McDonald stellar in rain-delayed win over Astros
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James McDonald delivers against the Astros.
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James McDonald had his best outing of the season, striking out six batters in 7 1/3 innings, as the Pirates beat the Astros, 3-1, this afternoon at PNC Park.
McDonald allowed one earned run on three hits in his longest outing of the season.
The victory against the Astros (47-94) is the Pirates' third in their past four games. The Pirates (65-76) were swept in a three-game series at Houston one week ago.
Derrek Lee hit his fourth home run in eight games as a Pirate after hitting 12 in 85 with the Orioles to start the season. His opposite-field, eighth-inning home run padded the Pirates' lead. He has seven RBIs since returning from the disabled list Saturday and has scored three runs.
Joel Hanrahan earned his 35th save of the season, pitching a scoreless ninth inning.
The start of the game was delayed 56 minutes by a rain that never really stopped, but it let up enough to squeeze in a game. But it did not let up enough to entice a big crowd. The actual attendance was several thousand fewer than the announced paid attendance of 13,366.
McDonald continued to assert himself as the Pirates' strongest pitcher of the second half of the season. Since the All-Star break, he has allowed three or fewer runs in eight of his 10 outings. But today was only his fourth win of the second half of the season.
Only once in his career had McDonald pitched beyond the seventh inning -- he lasted eight innings and took the loss in a 1-0 Mets victory against the Pirates on Sept. 13, 2010.
He threw 91 pitches today and showed control, throwing 65 strikes.
McDonald's biggest lapse of the day -- a four-pitch walk to opposing pitcher Henry Sosa in the third inning -- came back to haunt him.
Two batters after Sosa, Jose Altuve tripled to right field, allowing Sosa to score from first and give the Astros a 1-0 lead.
Altuve's triple glanced off the glove of Jose Tabata.
Tabata, who has been battling a left wrist injury, left the game after the third inning. He grimaced after swinging at strike three, an indication that the injury had flared up.
McDonald and Sosa squared off in Houston last Tuesday with Sosa getting the best of McDonald in an 8-2 Astros' win.
Sosa (2-3) was less effective than he was less than one week earlier -- but not by much. He allowed two earned runs on six hits in six innings.
The Pirates tagged him for two runs in the fourth inning. Andrew McCutchen hit a leadoff single, and Sosa hit Derrek Lee with a pitch to put runners on first and second. After Neil Walker flew out to left, Ryan Doumit doubled to left field, scoring McCutchen.
Lee scored on an RBI single by Josh Harrison.
McDonald exited the game in the eighth after a pair of walks put runners on first and second with one out. Reliever Jason Grilli got Altuve to hit into a force out and struck out J.D. Martinez to end the inning.
First Published September 5, 2011 4:56 pm
