Fan Protests Can Be Therapeautic

• You Did It, Fans! Last night's fan walk-out at PNC Park magically fixed the Pittsburgh Pirates, I'm happy to report ... either that, or the Nationals just happen to suck worse than the Pirates. The Buccos won 7-2, thanks to a solid performance from Tom Gorzelanny, and also to the 1,000 or so people who left their seats in the third inning, and then, for the most part, returned. It must've been inspiring. Gorzelanny went 7 and a third, allowing 2 runs and 5 hits, making his case to be the Pirates representative on the All-Star team. They might just send the Parrot.

• They Might As Well Have Worn Matching Earrings. Brad Penny and Jake Peavy did fine impressions of one another last night. They both threw 7 innings and gave up 1 run. Peavy issued 1 less walk, and Penny had one more strikeout. Neither of them got the win, but that's alright, they've still got 19 between then. Both bullpens did their job, too ... until the 12th inning, when the Dodgers trotted out Brett Tomko, who got beat up for 2 runs, allowing the Padres to bring in Trevor Hoffman to nail it down. When a game comes down to Tomko vs. Hoffman ... I like the Padres chances.

• He Likes It, He Loves It. I guess the Mets are just going to make a weekend out of kicking the hell out of the Phillies. They've won the first three of the four-game series, and Carlos Beltran homered twice (again). None of this would be happening if Pat Burrell were still alive. Oh, and Tim McGraw threw out the first pitch ... he's schedule's cleared up now that has Nashville Kats missed the Arena Football playoffs.

• Proud To Be in Purple Today. Look at that ... a Rockies game that doesn't end in total misery for the team in purple. Hm. The Rocks ended an 8 game losing streak behind seven excellent innings from Jeff Francis, and then one each from Latroy Hawkins and Jeremy Affeldt. The Astros managed just 4 hits all game, 2 of them from Craig Biggio, who joins the 3,004 club.