Jones, Pirates batter Dodgers in fiery afternoon at PNC Park
By Matt Gajtka
With their playoff position in danger of slipping away, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned to ace starter A.J. Burnett to help them move back up the standings. Burnett didn’t have his best, but the Bucs’ offense came through to end a disappointing homestand on a positive, and entertaining, note.
Garrett Jones hit two three-run home runs and Clint Barmes drove in three more as the Pirates bludgeoned the Los Angeles Dodgers 10-6 Thursday afternoon, avoiding a four-game sweep and keeping at least a share of the National League’s second wild-card spot. The action-packed win was the Pirates’ fourth in 11 straight games at PNC Park as the team hits the road for six in a row.
In breaking a nine-game losing streak to the Dodgers, the Pirates (65-53) guaranteed they would at least be tied with the Cardinals (64-53) when they start a three-game series in St. Louis Friday night. Pittsburgh also has to worry about the Dodgers (65-54), who lead San Francisco by 1/2 game in the NL West, putting them in the wild card race if they fall behind the Giants at any point.
Playoff race implications aside, there was plenty of excitement in front of 25,073 edgy fans who had watched their team drop seven of its last 10 on the North Shore. The Pirates grabbed a 3-0 lead on Jones’ first blast, found themselves down 4-3 in the fourth, jumped back in front on Jones’ towering drive in the fifth, survived a Dodgers rally in the seventh and pushed across the clinching insurance runs on Barmes’ second RBI hit of the day.
Amid all that, the Dodgers had their issues with home plate umpire Angel Campos, who ejected centerfielder Matt Kemp and manager Don Mattingly on disputed strike calls. Campos also tossed L.A. starting pitcher Joe Blanton, who screamed at the ump after allowing eight runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Burnett wasn’t much better, but the fiery righty lasted long enough to earn his 15th win; he is the first Pirates pitcher since Todd Ritchie in 2000 to reach that mark. Burnett struggled through his second subpar outing in a row, giving up six runs despite striking out seven.
But pitching took a backseat on this afternoon, even with second baseman Neil Walker missing the game with a dislocated finger that was sustained Wednesday night. Andrew McCutchen reached base four times and Pedro Alvarez had a home run, a double and a single to complement the base-clearing abilities of Jones and Barmes.
The Pirates hadn’t scored first since the first game of the homestand, a 4-0 win over Arizona Aug. 6. Jones made sure to put that sluggish streak in the past when he launched a full-count Blanton fastball into the right-field grandstand with two men on in the first. Starling Marte (infield single) and McCutchen (walk) got aboard ahead of Jones, setting up the much-welcomed three-run rip.
Blanton and the Dodgers were displeased with Campos’ strike zone judgement during the Jones at-bat, and that frustration culminated in the top of the second. After Andre Ethier took a borderline strike, Campos ejected Kemp for chirping from the dugout. Mattingly barreled onto the field to defend his MVP candidate, and Campos eventually tossed him as well.
Following that mess, James Loney lifted a solo homer to right-center that made the score 3-1. Burnett had retired the first five batters but left a first-pitch heater in the middle of the plate to the Dodgers first baseman.
Los Angeles leaped ahead in the fourth, set up by Mark Ellis’ book-rule double down the left-field line. Elian Herrera was up next, and he dropped a soft bunt toward third, where Pedro Alvarez scooped it up and threw it away, allowing Ellis to score.
One out later, Hanley Ramirez teed off on an outside fastball from Burnett, sending an impressive two-run blast to the opposite field. The line drive to right-center put the Dodgers ahead 4-3 after 3 1/2 innings.
To the Pirates’ credit, they immediately answered in the bottom of the frame. Unexpectedly, the response was authored by a pair of struggling veterans at the bottom of the order. No. 7 hitter Rod Barajas (.268 on-base percentage) drew a four-pitch walk, and the hefty catcher was chased around the bases by shortstop Barmes (.219 batting average), who deposited a triple in the right-center field gap to tie the game.
Blanton entered the game having given up the most homers (23) among National League pitchers, so it naturally followed that the Pirates would retake the lead via the round-tripper. Once again, Blanton put two runners on ahead of Jones, as Jordy Mercer singled and McCutchen walked to lead off the fifth.
Once again, Jones was locked in. The Bucco right fielder belted a high fastball deep into the right-center field seats, giving him six RBI on the afternoon and pushing the home side up 7-4. Not long after Jones took a curtain call from an appreciative PNC Park crowd, Alvarez casually flicked an off-speed pitch over the wall in center to put the Bucs up four and chase Blanton.
The Dodgers remained combustible after the Alvarez dinger, with Blanton getting ejected by Campos after acting manager Trey Hillman removed him from the game. In the top of the sixth, Burnett struck out Ramirez swinging to end the inning, followed by Ramirez barking at Campos and Burnett yelling at Ramirez to get back in the dugout.
Drama built again in the top of the seventh when the Dodgers threatened. The visitors loaded the bases with two outs against Burnett, then plated one on Mark Ellis infield single. The spread was reduced to only two runs when Burnett hit pinch-hitter Juan Rivera, ending the Pirates starter’s afternoon after 6 2/3 innings.
But Tony Watson came on to retire the dangerous Ethier on a grounder to second, setting up the Bucs for a rally of their own in the bottom half. Jones walked with one out, then Alvarez and Barajas both singled with two gone, setting up Barmes in a based-loaded situation. The oft-criticized first-year Pirate came through, slugging a two-RBI single through the left side of the infield.
Notes: Barmes’ fourth-inning triple was his first in more than three years. He last hit one for Colorado at Houston on June 4, 2009…Jones’ two-homer day marked the fifth multi-homer game of his major league career…Alvarez, who committed two errors, leads all NL third basemen with 22 homers…Joel Hanrahan pitched a scoreless ninth, his first action since Sunday.