Tony Dejak, Associated Press Pirates' Jason Bay watches his ball after hitting a solo home run off Indians pitcher Guillermo Mota in the ninth inning last night in Cleveland. Click photo for larger image. Today Matchup: Pirates (Paul Maholm 2-4) vs. Indians (Paul Byrd 4-3), 1:05 p.m. Where: Jacobs Field, Cleveland. TV/Radio:FSN/KDKA-AM (1020) and Pirates Radio Network. Related articles Pirates Notebook: Casey's rehabilitation stint in minors could start Friday Paul Meyer's Baseball Notebook: No maybes for Padres Cook: Leyland has the eye of the tiger Smizik: Littlefield's poor track record gives reason for doubt Collier: Pirates obviously don't have game to play for ESPN Game Statistics Provided by Forecaster Pirates vs. Indians box score Game play-by-play

CLEVELAND -- The way Jason Bay saw it, the Pirates' offense-laden 9-6 win against Cleveland last night occurred at a spectacularly propitious time.

"Something like what happened [Friday] night can cripple a team for a week or two," Bay said.

Bay's allusion was to C.C. Sabathia's Friday Night Massacre when he threw a dominating three-hitter at the Pirates.

Last night, though, the Pirates, led by Bay, scored in each of the first four innings to build an 8-2 lead. Then, Bay capped the 14-hit, four-homer offensive with his second home run of the game to give closer Mike Gonzalez some unnecessary insurance.

Gonzalez blew away the Indians, striking out the side with impressive heat to notch his sixth save.

"That ninth inning was his best inning of the year," manager Jim Tracy said.

"It was a definite rush," Gonzalez said. "But, at the time, you're just trying to do what you're supposed to do."

Bay, who had three hits, has driven in 18 runs in his past 12 games.

"He's starting to heat up," Tracy noted.

"I know I'm a big part of this offense, hitting in the middle of the order," Bay said. "It makes it tough when the team's losing and you're not doing anything. It makes it a little tougher to swallow. You start trying to do too much."

Last night, Bay did plenty.

The Pirates had scored twice before he swung into action.

Nate McLouth homered to begin the game, setting the tone for the cool evening.

The Pirates frittered away most of a great scoring opportunity in the second. Jeromy Burnitz had a leadoff double, then moved to third on Ryan Doumit's single to left. All that came of it, though, was Burnitz's scoring on Craig Wilson's double-play bouncer.

The Indians, who were a major league-best 15-3 in interleague play last season, tied the game with two runs in the second.

The Pirates regained the lead with two outs in the third.

Jack Wilson singled. Freddy Sanchez walked. Bay drove a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall.

Jose Castillo's two-run homer deep into the left-field seats and some perky base-running by McLouth gave the Pirates three more runs in the fourth.

McLouth, who walked after Castillo's homer, stole second on a sign from the bench. He stole third on the next pitch -- without a sign. Tracy applauded that move, too.

"He's a very good base-runner -- a very knowledgeable base-runner," Tracy said.

"The pitcher didn't look back when he came set," McLouth said. "I anticipated and went. I absolutely love stealing third and throwing the pitcher off his rhythm."

McLouth scored on Jack Wilson's sacrifice fly.

The three-run burst should have put the Pirates on course for a cruise, but Castillo and Ian Snell helped the Indians score three runs in the fourth.

Snell walked Ben Broussard to begin the inning. Ronnie Belliard chopped a ball past the mound on which Sanchez made a good play. Sanchez had the out at second -- which is all the Pirates needed on the play -- but Castillo, in his unwise haste to try to complete a highlight-reel double play, dropped the throw.

Castillo made a good play on Todd Hollandsworth's smash and got an out at second. But Lou Merloni, on what should have been the third out, tapped to shortstop to score Belliard.

Then, Snell yielded a two-run home run to Grady Sizemore.

After the inning, Tracy immediately confronted Castillo in the dugout to inform him about the nuances of the game and how they can influence the outcome.

"It was a defensive miscue," Tracy told reporters after the game. "It was not a turnable double play. We could have defused that inning into a zero. We could have put that inning down with no runs."

Snell got through the fifth inning, but it took him 105 pitches to put himself in position to pocket the win.

"I had to hang in there a lot," said Snell, who walked five. "Those guys are great hitters. They made it tough on me. I pitched around their big guys. I didn't want their big guys to beat me."

Fausto Carmona, who relieved starter Jason Johnson in the fourth, gave the Indians a chance by pitching 3 2/3 scoreless innings. All the Indians got from that, though, was a run off Salomon Torres in the seventh.