It looked so familiar for these Pirates, but they saw it with fresh eyes.
Almost exactly 24 hours after this scene, capping one of the most extraordinary regular-season baseball games ever played in Pittsburgh, there was an inconceivable sequel before a raucous PNC Park, not to mention another national TV audience.
“Last night was a classic game,” Clint Hurdle said. “And you back it up with another one.”
Like Saturday night, the Pirates pushed back from a multi-run deficit late, but the details were different enough to make Sunday’s stunner easily stand alone. Most notably, instead of former MVP Andrew McCutchen putting a flourish on an extra-inning rally with a walkoff home run, it was yearling Gregory Polanco saddening St. Louis with a bases-loaded two-out liner to right field that completed a three-run 10th inning and a 6-5 victory.
“I got it,” Polanco said, recalling his immediate thoughts after the most critical hit of his 173-game career. “I was so excited.”
So were the approximately 30,000 fans left in attendance, letting up a roar that rivaled – if not surpassed – the noise that greeted McCutchen’s cathartic blast the night before.
Unlike Saturday’s sudden burst, Sunday’s closing thrust was a study in incrementalism. All-Star Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal entered with a 5-3 lead after Randal Grichuk’s two-run double off Arquimedes Caminero in the top half of the 10th, but Rosenthal showed immediate signs that this wouldn’t be a routine save effort.
Jordy Mercer lifted a leadoff bloop single, which brought Neil Walker to the plate with an opportunity to tie it. He nearly did, but his long flyout settled in center fielder Peter Bourjos’ glove on the warning track.
“I hit that one harder than my home run the other day,” Walker said, referring to his Friday shot. “Just the wrong part of the park to hit it.”
McCutchen grounded out to third, but Starling Marte popped a single to right, scoring Mercer. Jung Ho Kang then reached base for the third time, scorching a hit to center. That summoned Francisco Cervelli, who shot a high-90s heater from Rosenthal just inside first base. Tie game, 5-5.
“I found a hole,” Cervelli said. “He’s a tough guy. Even when he’s not controlling, he’s still throwing 99, 100. You gotta battle and look for your pitch. You might get one in the at-bat, and you can’t miss it.”
Rosenthal continued to misfire with the fastball even after an extended mound meeting, walking pinch-hitter Travis Ishikawa on four pitches. That’s when Polanco did his thing, greeting a fat 97-mph fastball with the center of the bat barrel.
“You just go up with confidence and stay short to the ball,” said Polanco.
He had been one of the least productive right fielders in the majors by almost any measure this season, but he went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, the latter of which sent the Pirates into the break on a high not often experienced in mid-July baseball.
“We’re going to keep giving him opportunities to play,” Hurdle said. “To come out and have the game he had tonight when you’re the only game on … I would believe it’s got to give him a nice pat on the back.”
According to Cervelli, Polanco’s career highlight was the latest evidence that he will be able to translate his past status as one of the game’s top prospects into reality.
“That kid is going to be a superstar,” Cervelli said. “Not a star. A superstar. What this was, he was finding another level. That’s what he did tonight.”
Polanco ran through first so hard on his winning hit, he ended up in shallow right field. He swore he wasn’t trying to escape his jubilant teammates.
“I was like, ‘Come to me!’ ”
• Relentless as it was, the 10th-inning ambush might not have been enough had the Pirates not made two key defensive plays in the top half to keep it a two-run spread.
The first occurred at the end of Grichuk’s go-ahead gapper, as McCutchen and Mercer teamed up on a pinpoint relay to nab Mark Reynolds at the plate on Cervelli’s last-second tag.
“Didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but it turned out to be really big,” Hurdle said of the 8-6-2 putout. “Our guys know there’s no such thing as little things.”
The second out brought a bit of a regroup, but Bourjos nearly canceled it with a soft liner up the middle for which Walker had to go horizontal. Grichuk had taken third base on the throw to the plate, so even an infield single would have made it 6-3.
“I got a good break on the ball,” Walker said. “I knew if that hits the ground, he’s safe at first. I did everything I could to catch it.”
Walker admitted that he feared injury while laying out, because he knew he had to land on his outstretched left arm. He said he was no worse for the wear before packing his locker for a few days off.
• The excitement on the North Shore was enhanced by the Pirates’ larger accomplishment. After dropping the first of this four-game set in sloppy fashion Thursday, they followed up with three consecutive wins to close the Cardinals’ lead to 2 1/2 games entering the break.
The Pirates trailed by nine as recently as two weeks ago, but after winning 13 of their past 16, they have chewed into a deficit that threatened to make the second half of the season a mere battle for wild-card positioning.
“All a team has to do is get on a roll and win games in bunches,” Mercer said. “The tables start to turn. You don’t want to rule anything out.”
