Old ways creep back in Pirates' 5-2 loss
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LOS ANGELES - And there it was, creeping back like the cockroach everyone thought was dead months ago, the Pirates' first-half formula for failure.
Remember how it went?
The starting pitcher coughs up a few in the first inning, the offense claws back but blows several chances to bust it open, and the opponent is the one exchanging congratulatory handshakes at game's end.
Well, here it was anew ...
Shane Youman was tagged with an Olmedo Saenz two-run home run in the first, the offense tied it up but would go 2 for 11 with runners position, and the Pirates squandered a chance at a three-game sweep of Los Angeles by falling, 5-2, last night at Dodger Stadium.
"We don't have anything to be ashamed of," manager Jim Tracy said. "It was a good series for us and a good game."
Except, as he pointed out, for one element that had been mostly -- but blissfully -- missing during this 35-28 run since the All-Star break.
"This boiled down to what we didn't do offensively," Tracy said. "We did not cash in. We put ourselves into position -- repeatedly -- to sweep here, but ... when you're playing a club of this caliber, you have to make the most of those opportunities."
"It did kind of feel like the first half a little," shortstop Jack Wilson said. "But it was there for us, and we know it. If we could come up with those hits everyday, we'd be 162-0."
As it was, the Pirates' five-game winning streak, which matched a season high, fizzled. So did their bid for a first road sweep since May 2004.
On the other side, the desperate Dodgers finally came up for air. They remained a half-game behind San Diego in the West Division and inched a half-game ahead of idle Philadelphia in the wild-card race.
And they owe much of that to Saenz's preemptive strike.
Rafael Furcal singled on Youman's second pitch of the evening. After Furcal was erased on a fielder's choice, Saenz ripped an elevated 1-0 fastball into the left-field pavilion for a 2-0 lead.
Danny Moloshok, Associated PressPirates' Ryan Doumit gets thrown out by home plate umpire Greg Gibson while arguing after being called out on strikes last night against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the eighth inning in Los Angeles.
Click photo for larger image.
Matchup: Pirates (Tom Gorzelanny 2-3) vs. Padres (Chris Young 10-5), 10:10 p.m.
Where: Petco Park, San Diego, Calif.
TV/Radio: FSN Pittsburgh/KDKA-AM (1020) and Pirates Radio Network.
Scouting Report: San Diego Padres
Pirates Notebook: Closers closing in on perfection
Pirates Q&A with Dejan Kovacevic
LAST GAME: Sanchez went 2 for 4 with 1 RBI against the Dodgers.
Freddy Sanchez,Pirates.347
Miguel Cabrera, Marlins.338
Matt Holliday,Rockies.332
NEXT GAME
"My first pitch to him was supposed to come in but stayed over the plate, and he took it," Youman said. "The next one was supposed to do the same thing, and that stayed over the plate, too."
Saenz laughed when asked if he was surprised to see the same pitch twice.
"I didn't know anything about this pitcher," he said. "We had one video of him."
No surprise there. Youman spent most of the summer with Class AA Altoona and was making his second Major League Baseball start.
No surprise, either, that Saenz did damage. There might not be another hitter in the sport who feels more comfortable in the box against the Pirates, owning a .468 average, six home runs and 21 RBIs in 47 career at-bats.
"He's a professional hitter," Tracy said. "And when you leave a pitch up like that to him, it's going to make a very loud sound."
The Pirates' frustration at the plate began in the second.
Facing Los Angeles starter Chad Billingsley, Jason Bay singled and took third on Xavier Nady's double before there was an out. But Ryan Doumit struck out, Ronny Paulino bounced into a forceout that nailed Bay at the plate, and Jose Bautista took a third strike.
They did squeeze out one in the third on Freddy Sanchez's RBI single.
There was another in the fifth to tie the score at 2-2. Bautista led off with a double, took second on an error and trotted home on Youman's second single.
But there, too, so much more was available. Bases were left loaded after Nady's inning-ending forceout.
As these things tend to go, Los Angeles took advantage.
With one out in the sixth, Furcal walked and Kenny Lofton singled to chase Youman. Josh Sharpless relieved and fanned Saenz before walking Jeff Kent to fill the bases, then doing likewise on four pitches to J.D. Drew to put the Dodgers ahead, 3-2.
It was the first time Tracy used Sharpless since Sept. 13.
The Pirates sprouted another rally in the eighth off reliever Jonathan Broxton, but it, too, would lay an egg.
Sanchez led off with a single to improve his National League-best average to .347 after a 2-for-4 night. After Bay's flyout to deep center, Nady singled to put men at the corners. But Doumit looked at all three strikes from Broxton, then was ejected for arguing with home plate umpire Greg Gibson. Paulino softly flied out to right for the third out.
That would prove to be the last gasp, as Brian Rogers and John Grabow let the Dodgers forge ahead, 5-2, in the bottom half.
"We did miss out on opportunities, but I still think we battled," center fielder Chris Duffy said. "As a whole, I think we leave here on a good note and, maybe, made an impression on some people."
They did with at least one.
"I'll tell you: That team has a lot of talent, and they play hard," Saenz said of the Pirates. "They pushed us very hard just to get this one win."
Immediately afterward, the Pirates bused to San Diego, where there doubtless will be more of the same intense atmosphere.
First Published September 22, 2006 12:00 am
