Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle has consistently given Jung Ho Kang a lineup card following each time he accomplishes a first in the major leagues. Tuesday night likely will be no different as his go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning gave the Pirates an 8-7 road victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Earlier, Gregory Polanco had four at-bats, three of which resulted in hard-hit contact, however each were outs.
In the eighth inning and the bases loaded however the script changed. Polanco hit a bases clearing double off the wall off Brian Duensing which gave the Pirates a 6-3 lead. He advanced to third on a throw to home plate.
Since July 12, the Sunday Night Baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Polanco is 15-for-51 [.294] with a home run and nine RBI. Additionally, he has now reached base safely in 18 consecutive games.
Neil Walker was next up to bat and his single scored Polanco.
Normally a four-run lead would hold up, especially with Tony Watson coming in to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning. In his past 46 relief appearances, he had allowed more than one run on three occasions.
The Twins however hit Watson for four runs knocking the 2014 All-Star out of the game after 0.1 innings of work. His ERA increased from 1.99 to 2.76.
Charlie Morton started for the Pirates and allowed a first inning run when Miguel Sano singled on a soft ground ball. Joe Mauer scored on the play and Aramis Ramirez was charged with a throwing error.
The Twins added a run in the fourth inning. Eddie Rosario hit his fourth triple of the season to left field. Andrew McCutchen was too close to the wall on the play and the ball bounced off the left field wall. Jaff Decker had to run down the ball, resulting in an extra base for Rosario. Aaron Hicks scored Rosario on an RBI ground out.
In the fifth inning, the Pirates led off the inning with singles from Francisco Cervelli and Travis Ishikawa. Decker who was a late addition when Starling Marte was scratched from the lineup with an illness, attempted to give himself up on a sacrifice bunt. Trevor Plouffe attempted to barehand the ball and took his time on a throw from his back foot. The throw sailed over Mauer’s head resulting in Cervelli scoring and the other two runners advancing into scoring position.
Walker then reached on a fielder’s choice. Ishikawa hesitated to leave third base in case the ball was caught and when it was not ran home. Twins shortstop Eduardo Escobar threw home and though the ball beat Ishikawa he slid around the tag. Twins manager Paul Molitor challenged the play, but the call and run stood.
The Pirates took the lead in the sixth inning when Ishikawa singled home Kang.
This gave Morton a chance to win his first game since June 27, however he faltered in the bottom half of the inning. Morton walked Sano to leadoff the inning and after striking out the next two batters got ahead 0-2 in the count to Hicks. Morton then threw a curveball that was lined to right field and resulted in a triple which tied the game. The sequence knocked Morton out of the game.
Jared Hughes pitched the next 1.1 innings and kept the Twins off the scoreboard.
Following a four-run eighth inning, the Twins teed off on Watson. Watson had a good start to the inning striking out Sano on a foul tip, however Plouffe and Rosario singled and Hicks singled home a run. Kurt Suzuki then doubled two runs. After a mound visit Escobar hit a ground-rule double tying the game.
Mark Melancon [2-1] then replaced Watson and retired the next two batters on two pitches.
Kang’s homer, his sixth of the season came with one out on a 1-2 slider off Glen Perkins [0-3]. Perkins blew saves in two of his past three outings and entered play with a 5.85 ERA in July.
Melancon finished the ninth inning and this marked his first time pitching more than an inning since May 15 against the Chicago Cubs when he threw two innings.
The Pirates, who lost a two-game series to the Twins earlier this season are now 7-2 on the road in Interleague play this season. They also now have 12 Interleague wins which ties them with the Kansas City Royals for best in baseball. The Cardinals had a chance to tie that mark, however the result of that game did not end in time for this recap.
This two-game series concludes Wednesday when Francisco Liriano [6-6 2.91 ERA] faces Ervin Santana [2-0 2.60 ERA]. Liriano is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA in three career starts against the Twins. He allowed seven runs in a season-low two innings pitched in an 8-5 loss to the Twins earlier this season.
Photo courtesy: Leon Halip/Getty Images
