Correia better, still takes loss: Pittsburgh starter Kevin Correia was decent on Sunday afternoon in Detroit. Unfortunately, Max Scherzer was extraordinary for the Tigers. Scherzer struck out 15 batters over seven innings and that was enough for Detroit to pull the win over Correia. The Pirates' starter dropped to 1-5 on the season with the defeat, though he didn't have a poor performance. Correia was lifted after six innings and only 80 pitches as he allowed three earned runs on four hits and no walks. Correia struck out two and was hurt by Jhonny Peralta's home run in the fifth. Correia's ERA is at 4.50 on the year. (Updated 05/20/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/25/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Correia was much sharper Sunday than he's been in the recent past for the Pirates. Correia entered Sunday having allowed 14 earned runs in his last three starts spanning 17 2/3 innings. The loss Sunday gives him an L in five straight appearances for the Pirates, which are not playing solid baseball right now. Detroit completely shut down the offense and Pittsburgh will always have trouble backing its pitchers with much run support. Correia makes his next scheduled start on Saturday at home against the Cubs, but is just an NL-only Fantasy option. (Updated 05/20/2012).
05/20/2012 16:15 Scherzer K's 15 as Tigers rally by Bucs
Max Scherzer struck out 15 -- the most by a Detroit pitcher in 40 years -- and the Tigers rallied for him with three runs in the seventh inning to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 on Sunday.
05/10/2012 21:58 Strasburg fans 13 in win over Pirates
Stephen Strasburg struck out a season-high 13 over six innings and the Washington Nationals snapped a three-game losing streak with a 4-2 win over Pittsburgh on Thursday.
05/10/2012 16:01 Ray Searage on Kevin Correia
Pittsburgh pitching coach Ray Searage joins the Fantasy Baseball 360 crew to provide a player update on Kevin Correia.
After posting back-to-back double-digit win campaigns in his final two seasons with the Padres, Kevin Correia signed with the Pirates last offseason and got off to a solid start. He went 11-7 with a 4.01 ERA in the first half in 2011 en route to earning his first trip to the All-Star game. He would tail off after that, posting a 6.26 ERA over his final 12 starts before a strained left oblique ended his season in late August. The right-hander matched his career high with 12 wins but failed to record more than 100 strikeouts for the first time since 2008. Correia gives up too many hits with less than a strikeout per inning, which limits his value in Fantasy, but he should be able to improve in his second season with the Pirates. Target Correia in NL-only formats and some deeper mixed leagues on Draft Day 2012. (Updated 2/17/12)