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Saturday, Aug. 12 7:05pm ET
D-Backs lose ground on Mets with loss | |||||
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- In a season long since lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates, they managed to rally against the pitcher they rarely beat: Curt Schilling. Kevin Young's infield single turned into two runs as third baseman Matt Williams threw wildly in the seventh inning, ending Pittsburgh's six-game losing streak against Schilling and rallying the Pirates past Arizona 9-6 Saturday night. Arizona wasted leads of 2-0 and 4-3 and homers by Luis Gonzalez and Matt Williams in the ninth inning in their eighth loss in 13 games. The Diamondbacks dropped to 5½ games behind the New York Mets, who beat San Francisco 3-2, for the NL wild-card spot. "We won last (Friday) night, we're trying to get on a roll, I had the ball in my hand and a plan," Schilling said. "I just didn't do what I needed to." Aramis Ramirez hit a grand slam in the eighth off reliever Johnny Ruffin and drove in five runs as the Pirates, who are 17 games under .500, ended a three-game losing streak and won for the third time in 11 games. Schilling (9-7) was 3-0 since being traded to Arizona and was 9-1 in his last 10 starts against the Pirates before allowing five runs and eight hits in seven innings. His last previous loss to Pittsburgh was on July 21, 1997. Jay Bell's two-run homer off reliever Rich Loiselle in the seventh gave Arizona a 4-3 lead, but Schilling -- who allowed three earned runs in 26 innings in his first three Diamondbacks starts -- immediately lost it. "Jay gave us a big two-run homer and I let them back in the game," Schilling said. "There are no excuses. You have to do your job, and I didn't." Ramirez, 3-for-4, doubled down the left-field line and Alex Ramirez singled a batter later, then stole second as Enrique Wilson struck out. Young, who entered during a double switch in the top of the seventh, hit a hard grounder that Williams stopped by diving to his left. Williams scrambled to his feet, grabbed the ball off the turf and appeared to have a play at first, but his throw sailed wide of the bag as both runners scored. Young was credited with one RBI. "I've got to make that play. If I make that play, we win the game" Williams said. Young, who was 1-for-21 against Schilling and hitless in his last 18 at-bats against him, didn't know how Williams made the play. "That ball was hit so hard and was so far away from him, when I saw it go into his glove ... let's say, I couldn't believe it," Young said. "When I've got to rely on my legs for a hit, I'm in trouble. But it finally worked out for us against him." The deeper Schilling went into the count against Young, the harder he threw, topping out at 98 mph. "I noticed that, too, every pitch he turned it up a little more," Young said. Scott Sauerbeck (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the victory. Arizona quickly opened a 1-0 lead in the first as Tony Womack, Bell and Gonzalez singled in succession against Todd Ritchie, who came off the disabled list to make his first start since losing 4-1 to Schilling on July 23. That was Schilling's last start for the Phillies. Damian Miller doubled in the second and scored on Schilling's perfectly executed squeeze bunt to make it 2-0. However, Schilling couldn't hold that lead, either, as Jason Kendall hit a two-run homer, his 10th, in a three-run fifth and Ramirez followed Brian Giles' triple with an RBI single. "The big one was the Kendall home run," Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter said. "That gave them reason to think positive against Curt." Schilling said, "In my mind, if you score six runs, you've got to win. I've got to pitch better than that." Ritchie lasted five innings, giving up two runs and seven hits. Gonzalez homered for the second straight night, hitting his 26th; Matt Williams stopped a 0-for-12 slide with just his fifth homer. Both were off Mike Williams. Game notesTwo of Ramirez's six homers this season are grand slams. He also hit one July 28 against San Diego. ... The Pirates' two homers stopped a streak of five games without a homer. ... Womack stole second in each of the first two innings, giving him 13 stolen bases in 10 games. ... Until Williams homered, Gonzalez had six of Arizona's last 11 homers. ... Pirates pinch-hitters are 5-for-33 since July 1 and have two RBIs in 53 games -- Ramirez's two-run double June 30 at Philadelphia. ... Arizona lost for only the second time in nine games at Three Rivers Stadium. ... The Diamondbacks were 6-1 overall against the Pirates this season. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Arizona Clubhouse Pittsburgh Clubhouse RECAPS Oakland 9 Detroit 5
Pittsburgh 9
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