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Bucs’ 21-hit attack best in 11 years

By John Perrotto for The 2 min read

When the Pirates rapped out 21 hits on Wednesday night in a 9-3 win over the Tigers at Detroit, it marked their biggest total in nearly 11 years.

The Pirates also had 21 hits on May 13, 2003, in an 11-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies in the second game of a doubleheader at Denver. Current Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was then the Rockies’ skipper.

Jack Wilson led the way for the Pirates with four hits in that game. Bobby Hill, Craig Wilson, Rob Mackowiak, Daryle Ward and Humberto Cota each added three as Oliver Perez beat Jason Jennings on a 39-degree afternoon.

The Pirates have had at least 21 hits on 68 occasions since 1914.

The club record is 27 on Aug. 8, 1922, in an 18-8 victory over the Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader at Philadelphia. Reb Russell went 5-for-5, Cotton Tierney had four hits and Hall of Famers Max Carey and Pie Traynor added three apiece.

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June was a great month for Pirates closer Mark Melancon as he led the major leagues with 11 saves while also setting the franchise record for the month.

Melancon allowed only one unearned run on eight hits in 14 2/3 innings while striking out 14 and walking two.

The single-month team record is 12, set by Jose Mesa in July 2004 and equaled by Salomon Torres in September 2006 and Jason Grilli in May 2013.

In all, Pirates closers have had eight double-digit save months.

Joel Hanrahan had 11 save in July 2012. Three pitchers had 10: Melancon in May 2014, Mike Williams in April 2002 and Grilli in April 2013.

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The Pirates had a run differential of plus-13 in June, scoring 95 runs and allowing 82 while going 17-9.

The run differential ranked third in the National League and seventh in the major leagues. The Toronto Blue Jays led the majors with plus-60.

The Pirates hit just 13 homers in those 26 games. That is as many as Albert Pujols hit for the Los Angeles Angels during the month.

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