Pittsburgh Pirates get after Jon Gray, beat Rockies 9-3

The Pittsburgh Pirates are closing in on their third consecutive playoff spot when they open a four-game series against the host Colorado Rockies on Monday.

On each of his first two at-bats Monday, in the second and fourth innings, Mercer lashed doubles into the left field corner, scoring catcher Francisco Cervelli from first after he led off each of those innings with a single. He tacked on an RBI single in a three-run ninth.

Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen tries to catch a single off the bat of Colorado R … Gray went 4 2-3 innings and allowed five runs on nine hits. “That’s what’s been tough is to just stay with the process”, Mercer said.

The Rockies again loaded the bases against Burnett in the sixth inning but Antonio Bastardo came on and got DJ LeMahieu to line out to second. The All-Star right-hander’s otherwise smooth start hit the skids in a three-run fifth, a rally started by Pedro Alvarez’s league-leading 21st error. Blackmon is the first Rockie since Willy Taveras to have 40 stolen bases in a season.

“He’s always run pretty well but he’s done a nice job of preparing every night to steal bases” Weiss said”.

Pirates: The Pirates placed INF Jung Ho Kang on the 60-day DL.

The Colorado Rockies won’t be pitching their ace against the Pittsburgh Pirates on his regularly scheduled turn this week due to an injury to his right leg. That would seem a good place to start.

Tendinitis in his right leg will prevent De La Rosa from starting against the Pirates, a team he had thrown six shutout innings against several weeks ago in Pittsburgh in a Rockies’ 5-0 win. Flande sustained a left patellar tendon contusion when he was struck just below the left knee with a line drive in his Saturday start….

Jon Gray struggled in what could be his last start of the season as the Pirates take the first game of the series.

Acquiring J.A. Happ (5-2, 1.96 ERA) has proved to be one of the best under-the-radar moves at the trade deadline.

Christian Bergman, who is 3-0 with a 3.81 ERA this year, has been throwing very well for the Rockies out of the bullpen this season. He shut out San Diego on August 16 and beat San Francisco 11-3 on September 3.