|
 Second baseman Neil Walker opened the inning with a single to
right field. Center fielder Andrew McCutchen struck out, but Alvarez
hit his seventh homer of the season off Sergio Santos (0-2) to draw
the Pirates even for the first time since the fourth inning. After
Ike Davis flew out to center as a pinch-hitter, Marte followed with
the game-winning home run to center field.
Mark Melancon (1-1) earned the win after he worked a scoreless top
half of the frame.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said he kept reminding his players to
"stay relentless" in their approach, despite having lost 15 of their
last 20 games, and it finally paid off with the comeback victory.
"This is the next opportunity for us to move upon some momentum, to
get a really good team victory, to finish what we started," Hurdle
said. "We kept creating opportunities, our pitching held it
together, we played some good defense -- it was more along the lines
of what we do and how we do it."
In particular, the win was good for the players who delivered it.
Alvarez struggled to raise his batting average over the Mendoza Line
in April while Marte was removed from his normal spot atop the
batting order.
"Obviously [the home run] feels really good," Alvarez said. "It kept
us in the game but of course anytime I can get a clutch hit for the
team, to contribute to a W, it's huge."
When Marte hit his home run, Alvarez said the team was "ecstatic" as
it sailed in the Pirates bullpen behind the fence in center field.
While the Pirates gain some momentum, the Blue Jays continued to
struggle and have lost seven of their last nine games. For manager
John Gibbons, the problems stem from the bullpen.
"We've coughed up way too many early this season, that's for sure,"
Gibbons said. "So we've definitely gotta get better and if that mean
adjusting some things, that s what we ve gotta do.
Pittsburgh's victory spoiled the return of former Pirate Jose
Bautista, who doubled twice and drove in a run for the Blue Jays.
Colby Rasmus hit a two-run home run and Brett Lawrie finished
2-for-4.
Walker finished 3-for-4 and scored three runs for Pittsburgh, while
McCutchen finished 3-for-5 and drove in two runs.
Brandon Morrow made the start for Toronto and allowed three runs on
11 hits over five innings of work. After he issued eight walks in
his April 26 start against the Boston Red Sox, Morrow walked just
one batter Friday night.
"I just forgot about that and went out and threw the way I'd been
throwing before that," Morrow said. "I wasn't thinking about that
and I don t think it was strange to come out and have good command
today."
Pirates starter Gerrit Cole gave up four runs on seven hits in five
innings, and failed to pitch through the sixth inning for the first
time this season. Even though his performance wasn't up to his
personal standard, Cole said the win was "huge" for the team after
it had been battling for a while.
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"Tonight, we finally got paid,"
Cole said. We kept battling at-bats, we kept grinding guys out and
Pedro caught that ball then Marte does and oh my gosh, it's a whole
different ballgame. It's over."
In his first plate appearance at PNC Park since he was traded from
the Pirates to the Blue Jays in 2008, Bautista doubled down the left
field line. He then scored when first baseman Edwin Encarnacion
doubled to deep left-center to give the Jays for a 1-0 lead in the
first inning.
Pittsburgh evened the score in the second when first baseman Gaby
Sanchez scored from third as shortstop Jordy Mercer grounded into a
double play with the bases loaded and no outs. Morrow then struck
Cole out looking to escape a dangerous situation with only the one
run scoring.
The Pirates took their first lead of the night in the third when
McCutchen followed Walker's one-out double with a single up the
middle.
In the fourth, Rasmus sent the first pitch he saw from Cole into the
left field bleachers for a two-run homer that put Toronto up 3-2.
Toronto added another run in the fifth on Bautista's second double
of the night that scored shortstop Jose Reyes from third.
Walker and McCutchen teamed up again in the fifth, with Walker
doubling to right and McCutchen knocking him home to cut Toronto's
lead to 4-3.
After the starters departed, Toronto's bullpen locked down the
Pirates offense for three innings. The Blue Jays added an insurance
run in the sixth when third baseman Lawrie scored on a triple by
pinch-hitter Steve Tolleson off Pittsburgh reliever Justin Wilson.
But the woes returned in the ninth when Santos blew his third save
out of his last four opportunities.
"It just seems like everything I throw they barrel up and hit,"
Santos said. "We played such a great game today and it stinks to
blow it."
NOTES: RF Jose Bautista's first-inning double extended his hitting
streak to 12 games, the American League's longest active streak.
Bautista has also reached base in each of his 29 games this season.
... CF Andrew McCutchen is now batting .462 (18-for-39) in his last
10 games against AL teams.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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