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Tuesday, Apr. 25 7:05pm ET
Bucs end skid, Hoffman's save streak | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Unlikely hitter, unlikely pitcher. Adrian Brown isn't the hitter the Pittsburgh Pirates expected to end their losing streak -- and Trevor Hoffman wasn't the pitcher they expected to do it against. Brown doubled and scored the tying run in the ninth against Hoffman, one of baseball's best closer, then tripled and scored the winning run in the 11th as the Pirates rallied to beat San Diego 4-3 on Tuesday night. Brown tripled down the right-field line with one out in the 11th. With the infield drawn in, Warren Morris lined a single into short right field off Carlos Almanzar (0-1). "I like a situation like that, with the runner on third and one out," Morris said. "I just have to take a good swing and let whatever happens happen. I felt I had a couple of good at-bats in a row and I didn't feel any pressure there." Scott Sauerbeck (1-0) got the final out in the 11th for the victory as the Pirates stopped a four-game losing streak. The Padres had won three in a row. The Pirates trailed 3-2 going into the ninth, only to tie it as Hoffman blew his first save in 36 opportunities -- the longest streak in the majors. Hoffman had struck out seven of the last eight batters he faced until Brown, in a 0-for-11 slump, doubled down the left-field line on a 3-2 pitch to start the ninth. Brown advanced on Morris' grounder. Jason Kendall, batting third for the first time this season as manager Gene Lamont shook up his lineup, hit a hard grounder to third. Third baseman Phil Nevin swiped at Brown and missed him, then threw wildly into the dirt at first to allow Kendall to reach and Brown to score. Nevin had two of the Padres' three infield throwing errors. "He's probably the best closer in the game," Brown said of Hoffman. "I knew he probably was going to work me away, and I got a good pitch and just flipped it out there. We needed this real bad, to end the streak and get on a streak of our own." The Pirates had lost six of seven to fall six games under .500 at 6-12. They were never more than five under .500 last season. Hoffman, who finished each of the Padres' three weekend victories in Houston, had converted 124 of his previous 129 save chances. The blown save was his 32nd in 264 career opportunities, the fewest among all pitchers with as many chances. "I wouldn't say it's stunning, but it's disappointing," Hoffman said. "The job is to hold leads and we didn't get it done. The pitch (to Brown) could have been down a little more, but I'm not going to second guess myself." The Padres led 2-1 and 3-2, but couldn't hold either lead. Damian Jackson doubled ahead of Tony Gwynn's go-ahead two-run single in the sixth off Todd Ritchie, then singled and scored the run that made it 3-2 on Bret Boone's RBI single in the eighth off Mike Garcia. Jackson scored easily in the eighth but Ryan Klesko, apparently thinking the play wouldn't be close, came in standing up and was tagged out by catcher Kendall. That lost run would prove costly. "He was just standing there with his glove hanging down and all of a sudden the ball was there," Klesko said. "I didn't see anybody telling me not to stand up, but I should have slid, no doubt about it." The Pirates tied it at 2 without the benefit of a hit in the seventh. Matt Whisenant walked Morris, who advanced on a pair of wild pitches before scoring on Giles' sacrifice fly. Giles, dropped to cleanup from third in the batting order, also had a run-scoring double in the first after Kendall reached on shortstop Jackson's throwing error. Lamont changed every batter in the order, with Kevin Young dropping from fourth to fifth, Morris moving to second and Pat Meares dropping to seventh. Ritchie, who had seen the Pirates win eight of his last nine starts dating to last season, allowed three runs and nine hits in seven innings. Padres starter Sterling Hitchcock didn't figure in the decision despite allowing only an unearned run in six innings. The Padres have lost one-run decisions in each of his five starts. Game notesPirates RHP Jason Schmidt, on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, will be reevaluated after he throws on the sideline Thursday. An MRI test on Schmidt's shoulder proved negative. ... The Pirates' 13 homers are the fewest in the majors. They have one in their last six games. ... The Padres have lost 13 of Hitchcock's past 15 starts. ... Padres OF Kory DeHaan, a Rule 5 draft pick from Pittsburgh, struck out in his first two major league at-bats. ... Gwynn was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position until he singled. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard San Diego Clubhouse Pittsburgh Clubhouse RECAPS Minnesota 6 NY Yankees 1
Pittsburgh 4
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