For the second time two days, the Pirates walked-off on the Phillies. This time they did it without needing extra innings thanks in part to the longest single you will see all season. With pinch-runner Josh Harrison standing on third, Andrew McCutchen drove a 3-2 pitch 398 feet off the center field wall bringing most of a crowd of 19,856 into a frenzy.
Starting pitching dominated again as James McDonald (6 H 2 ER 2 BB 3 K) and Vance Worley (5 H 1 ER 1 BB 5 K) both went six. Worley's day went well (78 pitches, 52 strikes) with only a Pedro Alvarez bomb over the right field seats being the only scar to his line. McDonald (82 pitches, 51 strikes) encountered a bit more trouble as he allowed Hunter Pence to double in Shane Victorino in the first then a Homer to Pence in the fourth. Both of the instances were mistake pitches left over the heart of the plate. J-Mac also got into some trouble in the sixth when a Juan Pierre bunt was mishandled by Pedro Alvarez and thrown away advancing him to second. Victorino advanced him to third with a sac bunt but Jimmy Rollins could not get the run home as J-Mac used a curveball in the dirt to punch him out. Clint Hurdle learned from his mistake of not intentionally walking hot-hitting Carlos Ruiz on Thursday by putting Pence (2-2 2RBI) on with two out. Jim Thome would step up next where another knee buckling curveball after four straight fastballs would end the inning.
Both bullpens would again take over with a different outcome then the first two games as Jared Hughes would give up two runs in the seventh. A big factor in the big inning was an error by Neil Walker at first when Hughes fielded a Freddy Galvis bunt and threw it wide of Walker. The error could have been charged to either player. The Bucs would get two back in the bottom of the inning when they would get to Michael Stutes. With one out Pedro Alvarez struck out on a slider in the dirt. The throw, although, wasn't played cleanly by Ty Wiggington and Alvarez was safe. By the end of the inning the Bucs were back within one. Evan Meek would throw an impressive eighth going 1-2-3. The Bucs would tie it up in the bottom when Matt Hague came off the bench to knock in Cutch from third. That was Hague's first Major League hit and RBI. The Hammer (W, 1-0) would make his second non-save situation in a row striking out two. That's his fourth strikeout in two appearances. Casey McGehee would lead off the ninth with his second double of the day and a sac bunt and strikeout later Cutch would step to the plate and knock in the winning run. Pirates take the series 2-1 and will now travel to the west coast for a nine game road trip.
Phillies RBI's: Pence 2, Pierre 2
Pirates RBI's: Alvarez, Presley, McGehee, Hague, McCutchen
Stud/Dud of the game
Stud: Andrew McCutchen - 3-4, RBI, R, SB Cutch did a bit of everything today which proves why he deserved the large contract extension over the winter. Let's see if this is the Cutch we will see all season, if so, then we could be looking at an MVP candidate.
Dud: Jared Hughes - Two walks, a single, and aiding in the error with Neil Walker led to two Philly runs.
Turning Point
The dropped ball on the Pedro Alvarez strikeout. Wigginton catches it, no runs score, Philly's chances of winning go up greatly.
Final Thoughts
--Pedro Alvarez hit homerun #1, a 430 foot bomb that cleared the right field seats and bounced off of the top riverwalk. Could this be the shot in the arm he needs to jumpstart a good season? or is it a flash in the pan?
--The Pirate bats have started to come around beginning with the Barajas blast last night in the tenth. Since then the Buccos have hit a Homer, Three Doubles, Eight Singles, Two Walks, and Three Stolen Bases.
Smallball looks like it will play another huge part in any Pirate offensive success this season.
--With the good outings by the top three Pirate starters it sets up the question; When Burnett and Morton come off the DL, Who leaves the rotation? I know we have seen only one outing by each but it was against a pretty good Phillies lineup (Minus Utley and Howard mind you, but still good). More to come about this subject in the coming weeks.
--The Bucs are off tomorrow to travel to LA to face the Dodgers on Tuesday.
With tomorrow being an off-day we will look into what could be a resurgence of the Phillies - Pirates rivalry. Look for it before the Pirates series opener with the Dodgers.
This day in 1992
Zane Smith collected win number one as the Bucs defeated the Expos 4-2. Smith went seven innings giving up 2 runs, five hits, and striking out five. Stan Belinda (eesh) picked up the two inning save. Barry Bonds hit a two-run shot in the fourth, Steve Buchelle and Jay bell would record RBI's in the sixth and seventh to end out the scoring.
Andy Van Slyke went 0-2 with 2 walks, a stolen base, and a run.
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