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Pirates Vs Braves Marathon Draws Huge Ratings

The only thing that exploded more than Twitter following Jerry Meals' dubious call in the bottom of the 19th were the ratings the game received on Root Sports Pittsburgh.

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The game began with a 7.0 rating at 7 p.m., meaning roughly seven percent of televisions had the game on. That is a nice increase from the average of 4.52. By 10:30 p.m., it had swelled to 14.5. To put that in perspective, the Penguins average between a 14 and 16 rating for first-round playoff games.

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Perhaps the most astonishing stat of all is that the game still had a 7.8 rating when it concluded shortly before 2 a.m. These do not even count those who were watching the games on packages such as Extra Innings and MLB.TV.

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This certainly has been a great year for Root Sports. After the Penguins drew the highest local ratings for a NHL team, the Pirates are seeing a 33% increase in 2011. It is a true sign that shows just how much "Bucco Fever" has swept through the city and has fans locked in on the team's first pennant race in almost two decades.

Photographs by dizfunk used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.