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Facing the prospect of being one game away from 100 losses, the Pirates showed some resiliency.
Their starter worked out of a tough jam. Their bats showed some power. They didn't make all the plays on defense, but executed some tough ones at crucial times. Their bullpen kept the score tied when it needed to.
And Andrew McCutchen fought through a stomach bug to draw a crucial pinch-hit walk.
Ronny Cedeno's walk-off single scored McCutchen from second and gave the Pirates a 4-3 win against the Diamondbacks in front of 22,939 at PNC Park Friday.
Game: Pirates vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, 7:05 p.m., PNC Park.
TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WPGB-FM (104.7).
Pitching: RHP James McDonald (3-5, 4.13) vs. RHP Barry Enright (6-4, 3.39).
Key matchup: McDonald takes on all comers. He has not allowed a run in 17 innings, second-longest active streak in Major League Baseball.
Of note: Delwyn Young has 15 pinch-hits, four shy of the franchise record set by Jose Pagan in 1969.
"He's making a statement," manager John Russell said of Cedeno. "I think that's what he really wants to do."
The win broke a four-game losing streak for the Pirates, who were swept by the Mets in New York and went 1-6 on their most recent road trip.
"New York, we were in a couple games but couldn't find a way," Russell said. "[Friday night] we did."
McCutchen was a late scratch from the game because he felt sick when he arrived at the park.
"I could barely get out of bed today," he said.
But he laid down, ate something and started feeling better by the fifth inning. With one out in the ninth, he drew a walk, as did Doumit behind him, off Diamondbacks reliever Esmerling Vasquez.
"Just bear down in there and battle," McCutchen said of his at-bat.
Then Cedeno popped his single to center field.
"I'm trying to put the ball in play because I know Cutch, he can run," Cedeno said. "I know they're going to throw me inside, but I'm going to stay inside the ball."
The ninth-inning events won the game, but starter Brian Burres kept them close until that point. He did not earn a decision -- Evan Meek got the win after two-thirds of an inning of scoreless relief -- but pitched a solid game for the Pirates, throwing seven innings and allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits. This was his third quality start in a row.
"I felt like I pitched pretty good," Burres said. "It's just good to see the offense come through and get that win today.
Joel Hanrahan also pitched 11/3 innings of scoreless relief.
Burres battled his way out of a tough spot in the sixth. After Stephen Drew doubled, Chris Young bunted between the mound and first base. Burres fielded the ball with his glove, then used his glove to flip it to Garrett Jones covering first. Young was ruled safe. Russell came out to argue with first base umpire Dale Scott, but went back to the dugout in peace, drawing boos from the crowd.
"Dale pretty much told me he missed the call at first," Russell said. "It really put Brian in a really tough spot."
So Burres and the defense buckled down. With two on and no outs, Burres struck out Kelly Johnson with a good breaking pitch. He then caught Young trying to steal on first motion and threw to Jones at first, who threw to Cedeno at second to nab Young. Burres struck out Adam LaRoche to end the threat.
"It's really a lot of just focusing on each pitch," Burres said. "Usually when you do that the pitch goes where you want it to."
Neil Walker hit a solo home run in the first inning, breaking an 0-for-14 slump as well as Arizona starter Ian Kennedy's 17-inning scoreless streak. In the third, an error by Pedro Alvarez and an RBI double and single scored two for Arizona.
Cedeno tied the score in the fifth when he scored on Jose Tabata's RBI double, and Doumit's solo home run over the 375-foot sign in right-center field tied the score, 303, in the seventh. The Pirates are now 17-12 when hitting two or more home runs.
Colin Dunlap's blog on the Pirates is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