• Although there were a few empty sections of seats in the upper deck Sunday — paid attendance was 33,544, about 3,000 shy of capacity — this weekend reminded many in the Pirates’ clubhouse of the past two wild-card games in terms of stadium atmosphere. Cervelli, who experienced the famed New York-Boston rivalry as a member of the Yankees, said the intensifying Pirates-Cardinals feud compares well.
“This is just as unreal,” he said. “I like playing in St. Louis because they’re loud and the fans are into the game, but here is something else. Something else.”
• Mercer said the significance of claiming this series is clear in more than just the standings.
“To be able to scratch out some wins against them is big,” he said. “They’re the top, and we know it. We want to be a top-notch organization like them. We’re getting there.”
• If it’s past 11 p.m. at PNC Park, it’s likely the Pirates are still playing baseball. At least that’s how it seems lately, with extra innings and rain delays nudging closing time into the wee hours on a regular basis.
“We’ve played our fair share of close games lately,” Walker said. “In games like last night and tonight, you can feel the added energy.”
In the season series against the Cardinals alone, the Pirates have needed more than nine innings in five of the 10 meetings. That includes St. Louis’ three-game home sweep in early May that helped open up their previously-massive cushion in the Central.
The Pirates went on to lose their first six extra-inning games before a 13-inning win over the Phillies on June 12 at PNC Park. Since then, they are 5-1 in extra-inning games – all at home – making Sunday’s late-night celebration simply the latest in a lengthening line.
But that fact didn’t take away from the thrill of the moment for the Pirates, now a season-high 18 games over .500 after their third walkoff win of the homestand.
“I’m still trying to catch my breath,” Mercer said. “I was going crazy for a minute there.”
• McCutchen was deservedly at the center of the party Saturday, but he was more than happy to play a subordinate role this time. That is, as soon as he remembered the protocol.
“I was still in the dugout, like, ‘Yeah!’ when everyone’s about halfway to the mound,” McCutchen said, smiling broadly even after his career-best 18-game hitting streak ended. “I was stuck. I didn’t know what to do. I was like, ‘I gotta run.’ It was a lot of fun.”
• If anyone can remember, Francisco Liriano started the game and pitched into the seventh even though he ran up 69 pitches through the first four innings. His fastball control proved elusive early, but he captured his mechanics in time to retire 10 of 12 Cardinals after Jhonny Peralta’s solo homer in the third.
“Relaxed and stopped trying to do too much,” Liriano said. “Trying not to overthrow and get deep into the game.”
Liriano’s night on the mound was enough to give the Pirates a chance to take the series, although Tony Watson surrendered a 3-2 lead in the eighth. Liriano induced six swinging strikeouts and two double plays, countering four walks and five Cardinals hits.
However, Liriano’s second-inning at-bat rivaled anything he did on the pitching rubber. He spoiled St. Louis’ plans at an escape by drilling a two-out, two-run single off the Clemente Wall, a moment after Cardinals starter Tim Cooney intentionally walked Polanco.
“A.J. showed up last night, Frankie showed up tonight,” Hurdle said, referencing Burnett’s rare home run Saturday. “We talk him up in the dugout, just in case the scenarios play out. If you ever come out here early for batting practice, you see he likes to swing the bat.”
Liriano’s hit, his third of the year in 39 plate appearances, matched his RBI total from the previous eight seasons, five of which were spent in the American League. The 10-year veteran had never driven in two runs in a given season, let alone with one swing.
“It’s been a while,” he said. “Whatever it takes to win.”
I can't compliment this piece strongly enough. So thorough, and well crafted. You guys far surpass the outlet and content of any other outlet. Nice work, Matt!
When you're writing that late at night, you just hope it comes out coherent at the other end. Glad you enjoyed it.
J.R.
7-13-2015, 10:50 am
I couldn't even write a coherent comment, and all i did was watch the game in my bed! First "outlet" should have been "output."
Matt Gajtka
7-13-2015, 1:33 pm
Read right over the error, JR. Funny how the brain does that.
WildcatRay
7-13-2015, 6:50 am
Nice write-up, Matt.
Gotta love when the pitchers contribute on offense. The teams of the 70's had some good hitting pitchers. Rhoden and Brett followed them, but the late 90's and the 00's saw a dropoff among the pitchers when at bat.
In the NL, when the pitchers contribute at the bat, that puts more pressure on the opponent. Keep it up, guys!
It's interesting, because I talked with Chris Stewart about that "pro" approach at the plate before the game. Came into play again last night.
Jay Baileys
7-13-2015, 9:59 am
Great right up Matt. You guys and gals are seriously one-upping each other with your coverage. I absolutely love this site! Keep it up, great stuff. That last sentence should be on t-shirts and banners and everywhere in the city. If you weren't a believer before this weekend.......
