It appeared that the ninth inning would be a quick one with Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mark Melancon on the mound. He threw the first five pitches for strikes and struck out Mark Reynolds and Carlos Gonzalez looking then Gerardo Parra came up.
Parra hit a swinging bunt with two strikes on him that barely stayed in fair territory and gave Francisco Cervelli a seemingly automatic throw to first to keep the game tied heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.
Instead, his fifth error of the season unleashed a chain of events which led to a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies.
“I’m betting on Cervy every day of the week. That guy is an MVP in my book,” Melancon said. “I think he’s the best catcher in the league, and I have 100 percent confidence in him every day. There’s no one that feels worse on that play than him. It’s my job to pick him up after that, and I didn’t do it.”
After Cervelli’s error, Melancon battled pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso and with first base open, lost him to a walk.
This brought Tony Wolter to the place. During the at-bat, Melancon threw a wild pitch advancing both runners into scoring position.
Wolter then took a 2-2 offering and hit what appeared to be an inning-ending ground ball to John Jaso at first base. Jaso kept the ball in front of him but it hit the base and he could not adjust allowing two runs to score.
“Everybody saw it, and that’s the way the game goes,” said Ja,so. “The more you put the ball in play, the better chance you have of something going your way. I was going right to it with the glove but it hit the bag and caromed. The only way to get to it was bare hand it, and that’s what happened I guess.”
With Melancon (0-1) at 25 pitches, manager Clint Hurdle pulled his closer in favor of Jared Hughes.
Hughes did not fare much better as he allowed a first pitch home run to Cristhian Adames, the first of his Major League career.
All of a sudden what appeared to be a tie game heading into the bottom of the ninth turned into a four-run deficit with two errors included, both of which proved too much to overcome. It also allowed Carlos Estevez (1-1) to earn his first career major league win.
“I don’t know if you can drop a goofier inning than that,” Melancon said.
Niese provides strong outing
Lost in the endgame dramatics was the outing Jonathon Niese put together. It took until the sixth inning for Niese to record a fly ball out.
This for a player who is tied for third place in the National League with 11 home runs allowed.
Niese was able to mix up his pitches and retired 13 consecutive Colorado Rockies batters. He also had 14 ground ball outs which led to a lot of work for the Pirates infield.
The left-handed starter came into this start with a 5.28 ERA but departed at a 4.75 mark.
“We had a game plan going in and we executed it,” Niese said. “I used all my pitches tonight. I just mixed it up and stayed in the bottom of the zone.”
Of note:
Jung Ho Kang departed the game after five innings with left hand discomfort. X-rays did not show any structural damage and he is day-to-day.
Kang was involved in a home plate collision in the fourth inning. The play came on a ground ball to Rockies first baseman Mark Reynolds. Reynolds fired home and Wolter tagged Kang out as ruled by home plate umpire Doug Eddings.
Hurdle challenged the play citing a 7.13 rule violation of blocking home plate. The New York replay command center upheld the original call. Fans were upset with the call voicing their displeasure for the remainder of the inning and inning break.
“We asked for the block,” said Hurdle. “The interpretation came back that there was no block, that he didn’t touch the plate and was tagged out.”
Up Next
The Pirates conclude their three game series against the Rockies when Juan Nicasio (4-3, 4.46 ERA) faces Chad Bettis (4-2, 4.18 ERA). Nicasio is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA and one save in six career appearances (one start) against the Rockies. Nicasio pitched for the Rockies from 2011-14.
