July 30 vs. San Francisco Giants

July 30, 2006

Before the bottom of the ninth on Sunday, Jose Castillo hadn’t hit gone deep since June 15.  After it, games where Jose played shaky defense or went to the plate with his head in the clouds over the last month were distant memories.  Jose hit another game-extending homerun (nearly as monumental as his blast in the eighteen inning affair earlier this year) that allowed the Bucs to steal a game away from the Giants in extra innings.  Their fortieth victory of the year also marked the first time the Pirates had won a home game played on a Sunday in 2006.

Zach Duke pitched like the 2005 version of himself in a start that comforted Pittsburghers who began to be concerned with the Duke of Hurl’s progress after he appeared in his shortest outing in the majors this past week.  He turned over a new leaf this afternoon, going 6.1 innings while allowing only four hits and no runs.

Matt Morris continued to build on the Giants’ recent success against the Pirates offense, matching Duke zero for zero until a rain delay halted the game at 3:06 PM.  When the game resumed shortly after five o’clock, Duke and Morris were both pulled from the game in favor of relievers.

Matt Capps and Vinnie Chulk followed the lead set by their respective starters, each getting out of the seventh inning without allowing a baserunner.  Todd Linden, the Giants outfielder mentioned in trade rumors with the Pirates as a possible return for Salomon Torres or Roberto Hernandez, spoiled Capps’ line, though, blasting a solo shot over the Clemente Wall in right for the first run of the ballgame.  After plunking Eliezer Alfonzo, Capps worked his way out of the eighth by forcing Jose Vizcaino into a fielder’s choice and striking out Randy Winn.

Three Giants relievers combined on a topsy-turvy bottom half, exiting with the lead intact despite allowing the Pirates to earn a first-and-third situation with only one out.  Roberto Hernandez continued to audition for possible suitors, throwing a scoreless top of the ninth that set the stage for Castillo’s heroics.

Jose led off the bottom of the ninth with a blast off of closer Armando Benitez.  Jose Bautista and Ronny Paulino followed, both pinch-hitting unsuccessfully, and Nate McLouth ended the Pirates inning with a flyout.

Salomon Torres and Damaso Marte earned the first two outs of the tenth before John Grabow entered the game with runners on  first and second (including an intentionally-walked Barry Bonds) to retire Randy Winn.  After a Jack Wilson single and a Freddy Sanchez sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the inning, Jason Bay flew out to Linden.  Joe Randa was put on intentionally to bring Jose Hernandez to the plate.  Our most prolific bench polisher came through when we needed him, becoming the second Jose on the day to earn an important RBI for the Pirates.

In winning in walkoff fashion, the Bucs swept the Giants and extended their season-high winning streak to five games with the Atlanta Braves coming to town on Tuesday.  It’ll be interesting to see what our 25-man roster looks like for that game; we may have some unfamilar faces on our bench.

Here’s to keeping the ball rolling:  It’s A New Pirates Generation, everybody shout "Let’s Go Bucs!"

Written by coryh64 Posted in Dailies