Suggestions? Wife got tickets to game on Jul 25th for Father`s Day. Same weekend as our anniversary. looking for advice for me and the wife morning and day of the game, after party/nightlife after the game, and Sunday morning before heading out of the burgh? I moved away from Pittsburgh 23 years ago. Reply here or DM me on twitter.
well it depends alot on your interest and age i guess, id recommend having a nice dinner at hyde park steakhouse on the north shore (short walk from PNC park) before the game. Its an expensive restaurant, but id say the best steak in the burgh. Then after the game go to one of the great local bars featuring live music club cafe on west carson or the rex theatre on east carson are both usually good...or if local music isnt your thing the rivers casino is right there too.
Either way pretty cool your wife wants to go to a baseball game for your anniversary.
Rocco
7-13-2015, 3:44 pm
Breakfast at Delluca's in The Strip, or lunch at Carhops, a hole in the wall with insanely great pizza and subs. Stumbled upon Carhops because Primanti's was too crowded to get into. Don't leave until you get some biscotti from Ennio's in the strip, and if you have any Italian in you at all, the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company has great imported Olive oil.
cmat0829
7-13-2015, 3:29 pm
Matt great recap peppered with player quotes. Awesome read
Jung Ho Kang covers the final 90 feet of the Pirates' 10-inning victory Sunday night. -- GETTY
July 13, 2015
(Yet another) Pittsburgh baseball classic
by Matt Gajtka • Coverage • Pirates
It looked so familiar for these Pirates, but they saw it with fresh eyes.
Almost exactly 24 hours after this scene, capping one of the most extraordinary regular-season baseball games ever played in Pittsburgh, there was an inconceivable sequel before a raucous PNC Park, not to mention another national TV audience.
“Last night was a classic game,” Clint Hurdle said. “And you back it up with another one.”
Like Saturday night, the Pirates pushed back from a multi-run deficit late, but the details were different enough to make Sunday’s stunner easily stand alone. Most notably, instead of former MVP Andrew McCutchen putting a flourish on an extra-inning rally with a walkoff home run, it was yearling Gregory Polanco saddening St. Louis with a bases-loaded two-out liner to right field that completed a three-run 10th inning and a 6-5 victory.
“I got it,” Polanco said, recalling his immediate thoughts after the most critical hit of his 173-game career. “I was so excited.”
So were the approximately 30,000 fans left in attendance, letting up a roar that rivaled – if not surpassed – the noise that greeted McCutchen’s cathartic blast the night before.
Unlike Saturday’s sudden burst, Sunday’s closing thrust was a study in incrementalism. All-Star Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal entered with a 5-3 lead after Randal Grichuk’s two-run double off Arquimedes Caminero in the top half of the 10th, but Rosenthal showed immediate signs that this wouldn’t be a routine save effort.
Jordy Mercer lifted a leadoff bloop single, which brought Neil Walker to the plate with an opportunity to tie it. He nearly did, but his long flyout settled in center fielder Peter Bourjos’ glove on the warning track.
“I hit that one harder than my home run the other day,” Walker said, referring to his Friday shot. “Just the wrong part of the park to hit it.”
McCutchen grounded out to third, but Starling Marte popped a single to right, scoring Mercer. Jung Ho Kang then reached base for the third time, scorching a hit to center. That summoned Francisco Cervelli, who shot a high-90s heater from Rosenthal just inside first base. Tie game, 5-5.
“I found a hole,” Cervelli said. “He’s a tough guy. Even when he’s not controlling, he’s still throwing 99, 100. You gotta battle and look for your pitch. You might get one in the at-bat, and you can’t miss it.”
Rosenthal continued to misfire with the fastball even after an extended mound meeting, walking pinch-hitter Travis Ishikawa on four pitches. That’s when Polanco did his thing, greeting a fat 97-mph fastball with the center of the bat barrel.
“You just go up with confidence and stay short to the ball,” said Polanco.
He had been one of the least productive right fielders in the majors by almost any measure this season, but he went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, the latter of which sent the Pirates into the break on a high not often experienced in mid-July baseball.
“We’re going to keep giving him opportunities to play,” Hurdle said. “To come out and have the game he had tonight when you’re the only game on … I would believe it’s got to give him a nice pat on the back.”
According to Cervelli, Polanco’s career highlight was the latest evidence that he will be able to translate his past status as one of the game’s top prospects into reality.
“That kid is going to be a superstar,” Cervelli said. “Not a star. A superstar. What this was, he was finding another level. That’s what he did tonight.”
Polanco ran through first so hard on his winning hit, he ended up in shallow right field. He swore he wasn’t trying to escape his jubilant teammates.
“I was like, ‘Come to me!’ ”
• Relentless as it was, the 10th-inning ambush might not have been enough had the Pirates not made two key defensive plays in the top half to keep it a two-run spread.
