrew is such a threat every time he gets on base," manager Clint Hurdle said.
Cedeno has six hits in 13 at-bats lifetime against Marquis while McCutchen is 2 for 9.
