Pirates power their way to victory
PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates are trying to prove that they have more in common with the 1974 Bucs than just a stumbling start out of gates.
One day after falling to a 1-7 record for the first time in 32 seasons, the Pirates put on an offensive display that would have made the Lumber Company bashers of '74 proud, pounding out four home runs to twice overcome three-run deficits in their 7-6 win on Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Dodgers before a crowd of 17,240 at PNC Park.
The Pirates were facing the dubious distinction of posting their first 1-8 start since 1955 after right-hander Ian Snell was touched up for five runs in the first three innings. But the Bucs hitters -- who had previously been unable to dig the team out of the early-inning holes created by their young starting pitchers -- made the most of their opportunities.
Jeromy Burnitz set the tone in the first inning with a two-run homer to right field off Dodgers starter Jae Seo. Solo shots by Ryan Doumit and Jack Wilson in the fifth inning cut Los Angeles' lead to 6-5 and swung the momentum back into Pittsburgh's favor.
"We have the type of lineup that can every now and then put some over the fence," said Wilson. "We needed some big hits, and that's what we got today. We took advantage of some first-pitch fastballs and were able to hit them over the fence."
The slow and steady comeback was completed in the sixth inning.
Craig Wilson, a late replacement in the starting lineup at first base for the injured Sean Casey (bruised left rib), tied the game at 6 with a towering shot off reliever Lance Carter (0-1) that landed in the shrubbery beyond the center-field fence. Then, after bashing their way back into the game, the Bucs used a little small ball to push the winning run across the plate. Joe Randa doubled down the third-base line, advanced to third on a Jose Castillo groundout and scored on Doumit's sacrifice fly to right field.
"We got timely hitting today," said Doumit. "This one feels good. Hopefully, this is the start of a beautiful thing."
"We took great at-bats tonight," said manager Jim Tracy. "We hit four home runs. And the beautiful part of it was the run that we scored to go ahead was something that we worked at very hard in Spring Training."
Given just the second late-inning lead of his tenure with the Pirates, Tracy was finally able to use the talent at the back of his bullpen.
Salomon Torres came on in the sixth inning and retired six of the seven batters he faced to earn the win and improve to 1-1 on the season. Roberto Hernandez kept the Dodgers in check in the eighth, and closer Mike Gonzalez set down Los Angeles in order on six pitches in the ninth to earn his first save.
"I was just going out there being aggressive," said Gonzalez. "It felt good to get that [first] one out of the way. Seeing how these guys came back, these guys showed a lot of heart. I just wanted to go out there and close it out."
Snell, for the second straight start, had difficulty locating his off-speed pitches. He allowed six runs on 10 hits -- including three home runs -- and needed 97 pitches to get through his five innings of work. On more than one occasion, he drew the ire of the home faithful.
"For some reason, the past two games I have been fighting with myself," said Snell. "I just battled through it. I was just trying to keep my team in the game as much as I could. The boos were starting to wear on me.
"I just wanted to show how big my heart is. I just wanted to go out and keep my team in it, no matter what. I wanted to throw five innings, at least. My pitch count was up, and they hit me around a lot. I just showed a lot of heart, from what I saw. I'm never going to stop that."
Snell was able to give the middle relievers a much-needed break by sticking around for five innings. Tracy lauded Snell's ability to gut it out on a night when he obviously didn't have his best stuff.
"It's the difference in the game," said Tracy. "I give him a lot of credit. He battled. This kid, in two starts, has shown me an awful lot of character, and I know he is capable of winning at the Major League level."
After watching his team find a way to finally pull out a close game, Tracy spoke to the resiliency of a club that had already lost five games by two runs or fewer.
"We've got a great group of people in that clubhouse with tremendous character," he said. "I think they showed their mettle again tonight. With some of the things we have been through in previous days, it would have been very easy to put your hands up in the air."
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