PITTSBURGH - Pirates southpaw Tom Gorzelanny, demoted to AAA Indianapolis following several ineffective starts, appears on a fast track to rejoining the Bucs' staff.
Saturday night, Gorzelanny pitched seven innings of one-hit, shutout baseball as Indy blanked Durham, 1-0 in International League action. In seven games with the AAA club, Gorzelanny has compiled a 3-1 record to go with a sharp 2.06 ERA.
Prior to being sent down, the 6-2, 220-pound Gorzelanny was struggling at 6-7, 6.57.
"We're encouraged by the reports (out of Indianapolis)," said Pirates manager John Russell.
"Hopefully, Tom just needed to (go down) and get straightened out. We need him back up here. We know how he's capable of pitching (at this level)."
Gorzelanny, named Pittsburgh's Minor League Pitcher of the Year for 2006, enjoyed success in his first full season with the Pirates in 2007, when he posted a 14-10 record to with a 3.88 ERA.
Gorzelanny isn't the only Bucs' starter to experience struggles.
Zach Duke is off to a disappointing 4-11 start and has shown no signs of turning things around.
"More than anything, Zach needs a quality start ... something to build up his confidence," Russell said.
Yet another starter who flashed earlier signs of effectiveness, Ian Snell, has been a disappointment as well. Scheduled to start Tuesday night's road game at St. Louis, Snell is just 4-10 with a 5.91 ERA.
The right-hander did pitch well in last Thursday night's 3-1 loss to Cincinnati but was victimized by little run support.
One week from today, the Central-leading Cubs are in town for three, including a weekday matinee encounter on Aug. 27. Milwaukee then invades PNC park to close out the month.
Pittsburgh owns just five victories in 15 August outings.
Furthermore, the Bucs are threatening to become just a .500 club at PNC Park. At one time eight games above the break-even mark, Sunday's shutout loss to the Mets dropped the Bucs 33-31 on home grass.