Walker double helps Pirates edgeTigers in extras

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[July 01, 2015]  DETROIT -- It was a good victory for Pittsburgh and maybe a better one for Deolis Guerra.

Neil Walker lined a two-out RBI double into the right field corner to score Josh Harrison from second base in the 14th inning Tuesday night and give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

The victory went to right-hander Deolis Guerra, 26, who in the last four days has pitched his first three games in the major leagues. Guerra (1-0) pitched the last three innings to get the win and got Detroit designated hitter Victor Martinez to hit into a game-ending double play.

"It's amazing," Guerra said afterward. "I've waited for this for my whole life. It's a dream come true."

Guerra was signed out of Venezuela as a 16-year-old but spent 10 seasons in the minors before getting the call by Pittsburgh.

"We always battle," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said, his team having completed a 17-9 month of June. "Sometimes things don't go our way, so it's 'So what, now what.' And Guerra shows up."

The win wasn't without its tribulations, however.
 


Pittsburgh stranded 19 baserunners in the 14 innings and a baserunning gaffe nearly prevented the Pirates from a shot at scoring the winning run.

Detroit right-hander Alex Wilson, who worked 3 1/3 innings as the sixth of seven relievers used by the Tigers, struck out the first batter of the 14th but gave up a single to catcher Chris Stewart.

Gorkys Hernandez was put in to pinch-run for Stewart and botched things up right away.

Pinch-hitter Josh Harrison greeted losing reliever Tom Gorzelanny (1-2) with a fly ball to deep right center that center fielder Rajai Davis nearly snagged, the ball falling out of his glove as he fell on the warning track dirt trying for a diving catch.

Harrison nearly ran into Hernandez, who quickly recovered and scooted to third as cutoff man second baseman Ian Kinsler fired the ball to the plate.

Unfortunately for him, everybody in the Detroit dugout saw him cut by second without retouching it on his way to third. Having rounded second on Harrison's fly ball, Hernandez retouched second on his way back to first, thinking the ball might be caught, but cut inside the base as Harrison pushed him to the next base.

"We all saw it," Wilson said. "The fans wanted it done right away. But there is protocol to follow. You have to face the next batter, call time and throw to the base."

Hernandez was ruled out on appeal for the second out of the inning but Walker lined Gorzelanny's outside 3-2 pitch down the right field line for his game-winning double.

"Again we battled back, kind of similar to the way we did with (White Sox right-hander Jeff) Samardzija the other day," Tigers' manager Brad Ausmus said. "But we were unable to put that final run on the board. The bullpen did a really nice job.

"But we just couldn't push that final run across."

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Right fielder J.D. Martinez tied the score, 4-4, with a one-out two-run home run off an 0-1 pitch from left-hander Tony Watson in the eighth. Designated hitter Victor Martinez had led off the inning with a single.

Right-hander Gerrit Cole worked the first 6 2/3 innings but gave up both his runs and seven of his nine hits in his final 2 2/3 innings.

Kinsler doubled home catcher James McCann, who had singled, to chase the starter with two out to bring Pittsburgh's lead down to 3-2.

Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen's RBI single off right-hander Joba Chamberlain with two out in the eight had boosted the Pirates lead to 4-2.

Right-hander Justin Verlander, who missed his last start with a sore back, struggled through three innings before finding his rhythm. He gave up six hits but walked five and struck out three. One of the three runs he allowed was unearned.

McCann had an RBI double on fan interference in the fifth following singles by J.D. Martinez and third baseman Nick Castellanos.

The Pirates took a 3-0 lead with a pair of third-inning runs. Left fielder Starling Marte beat out a bunt single and stopped at third on a one-out double by first baseman Pedro Alvarez.

Marte scored when designated hitter Francisco Cervello reached first on a dropped throw by first baseman Miguel Cabrera from second base and Alvarez scored on a sacrifice fly to right by shortstop Jody Mercer.

Pittsburgh got its first run in the second inning on a single by Mercer, a double by catcher Chris Stewart and a sacrifice fly to left by right fielder Gregory Polanco.

NOTES: Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh threw out the ceremonial first pitch. "He should have a pretty good arm," his catcher, Detroit manager Brad Ausmus, said of the former quarterback. ... Pittsburgh has 16 dads on the trip to Detroit, including Tom Walker, father of Pirates 2B Neil and father-in-law of former Tigers player Don Kelly. ... Tigers RHP Alex Wilson says he's unabashedly signed some autographs for folks who have mistaken him for actor Chris Pratt. "I'm sure he's not getting any attention for looking like a Tigers reliever," Wilson said. ... The Pirates have had four pitchers with 12 wins before the All-Star break entering Tuesday: Ken Brett (12-6, 1974), Dock Ellis (14-3, 1971), ElRoy Face (12-0, 1959) and Rip Sewell (12-2, 1943).

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