CHRISTOPHER PANSINO – OVATHLETICS.COM
There is a well-known saying in baseball that goes, “Baseball is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.” I think Pirate manager John Russell must have said these very same words in the locker room after the 11-5 victory on opening day, because the Pirate players seem to bring that very same attitude to the ballpark today.
Pirates went up early again on a three run home run to straight away center field by Garrett Jones in the first inning.
Jones, who hit two homeruns in Monday’s opener, would not see another good pitch for the rest of the game and finished 1 for 5.
Starting Pitcher Ross Olendorf had an ok game giving up four hits though five innings with a strikeout and four walks.
However, it was his fifth inning that was troublesome for the Pirates.
Olendorf gave up a solo homerun to the first batter, Russel Martin, to put the game at 3-1.
Two batters later third baseman Andy LaRoche was charge with an error on a throw just wide of first that allowed Rafael Furcal to get on base.
It was a sour moment on an otherwise good defensive day for LaRoche, who had two diving stops earlier in the game to help hold the Dodgers scoreless.
The error would prove costly as Furcal would steal second and be brought home on an RBI double by Matt Kemp.
The following batter, Andre Ethier, would tie the game on an RBI single to right.
The Pirates would get out of the inning without any more runs, but Olendorf day was done.
The score would be tied at 3-3 for the next several innings, but not due to superior pitching. In fact by the end of the game the two teams had stranded a combined total of 25 runners.
In the top of the ninth pinch hitter Jamey Carroll knocked a lead off double, which brought the top of the order to the plate for the Dodgers. After a wild pitch in which Carroll advanced to third the Pirate’s closer Octavio Dotel shut down the next two batters easily. But with two outs and the winning run on the third base Dotel walked Andre Ethier to bring Manny Ramirez to the plate. Luckly for Dotel, Ramirez grounded out to second to end the half.
The Pirates also had the top of their order up to bat in the ninth, but they couldn’t get any runs off the single by McCutchen and so the game went into extra innings.
This was not a good sign for the Pirates, as last year they were just 2-10 in extra inning games.
But that was last season, right?
In the bottom of the tenth Lasting Millage got to first base on a fielding error by Dodger’s second baseman Blake DeWitt. Jeff Clement sacrifice bunted Millage over to second base. A pair of walks would load the bases for the Pirates with one out and brought the nine spot in the lineup to the plate.
The ninth spot is traditional reserved in the National League for the worst hitter on the team, which is usually the pitcher. However, in recent years there has been a change in philosophy, causing many managers to flip the traditional eight and nine batters in the hope of getting to the top of the order faster and increase run production.
Ronney Cedeno was that number nine batter on the Pirates lineup today. And he did not disappoint.
With the bases loaded and the game on the line Cedeno went down 1-2 before battling the count to 3-2 by fowling off a half dozen balls. And with the count full he hit one into left center field to drive in the winning run to the excitement of Pirate players and fans alike.
But like they say, it isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Lets just hope they can keep up this pace.
The Pirate’s next step, to sweep the series this Friday.
