PNC Park – In a game where anything was possible, anything happened as the Pirates came back and won via walk-off error on a pop up to short right field by the score of 5 – 4.
A little bit of everything occurred here on Friday night as it looked to be a high-scoring affair as pitchers Jeanmar Gomez and Jordan Lyles gave up a run each in the first. The Astros got their run by way of former Pirates prospect, Robbie Grossman’s lead-off double. He would score two batters later after a sac bunt and sac fly. The Pirates would get the run back in the bottom when Andrew McCutchen continued to knock the cover off of the ball with a shot into the Shark Tank to make it 1 – 1.
From there, though, both pitchers calmed down over the next three innings which included 18 batters retired in-a-row. ”The sinker was my best pitch so that’s what I went with through the first 5.” Said Gomez. Gomez would encounter trouble in the 5th. After getting the first out, he allowed a solo-shot by Matt Dominguez which barely cleared the left-field wall.
Things would then get messier for the Pirates. With a runner on second and 2-out, Grossman walked and Jake Elmore followed with an RBI single to make it 3 – 1. Elmore would then attempt a steal with 1st and 3rd and appear to be caught stealing, but Clint Barmes dropped the throw allowing it to roll out of reach to Neil Walker. Grossman saw this and attempted for home in which, again, he appeared to be out, but Walkers throw short hopped and Russell Martin was unable to catch the ball making it 4 – 1 while chasing Gomez from the game.
The Pirates would fight back in the 6th. Cutch would reach third on an error by right fielder, Chris Carter on a routine pop fly. Garrett Jones would then come up and hit an RBI double to make it 4 – 2. That would chase Lyles from the game looking to record his first victory over the Pirates in 6 tries.
Neil Walker would then come up and bunt on a hit-and-run, but he would knock it right back to the pitcher who would be able to easily get Jones at third. Walker later said it was his call on the bunt; “I’ve got to live with it” said Walker.
They would load the bases with 2-out, but Jordy Mercer popped out to second to end the threat. They would get another chance in the 8th and take advantage. Neil Walker led the inning off with a single and two batters later, Pedro Alvarez sent a mammoth shot over the Clemente seats, off the lower river-walk, and into the Allegheny River to tie the game at 4. “I was just glad I hit that ball well.” Said Alvarez. He doesn’t count this as a full-on river-shot, “I may not take credit if it bounces in, that’s cheating (Laughs)”
The game took another strange turn of events in the bottom of the 9th. After finding out the Pens had been victorious, the crowd turned into a loud frenzy as Starling Marte led-off the inning with a base-hit, Travis Snider would then come up and hit a would-be double play ball, but Snider was able to beat the throw which turned out huge in the inning. Cutch would follow with a single to right setting up 1st and 3rd with one out for Brandon Inge. Inge would hit a tapper back to pitcher, Edgar Gonzalez for another would-be double play, but Gonzalez mishandled the ball allowing everyone to be safe causing the crowd to go into a bigger frenzy.
The final piece in this monstrosity of an inning came two batters later after a Walker strikeout. Martin sent a 3-2 pitch into short right field where right fielder, Jimmy Paredes collided with second basemen Jake Elmore allowing the ball to bounce off of Elmore’s glove and onto the field for the walk-off error. Final Score: Pirates 5, Astros 4.
It’s a walk-off off of the bat of Russell Martin (sort of) but he didn’t plan it to be that way. “We’ll take it. What else can I say? He made a good pitch, a 3 – 2 Changeup, down and away, and I was able, you know, to put the bat on it.” Martin added that the crowd played a huge role in the final play. “I kinda saw the play unfold. The right fielder was coming in pretty hot there, and obviously, the crowd came into play there where they probably couldn’t hear each other and we got really lucky.”
These two will be back at it in the middle game of the 3-game tilt at 7:05.
Starters Lines:
Gomez (ND): 4 2/3 IN, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR. 70 Pitches (44 Strikes)
Lyles (ND): 5+ IN, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K’s, 1 HP, 1 HR. 89 Pitches (52 Strikes)
Tomorrow’s Starters:
(RHP) A.J. Burnett (PIT) 3 – 4, 2.73 ERA
(LHP) Erik Bedard (HOU) 0 – 2, 6.67 ERA
(Photo Credit: Keith Srakocic)
