NewsBucs' rally falls short in loss to Mets
LaRoche's two-run home run in the ninth not enough
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
07/02/09 8:13 PM ET
PITTSBURGH -- Evident in the Pirates' 9-8, 10-inning loss to the Mets in front of 14,312 at PNC Park on Thursday afternoon was the fact that the battle isn't yet over for Paul Maholm. But it was the battle in the Pirates that at least mitigated a disappointing end to a 10-game homestand.First baseman Adam LaRoche ensured that a makeup game that had already endured two rain delays -- a 30-minute one at the onset and a 43-minute delay with one out in the top of the first -- would last even longer.
With the Pirates down by two and Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez, owner of 21 saves in 23 chances, on the mound, LaRoche followed Freddy Sanchez's infield single with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. Game tied, 8-8.
And the rally wasn't over quite yet. Consecutive two-out singles advanced catcher Robinzon Diaz, the potential winning run, to third and brought Brandon Moss, who had entered the game after Delwyn Young was ejected for arguing a called third strike in the eighth, to the plate. Moss responded with a scorching line drive, but it was hit right to second baseman Luis Castillo. Into extras the game would go.
"You don't get to a very good closer very often," manager John Russell said. "We were just inches away from winning that game."
Added LaRoche: "Moss comes up and has an unbelievable at-bat, hits it right on the screws and nothing comes of it. That's kind of the way it went today."
It wouldn't be long until all that effort was sapped by the Mets' response. Closer Matt Capps came on to preserve the tie, but got into trouble when his two-out, 2-2 fastball plunked Fernando Tatis in the upper back. Tatis immediately swiped second and Ryan Church played hero with a single to drive him in.
Center fielder Andrew McCutchen appeared to have a play at the plate on the base hit, but his throw home sailed well over the head of Diaz.
"Right when I threw it, I was saying all kinds of prayers to get it down," McCutchen said. "It just got away from me. I had a chance to make that play but wasn't able to come through for us."
Rodriguez, the blown save behind him, then retired the Pirates in order in the bottom half of the inning. For Pittsburgh, it was its fourth loss in five games.
"Well, I'm the kind of guy if I make a mess -- clean it up," Rodriguez said.
Visibly disappointed by the end result, the Pirates hit the road for a 10-day trip at least feeling encouraged by the life the offense showed in the loss.
For all the troubles they have endured in recent days, the Pirates broke out for four extra-base hits -- matching their total from the previous three games combined -- in the first three innings while racing to a 5-0 lead.
The catalyst all afternoon was outfielder Garrett Jones, fresh off a summons from Triple-A. He scored three times, with a second-inning double, third-inning triple and seventh-inning home run among his day's accomplishments.
Jones' first hit was part of a three-run second for Pittsburgh in which Diaz, McCutchen and Jack Wilson drove in runs. An inning later, Jones tripled home LaRoche and came around to score on Diaz's second RBI single of the afternoon.
"He can provide some punch in the offense," Russell said. "Offensively we got him in there and some guys started swinging better. That's what we're looking for, what we did today."
But as soon as the offense could get comfortable, the Mets began pecking away. Reliably dominant at home all season, Maholm has fought with his bread-and-butter pitch, his sinker, for much of the last month. On Thursday, however, he battled his command with his entire repertoire.
"I felt fine and was throwing strikes, but thigh-high and down the middle is not going to cut it," said Maholm, who added that the early delays did not affect his performance. "I just kind of, for some reason, fell out of rhythm. Everything just kind of went [to the] middle [of the plate]."
The result was watching that five-run lead crumble in a two-inning span.
It started in the fourth, when three straight New York hitters singled before pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy drove two in with a one-out single. An inning-ending double play was the only thing that prevented the damage from worsening. In the end, though, it only stalled the inevitable.
It all came unraveled in the fifth. After surrendering a leadoff double to New York's Alex Cora, Maholm allowed four of the next five hitters to single, tying the game at 5.
"It wasn't Paul," Russell said. "He just wasn't on his game today. He elevated the ball. When you do that against a good team, they're going to bang some hits on you."
That fifth hit of the inning would mark the end of the day for Maholm, though he'd be charged with a sixth run -- and nearly his fifth loss of the season, if it hadn't been for the late-inning comeback -- when reliever Jeff Karstens allowed a sacrifice fly.
"Whenever you throw the ball down the middle, they get hits," said Maholm, who entered the game with a 1.96 ERA in six home starts this season. "Unfortunately, we had a five-run lead and I gave it up. On my part, that's pretty pathetic."
The 4 1/3-inning start, one in which the left-hander gave up 11 hits, was just the latest in a string of up-and-down results for Maholm. So reliable a year ago, he has now had five starts in a two-month span that have lasted five or fewer innings. He had only three such starts all of last season.
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
