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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Down five runs and seemingly headed to their
third consecutive blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the San
Diego Padres did something totally out of character.
Not only did they rally, they rallied to win.
Phil Nevin hit reliever Marc Wilkins' first pitch into the
center-field seats in the ninth inning and the Padres came back to
beat the Pirates 9-8 Sunday and avoid a weekend sweep.
|  | | Phil Nevin went 3-for-5 with four RBI, his big hit being a solo homer in the ninth that won it for the Padres. |
The Padres trailed 8-3 and had been outscored 34-10 in the
series until Ruben Rivera's second career grand slam highlighted a
game-tying, five-run seventh inning against relievers Jason
Christiansen and Josias Manzanillo.
Until Sunday, the Padres were 3-42 when trailing after six
innings. The comeback was especially unanticipated considering they
had been outscored 29-8 during a three-game losing streak and had
scored three runs or fewer in 13 of 24 games.
"It couldn't have been any worse for us," manager Bruce Bochy
said. "We just got pummeled in two games and we were down five. We
chipped away, we got some guys on base. We haven't been hitting a
lot of home runs lately, but the two we got came at a good time."
Nevin went 3-for-5 and drove in four runs with the solo homer, a
two-run single in the fifth and an RBI single in the seventh ahead
of Rivera's homer. Rivera had a career-high five RBI.
"I wish we would show character like this a little more
often," Nevin said.
Donne Wall (5-2) pitched out of an eighth-inning jam for the
victory and Wilkins (2-1), who replaced Scott Sauerbeck with one
out and none on in the ninth, took the loss.
John Vander Wal of the Pirates homered and went 4-for-5 to
complete a big weekend against his former club, going 7-for-13 with
two homers and scoring nine runs, three in each game.
Vander Wal has been the subject of recent trade rumors, and
acknowledged they were bothering him.
"It's been going through my mind constantly," said Vander Wal,
who has career highs in homers (15) and RBI (55). "I'll be glad
when the deadline has passed. It is a distraction. It's tough
enough to play this game with a level head."
The Pirates did make a postgame deal, sending Christiansen to
St. Louis for minor league infielder Jack Wilson after the
left-hander failed to protect the five-run lead and had a run-in
with manager Gene Lamont.
Christiansen complicated his bad day by flipping the ball
angrily to Lamont, whose chased him down a tunnel to the clubhouse
as the two exchanged words.
Christiansen allowed four of the five batters he faced to reach
base after starter Kris Benson left leading 8-3 after six innings.
Rivera then hit his game-tying grand slam -- his 13th homer of the
season -- off Manzanillo.
"He hung a slider. I don't even swing hard. I just reacted to
it. It was a little outside but when I hit it, I thought I hit it
good," Rivera said.
Christiansen regretted leaving the way he did, saying, "Gene
has been a good friend of mine and we straightened things out
afterward."
It was too late by then for the Pirates, who wasted a big game
from Vander Wal, who was traded by San Diego for outfielder Al
Martin just before spring training. Vander Wal and Brian Giles had
hit consecutive homers in the sixth inning to put Pittsburgh up
8-3.
Emil Brown, who had one RBI all season going into the series,
had a two-run single in the fifth in the Pirates' three-run fifth
and went 5-for-13 with two homers and eight RBIs over the weekend.
The Pirates had 29 hits and 26 runs, 24 earned, in 12 2/3
innings against Padres starters Matt Clement, Brian Tollberg and
Brian Meadows, with Meadows allowing 11 hits and eight runs in 5
1/3 innings Sunday.
"We've been getting pitching and big hits but today it didn't
happen," said Giles, who was 5-for-5 in a 10-2 victory Saturday.
"You have to build momentum and streaks and this is a game we
should have won."
The Padres led 3-2 after Nevin's two-run single in the fifth off
Benson, who gave up three runs and six hits to remain winless in
four starts since the All-Star break.
Pittsburgh regained the lead on Aramis Ramirez's second RBI
single of the game ahead of Brown's two-run single in the fifth.
Ramirez had eight RBI in the series.
Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 25th save in 30
opportunities.
Padres right fielder Eric Owens was 2-for-5 with a triple and
made a spectacular catch to end the sixth. With a runner on first
and two outs, Owens bounced off the wall running down Brown's
drive. The ball popped into the air, but Owens grabbed it again in
midair and held on as he tumbled to the ground.
Game notes
The Pirates won 16-5 Friday and missed by two runs Sunday
of scoring in double digits in three consecutive games for the
first time since Aug. 27-28, 1930. ... Giles' homer was his 24th.
He is 12-for-22 against the Padres this season. ... The Pirates
have won only one Sunday home game all season and are 3-13 on
Sundays. .... The Padres finished 72-106 in Three Rivers Stadium,
which will be demolished after this season. They were 2-4 this
season. ... The Pirates had 43 hits in the series.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
San Diego Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Kendall's contract talks with Pirates at impasse
RECAPS
Baltimore 10
Cleveland 7
Tampa Bay 7
Kansas City 6
NY Yankees 7
Minnesota 4
Oakland 5
Boston 2
Seattle 10
Toronto 6
Chi. White Sox 11
Anaheim 7
Detroit 8
Texas 7
Atlanta 6
Houston 3
Cincinnati 7
Montreal 4
Philadelphia 3
Los Angeles 2
San Diego 9
Pittsburgh 8
NY Mets 4
St. Louis 2
Milwaukee 3
Colorado 2
Chicago Cubs 3
San Francisco 1
Florida 4
Arizona 3
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