Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Click photo for larger image.
Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press Pirates' Jason Bay knocks the ball loose from Astros catcher Eric Munson to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighteenth inning last night at PNC Park. The Pirates beat the Astros 8-7, on a sacrifice fly to center by Pirates' Jose Bautista that scored Bay from third. Click photo for larger image. Today Matchup: Pirates (Oliver Perez 2-5) vs. Astros (Fernando Nieve 1-3), 1:35 p.m. Where: PNC Park TV/Radio: FSN Pittsburgh/KDKA-AM (1020) and Pirates Radio Network. Related articles Pirates Notebook: Craig Wilson's almost certain return to bench leaves him very unhappy Paul Meyer's Baseball Notebook: A Royals' PAIN Paul Meyer's Power Rankings: 5/28/06 Smizik: Sinking Pirates have little hope of resurfacing anytime soon Game Statistics Provided by Forecaster Pirates vs. Astros box score Game play-by-play

For one night and, yes, a good chunk of one morning, they were a team.

One that had a purpose after 48 games of mostly misery.

One determined to finish this one off after so many close calls.

One that was standing at the top of the dugout, hands linked, hoping and hopping with nervous energy, all eager to see if Jason Bay's desperate sprint from third base would pay off.

"It's the kind of moment," reliever Ryan Vogelsong would say later, "that brings everyone together."

What followed would tear them apart, but only because they had to leap chaotically over the railing to mob Bay at home plate after he scored the run that ended one of the Pirates' great games in recent memory, an 18-inning, 8-7 triumph against the Houston Astros earlier today at PNC Park.

It ended at 12:55 a.m., it consumed five hours and 49 minutes, and it was the franchise's highest inning count since another 18-inning marathon, Aug. 6, 1989, a 5-4 victory against the Chicago Cubs at Three Rivers Stadium.

It was 23 minutes shy of the Pirates' longest game, Aug. 25, 1979, at San Diego, and four innings shy of the most innings, 22, Aug. 22, 1917, at Brooklyn.

Not that anyone could tell from the buoyant clubhouse.

"It's a tremendous game," manager Jim Tracy said. "It's the type of game that will just kill you for a period if you lose it. But to win it ... it's a tremendous boost. It's the type of game that can rally a team."

"What a feeling!" reliever Mike Gonzalez said. "Man, this is just huge for us. Did you see how we never gave up, how we never stopped believing."

The 18th ended with drama befitting the first 17.

Bay led off by drawing a walk off fresh reliever Mike Gallo, then took second on a wild pitch. When the count reached 2-1 on Craig Wilson, the Astros decided to intentionally walk him, but Gallo's toss on ball four sailed to the backstop. Bay took third, Wilson first.

Dave Borkowski relieved Gallo, and Jose Bautista sent up a shallow pop to center. Willy Taveras caught it, and third base coach Jeff Cox waved Bay home.

The throw arrived to catcher Eric Munson in plenty of time to nail him, but Bay never broke stride.

"I was scoring there, believe me," he said. "After 18 innings, I'm just looking for the plate there. I didn't see it, so I lowered my shoulder and found it."

Bay leveled Munson, and the ball popped loose. Bay slightly overslid the plate, then reached back and thumped it with his right hand to ignite a raucous celebration from the thousands of diehards from the original crowd of 31,878 who stuck it out.

And that, incredibly, was only one small facet of a remarkable game.

The earliest sign that this one might be special came in the fifth inning, when Bay crushed Houston starter Wandy Rodriguez's first-pitch fastball off the batter's-eye backdrop beyond center field.

It was a three-run shot that put the Pirates up, 5-4, and it was more:

Bay became the second in franchise history to homer in five consecutive games. He joined Dale Long, who hit eight in a row in 1956 and still shares the Major League Baseball record.

That streak is third-longest in the game this season, behind the Texas Rangers' Kevin Mench (7) and Ensberg (6)

Bay has nine home runs in the past nine games, a span of 40 at-bats, and 15 for the season. That puts him on a precise pace for 50 for the season.

"He's carrying the club, like I've seen great players do," Tracy said.

Bay showed uncharacteristic emotion in pumping his fist as he rounded first on the home run, but it was nothing compared to the rare Pittsburgh curtain call he received and acknowledged with a doff of his helmet.

Of the reaction, Bay said, "It meant the world to me."

Of the home run, he said, "Seems like it was three days ago."

More drama ...

In the eighth, Houston took a 6-5 lead only to have it answered in the bottom half by pinch-hitter Jeromy Burnitz's eighth home run, a leadoff blast to the center-field seats off reliever Dan Wheeler's 1-2 fastball.

After a season-long slump, Burnitz is batting .444 in his past eight games.

The score would remain 6-6 for the next eight innings, as the Pirates and Astros spent reliever after reliever. Everyone in both bullpens would be used by the time it ended, and 45 of 50 total players would be used, bringing about the bizarre scenes such as Houston' Andy Pettitte, an American League pitcher most of his career, pinch-hitting in the 15th. There even was a second chorus of "Take me out to the ballgame" in what the public address annnouncer described as "the 14th inning stretch."

Through that span, what stood out was the work of Vogelsong. Although he was pitching a third consecutive game, he entered in the 13th as the last man out of the bullpen and lasted five innings, largely because he threw an efficient 55 pitches in limiting the Astros to one run and three hits.

"He was terrific," Tracy said. "For him to go out there and do what he did ... what a pickup."

"Ah, I was fine," Vogelsong said. "I probably could have gone one more inning."

He paused and smiled.

"At most."

The run Vogelsong allowed came in the 17th, when Taveras roped an RBI single to center with a full count and two outs to put Houston up, 7-6.

It was quite short-lived.

Jose Castillo led off the bottom half of that inning, and he turned on Gallo's first pitch, a changeup, to send it into the bullpen and tie the score.

To that point, Castillo was 0 for 7, which might explain why he barely had a reaction to the home run, his fourth.

"I was mad before I went up there," Castillo said. "I'm happy now."

Victor Santos, the Pirates' starter scheduled to pitch Monday, was summoned in an emergency role for the 18th and put down Houston despite a two-out double and intentional walk.

"That's just a total, total team effort from top to bottom," Vogelsong said. "It just seemed like we were going to win no matter what. Everybody had a piece of it."

Houston manager Phil Garner, ejected in the eighth inning for protesting a close play at the plate, sought out a positive spin for the Astros' fifth consecutive defeat, a devastating one at that.

"We fought hard," Garner said. "We had opportunities to win, but we didn't capitalize. I think we'll bounce back."

This afternoon, the Pirates can complete their first three-game sweep since July 2004.

"Now, let's do it: Let's get the sweep," Bay said. "A game like this builds character. You want to ride it."