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 Even so, he finished the night with a 1-0 record.
The San Diego Padres, down 3-0 and without Andy Green after the
rookie manager got thrown out in the third inning of his 14th game,
rallied behind bench-coach-turned-manager McGwire to defeat the
Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 Tuesday night.
Three Padres home runs in the span of six hitters in the fourth and
fifth innings were the difference.
Slumping Derek Norris and Adam Rosales powered back-to-back home
runs on drives of 400-plus feet in the fifth inning after Wil Myers
put San Diego on the board with a two-run homer in the fourth.
Myers and Norris connected off Pirates left-hander Francisco Liriano
(1-1). Rosales greeted right-handed reliever Arquimedes Caminero
with a solo shot after Liriano departed following Norris' go-ahead
homer.
Right-hander Colin Rea, who was at the middle of the third-inning
controversy that resulted in Green's ejection, picked up his first
win of the season, and closer Fernando Rodney earned his second save
with a perfect ninth.
Green was ejected in the top of the third during a heated debate
with plate umpire Mark Carlson over a balk call that was reversed,
then reversed a second time.
 A single by Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen, a hit batter, a
force at second and a steal put Pirates at second and third with two
outs in the third with Pittsburgh already leading 1-0.
As McCutchen made a deke to the plate, Rea (1-1) seemed to pause in
the middle of his delivery. Carlson immediately called a balk,
allowing McCutchen to score.
However, after conferring with the rest of the umpiring crew,
Carlson changed the call and sent McCutchen back to third. That call
was challenged by Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle, and after another
discussion, Carlson reversed his reversal and sent McCutchen home a
second time.
When Green came out to challenge the second reversal, words quickly
escalated between the Padres manager and Carlson.
"As long as I've been around, no one has reversed a reversal," Green
said. "I was genuinely outraged at the events as they occurred."
As Green erupted in front of Carlson, the 6-foot-5 McGwire came on
the field to separate his 5-foot-9 manager from Carlson.
"Big Mac is strong," Green said. "I was done when he put his hand on
me."
McGwire said, "I had to do something. It was time."
Green thought Hurdle should have been ejected after coming onto the
field a second time to argue the original reversal of the balk call.
"There was a whole lot of conversation going on," Hurdle said. "The
first time, it was all about, 'Can you speed up the delivery out of
the windup, not the stretch,' and I get that because there's plenty
of guys in the past couple of years that have done that quick pitch.
"Then I said there is disengagement from the rubber. I hate to say
it, but it was clearly evident on the big screen, and I told them,
'Maybe you guys didn't get the look you needed.'"
Hence, the second reversal.
"Showing it on the video didn't help us," McGwire said.
Crew chief Brian Gorman said, "The balk was committed by the pitcher
actually hopping on the rubber. We call it disengaging from the
rubber in the middle of the windup. When Clint came out the second
time and said, 'Wait a minute, he disengaged the rubber before he
released the ball.' and then we have to go with a balk there.
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"That's when Andy got a little heated."
A little? Afterward, several Padres players admitted they got a
charge out of Green's display of emotions.
"It kind of fired us up," Rosales said.
The Pirates were leading 3-2 when Padres second baseman Cory
Spangenberg opened bottom of the fourth with a single topped between
first and the mound, although he strained his left quadriceps while
making a headfirst dive into first.
Alexi Amarista ran for Spangenberg and scored ahead of Myers'
395-foot line drive into the left field seats for the first
baseman's third homer of the season.
Norris followed a one-out single by shortstop Alexei Ramirez with a
409-foot homer to straightaway center off Liriano to give the Padres
a 4-3 lead in the fifth. It was the first homer and RBIs of the
season for the catcher, who had been in a 2-for-18 slump.
Caminero followed Liriano and immediately gave up the 405-foot blast
by Rosales that hit off the flashing at the base of the roof of the
Western Metal Supply Co. building in left field. The homer was also
the first of the season for Rosales, who had been hitless in 14
consecutive at-bats.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the first on a walk and a steal by
McCutchen ahead of a single by third baseman David Freese.
Carlson got involved in a second controversy in the top of the
fourth. Pirates right fielder Gregory Polanco singled, stole second
and tried to score on shortstop Jordy Mercer's sharp single to
right.
Matt Kemp made a perfect throw to Norris, who incredulously looked
at Carlson after the umpire called Polanco safe.
The Padres appealed and Polanco was ruled out -- although Liriano
drove Mercer home from second with a subsequent single to make it
3-0.
NOTES: Padres RHP Tyson Ross played catch Tuesday for the first time
since he went on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation on
April 9. He is eligible to be activated Wednesday but will not be
ready to return. ... Padres 3B Yangervis Solarte, on the DL since
April 10 with a right hamstring strain, took batting practice from
the left side Tuesday but has yet to run on the field. Manager Andy
Green said Solarte would need a rehab assignment before he is
activated. ... Pirates INF Jung Ho Kang, who had knee surgery in
November, started a rehab assignment Sunday with Triple-A
Indianapolis. ... Pirates LF Starling Marte returned to the lineup
after being hit by a pitch on the right hand Saturday. He went
1-for-5 on Tuesday. ... After two starts at Class A, Padres RHP
Brandon Morrow (shoulder surgery in August) will move to Double-A
San Antonio to continue his rehab.
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