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PIT 5, MIA 2: Pirates no longer 'the definition of insanity'

By Stephen J. Nesbitt / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 8 years ago


3B Jung Ho Kang (Peter Diana/Post-Gazette)

The comeback kids are back in Pittsburgh, finally. They entered the day 0-15 when trailing after six innings, and they were behind, 2-0, entering the bottom of the seventh today. That’s when the offense exploded for a five-run, two-out rally off the Miami Marlins bullpen and stole a series sweep with a 5-2 win.

Game over. Series over. Pirates head on the road for a 10-game road trip through San Diego, San Francisco and Atlanta, and they’re hot. Six-game winning streak, six straight wins for starting pitchers, nine-game hitting streak for Jung Ho Kang. 

All good.

But I’m just going to leave this here and let you read, because it’s the best, most honest and interesting quote you’ll see in a long time.

Clint Hurdle, on this team’s recent turnaround (emphasis mine): “We’re heading in the right direction. You’ve got to take ownership of your season. You’ve got to take ownership of your club. These guys know we have talent. For way too long, we were a good team playing mediocre baseball. So, you’re not a good team, really. You’ve got to connect the dots. You’ve got to put the parts of the game in play. You’ve got to pitch it, catch it, field it, hit it, and you’ve got to do it in timely fashion. Every once in a while, people need tobe reminded of things, and whether it’s the opposition that reminds you, whether it’s guys internally that remind you, we needed to do something different. Basically, for me, we were the definition of insanity. We were doing the same thing the same way and expecting different results. It wasn’t happening. We got to 18-22, and we weren’t going to get any better if we kept going the way we were going. Them taking ownership of it and wanting more ... if you want more, you’ve got to do more. This homestand, the last six games, they’ve done more.”

Gerrit Cole wasn’t as good as he was last start, when he went 8 1/3 innings against the New York Mets, but he was plenty good enough. Seven hits, seven strikeouts in seven innings. And, Hurdle is quick to tell you, “Seven hits in seven innings is never going to be something to be ashamed of.”

Cole made two mistakes, and that turned into two solo homers. Justin Bour knocked a slider to the top row in right, giving the Marlins a 1-0 lead in the second, and Christian Yelich nearly made it 2-0 with a shot to left, but Starling Marte robbed him with a leaping catch at the wall. (We’ll get to that later.)

Yelich did, in fact, make it 2-0 later, with a solo homer in the sixth.

“He got retribution later in the game,” Cole said, “so as far as I’m concerned, we’re even.”

Cole threw 81 pitches in 7 innings, threw 17 of 27 first-pitch strikes. He walked zero.

“That’s a big deal,” Cole said. “Free passes tend to hurt you.”

“It was a very, very good performance,” Hurdle said.

Real quick: What’s with this honey hole thing, guys? 

First Hurdle, back in Chicago last month ...

And now Cole ...

Three cheers for the Pirates defense. Really nice day. Here’s Cole: “Jung Ho, two excellent stabs at third base, at the hot corner. If that happens when [Giancarlo] Stanton gets up, you’ve got to keep the ball down, and sometimes they go right at people hard.”

And then here’s Marte describing his leaping catch at the wall in the second: “I was looking at the ball, and thought I had it, but the wind helped it a little bit. I went back, put my hand out to the wall, and jumped. And I catch it.”

Looked a little surprised he had it, too.

“I was surprised, because I knew the wall was pretty close.”

If you missed the catch, was it over the wall?

“I think so. Over or off the top of the wall.”

INDIANAPOLIS (28-19) completed a sweep of Buffalo, 2-1, to end its 6-game road trip, 5-1. Will open a 4-game set with Toledo today. RF Steve Lombardozzi (.328) went 1 for 4 and singled home the winning run in the seventh. RHP Chris Volstad (3-1, 3.60) allowed 1 run and 5 hits while striking out 4 and waling 3 in 6 1/3 innings for the win. RHP Blake Wood pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save. BOX SCORE

ALTOONA (26-18) defeated New Britain, 4-0. RHP Chad Kuhl (3-1, 2.73) pitched 6 scoreless innings as he scattered 3 hits and struck out 7. C Jacob Stallings (.288) finished 1 for 4 with a 2-run homer, his first of the season, in the eighth inning. BOX SCORE

BRADENTON (22-24) lost to Daytona, 7-6. RHP Luis Heredia (0-1, 8.31) allowed 2 earned runs on 4 hits and walked 3 in 4 innings for the loss. RF Harold Ramirez (.429) was the only Marauder with more than 1 hit as he went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI. BOX SCORE

WEST VIRGINIA (27-19) had its 5-game winning streak snapped with a 7-6, 11-inning loss to Lakewood. RHP Nick Neumann (1-1, 2.25) sandwiched 2 hits around a throwing error on a pickoff to take the loss. LF Elvis Escobar (.273) finished 3 for 6 with 2 doubles, scored a run and drove in another. BOX SCORE