Pirates slug way past Astros

July 8, 2008

Pittsburgh lineup makes up for Dumatrait’s tough startLuckily for the Pirates, hitting is contagious, but pitching is not.

On a night when starter Phil Dumatrait gave up seven runs in 3 1/3 innings, the Pittsburgh offense pummeled Houston for 14 hits on its way to a 10-7 win at PNC Park on Monday.

Dumatrait, who was making his first start since June 19, was given a rude welcome by the Astros, who capitalized on several of his high pitches and missed spots.

Pirates manager John Russell said the lefty’s outing was due purely to rust, while Dumatrait said it couldn’t “get much worse.”

“I think he was trying to make things happen, rather than just pitch a little bit,” Russell said. “It affected his offspeed pitches, especially. I thought he was jumping toward the plate too much.”

Dumatrait gave up three runs in the first on Carlos Lee’s two-run blast to right field and Ty Wigginton’s RBI single.

Dumatrait shut down the Astros the next two innings before things got ugly again. Wigginton, a former Pirate, led off the fourth inning with a double, and he scored when Dumatrait misplayed Runelvys Hernandez’s bunt along the third-base line.

Lance Berkman then laced an RBI double to the left-field wall to score Darin Erstad. That play brought Russell out of the dugout. The Pittsburgh skipper pulled Dumatrait after 72 pitches, including 38 strikes.

“My arm felt good,” said Dumatrait, who was activated from the disabled list on Monday after suffering bursitis in his left shoulder. “I just didn’t get the job done tonight. It’s been 17 or 18 days, but I’m not going to make any excuses. I elevated everything and I got behind every guy. Obviously at this level you can’t do that.”

However, the Bucs offense had Dumatrait’s back each time the lefty had a tough inning. Pittsburgh answered Houston’s three first-inning runs with four of its own. All four were scored with two outs.

Xavier Nady, Adam LaRoche and Doug Mientkiewicz each had an RBI single, tying the game at 3. Then, with runners on first and third, Dumatrait helped his own cause with a bloop single. It was the pitcher’s first Major League hit and RBI.

Nate McLouth added a homer, and Nady connected on an RBI double to make the score 6-3 in the second.

When Dumatrait was taken out in the fourth, it could have gotten a lot worse for the Pirates, but reliever Denny Bautista settled things down.

The right-hander’s 2 2/3 scoreless innings were just the start to a near flawless performance from Pittsburgh’s bullpen. Bautista, Tyler Yates and Damaso Marte didn’t allow the Astros another hit, making the Pirates’ four-run fourth inning stand as the deciding factor.

“You couldn’t have asked for anything more,” said catcher Ryan Doumit, who gave the Pirates the lead for good at 8-7 in the fourth with his 11th home run of the season. Then Bautista, like Dumatrait, connected on his first career hit and RBI to put the Pirates up by two runs. Jack Wilson added an RBI single to close out the scoring.

“Both of them came in very big situations where you’re not really expecting it, but when we got it, it was really a big help for us,” Russell said of the singles from his pitchers.

Every Pirates batter, except pinch-hitter Jason Michaels, collected at least one hit. The offensive outburst gave Pittsburgh a much-needed win after a three-game sweep in Milwaukee this past weekend. The win also flip-flopped the Pirates and Astros in the bottom of the National League Central standings.

“After having a tough last three games and to come back and jump on the board and score some runs [was very good],” Russell said. “Guys just kept staying aggressive and driving in runs. Coming home, we knew this was going to be a big homestand for us. We got the first one out of the gate. We need to continue to push.”

Written by sbucciarel Filed Under Baseball 

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