|
 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."
[to top of second column] |
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).
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
