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Bench backs Pirates past Rockies, 4-2
Phelps hits tying home run in 8th, Sanchez wins it in 11th
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

DENVER -- It was Freddy Sanchez's tiebreaking single in the 11th inning that made the difference in the Pirates' 4-2 downing of the Colorado Rockies last night at Coors Field.

But it was, without a doubt, the team's suddenly productive bench that set the stage once again.

"We're getting contributions from everybody," manager Jim Tracy said. "And it's a great thing to see, something that lifts everyone up."

Go back to the seventh.

Matt Morris' finest outing with the Pirates -- two runs, one earned, in 6 2/3 innings -- had just ended shortly after he gave up Troy Tulowitzki's solo home run with two outs and a full count. The Rockies had a 2-1 lead, and they had one of the best bullpens in the National League ready to make it stand up.

Game over?

Almost surely, that would have been the case with the bench the Pirates carried for the first half, which was, without question, the worst in Major League Baseball.

But now ...

Josh Phelps carried his big bat to the plate in the top of the eighth against Rockies reliever LaTroy Hawkins, who had dominated opponents all month. He worked a 1-1 count, waited for a fastball he thought he could handle, then lasered it over the left-field fence to tie the score.

It was Phelps' sixth home run, half of those coming in the past week. And it was the Pirates' seventh pinch-hit home run, their fourth in August.

"I saw it tailing in a little," Phelps said. "But I was able to pull back my swing a little and get the barrel on it."

"That guy has paid big dividends for our club," Tracy said of Phelps.

The payoff was still to come.

John Grabow, Shawn Chacon, Salomon Torres and Damaso Marte pitched scoreless relief to get the Pirates to the decisive 11th.

The 10th was the hairiest in that span, with three men reaching safely but none scoring. One was -- sit down for this -- caught stealing on a bounced throw by Ronny Paulino. The other two, the result of two-out walks by Marte, were stranded when he got Jamey Carroll to fly out, then paused a moment on the mound to look at the sky and exhale.

"Great job by everybody," Tracy said.

It was the bench's turn next.

Pinch-hitter Cesar Izturis opened the 11th with a six-pitch walk off Colorado reliever Brian Fuentes, even though Fuentes had jumped to a 1-2 count.

"His pitches didn't look the same to me as when I've seen him before," Izturis said. "I just wanted to be patient there."

Izturis has hit safely in 11 of his past 14 games, including 4 for 6 as a pinch-hitter.

Nate McLouth bunted him to second, and next came Matt Kata, who earned a start after his pinch-hitting produced a home run Friday and a three-run double Sunday.

He was in an 0-2 hole, but Fuentes' fastball nailed him in the elbow.

No great achievement there, of course, but Kata had contributed earlier with a first-inning triple that resulted in the Pirates' initial run.

That brought up Sanchez, batting .368 against left-handers, and he plopped a 1-1 fastball into center field to break the 2-2 tie.

One out later, Jason Bay's grounder to third was muffed by third baseman Garrett Atkins, and an insurance run came across.

Matt Capps breezed through the bottom of the inning for his 12th save, and the Pirates had their third consecutive victory, as well as a fine start to this seven-game road trip.

How large a role the Pirates' bench has played in this awesome offensive August -- their 133 runs are most in the majors -- cannot be overstated. In addition to the pinch-hitters batting .500 -- 15 for 30 -- they also have been highly effective as starters.

Asked if that makes a difference in how he manages a game, Tracy laughed and replied, "The difference is that we're winning a lot more. We're getting people on base, and we're bringing experienced guys up there in situations to deliver."

The Pirates' bench to open the season was Brad Eldred, Don Kelly, Humberto Cota, Ryan Doumit and McLouth. Only the latter two lasted more than two months, and only Cota had significant major-league experience.

A 30-year-old veteran such as Kata, by contrast, has played bench roles with several teams.

"Anytime a manager, when the situation dictates, can look down his bench and know he has some options, it makes his job easier," Kata said. "And it helps put Ws on the board, too."

He paused.

"But you know, it's a tough role, man. You're coming off the bench cold sometimes and seeing live pitching ... it's one of the toughest things to do in the game."

Morris, still winless since the Pirates acquired him, gave up seven hits and three walks, but he spread those out and, more important, worked out of jams.

He stranded two in the fourth after a dropped popup by right fielder Jose Bautista led to an unearned run, although replays strongly indicated that first base umpire Andy Fletcher ruled incorrectly. Bautista appeared to squeeze the ball, then lose it on the transfer.

Morris also left men at second and third in the sixth by whiffing Ryan Spilborghs and Yorvit Torrealba each on ... um, high heat. Well, as hot as one can consider pitches that registered 88 mph.

"Yeah, if you want to call it heat," Morris said with a grin. "It just felt great to go out there and make all my pitches, including the fastball. I went offspeed on them a lot early, then kind of switched up the momentum."

The Pirates have won four of five, all from contenders, and eight of 12.



First published at PG NOW on August 21, 2007 at 1:24 am
Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.