The first occurred at the end of Grichuk’s go-ahead gapper, as McCutchen and Mercer teamed up on a pinpoint relay to nab Mark Reynolds at the plate on Cervelli’s last-second tag.
“Didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but it turned out to be really big,” Hurdle said of the 8-6-2 putout. “Our guys know there’s no such thing as little things.”
The second out brought a bit of a regroup, but Bourjos nearly canceled it with a soft liner up the middle for which Walker had to go horizontal. Grichuk had taken third base on the throw to the plate, so even an infield single would have made it 6-3.
“I got a good break on the ball,” Walker said. “I knew if that hits the ground, he’s safe at first. I did everything I could to catch it.”
Walker admitted that he feared injury while laying out, because he knew he had to land on his outstretched left arm. He said he was no worse for the wear before packing his locker for a few days off.
• The excitement on the North Shore was enhanced by the Pirates’ larger accomplishment. After dropping the first of this four-game set in sloppy fashion Thursday, they followed up with three consecutive wins to close the Cardinals’ lead to 2 1/2 games entering the break.
The Pirates trailed by nine as recently as two weeks ago, but after winning 13 of their past 16, they have chewed into a deficit that threatened to make the second half of the season a mere battle for wild-card positioning.
“All a team has to do is get on a roll and win games in bunches,” Mercer said. “The tables start to turn. You don’t want to rule anything out.”
• Although there were a few empty sections of seats in the upper deck Sunday — paid attendance was 33,544, about 3,000 shy of capacity — this weekend reminded many in the Pirates’ clubhouse of the past two wild-card games in terms of stadium atmosphere. Cervelli, who experienced the famed New York-Boston rivalry as a member of the Yankees, said the intensifying Pirates-Cardinals feud compares well.
“This is just as unreal,” he said. “I like playing in St. Louis because they’re loud and the fans are into the game, but here is something else. Something else.”
• Mercer said the significance of claiming this series is clear in more than just the standings.
“To be able to scratch out some wins against them is big,” he said. “They’re the top, and we know it. We want to be a top-notch organization like them. We’re getting there.”
• If it’s past 11 p.m. at PNC Park, it’s likely the Pirates are still playing baseball. At least that’s how it seems lately, with extra innings and rain delays nudging closing time into the wee hours on a regular basis.
“We’ve played our fair share of close games lately,” Walker said. “In games like last night and tonight, you can feel the added energy.”
In the season series against the Cardinals alone, the Pirates have needed more than nine innings in five of the 10 meetings. That includes St. Louis’ three-game home sweep in early May that helped open up their previously-massive cushion in the Central.
The Pirates went on to lose their first six extra-inning games before a 13-inning win over the Phillies on June 12 at PNC Park. Since then, they are 5-1 in extra-inning games – all at home – making Sunday’s late-night celebration simply the latest in a lengthening line.
But that fact didn’t take away from the thrill of the moment for the Pirates, now a season-high 18 games over .500 after their third walkoff win of the homestand.
“I’m still trying to catch my breath,” Mercer said. “I was going crazy for a minute there.”
• McCutchen was deservedly at the center of the party Saturday, but he was more than happy to play a subordinate role this time. That is, as soon as he remembered the protocol.
“I was still in the dugout, like, ‘Yeah!’ when everyone’s about halfway to the mound,” McCutchen said, smiling broadly even after his career-best 18-game hitting streak ended. “I was stuck. I didn’t know what to do. I was like, ‘I gotta run.’ It was a lot of fun.”
• If anyone can remember, Francisco Liriano started the game and pitched into the seventh even though he ran up 69 pitches through the first four innings. His fastball control proved elusive early, but he captured his mechanics in time to retire 10 of 12 Cardinals after Jhonny Peralta’s solo homer in the third.
“Relaxed and stopped trying to do too much,” Liriano said. “Trying not to overthrow and get deep into the game.”
Liriano’s night on the mound was enough to give the Pirates a chance to take the series, although Tony Watson surrendered a 3-2 lead in the eighth. Liriano induced six swinging strikeouts and two double plays, countering four walks and five Cardinals hits.
However, Liriano’s second-inning at-bat rivaled anything he did on the pitching rubber. He spoiled St. Louis’ plans at an escape by drilling a two-out, two-run single off the Clemente Wall, a moment after Cardinals starter Tim Cooney intentionally walked Polanco.
“A.J. showed up last night, Frankie showed up tonight,” Hurdle said, referencing Burnett’s rare home run Saturday. “We talk him up in the dugout, just in case the scenarios play out. If you ever come out here early for batting practice, you see he likes to swing the bat.”
Liriano’s hit, his third of the year in 39 plate appearances, matched his RBI total from the previous eight seasons, five of which were spent in the American League. The 10-year veteran had never driven in two runs in a given season, let alone with one swing.
“It’s been a while,” he said. “Whatever it takes to win.”