The 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates showed that their playoff run from a year earlier was not a joke. With the help of these plays, the team was able to host the NL Wild Card game for a second straight year.
On Thanksgiving, PSN gave you the Top 10 games from the 2014 season. We now give you the Top 10 plays from 2014.
10) Mercer & Walker turn acrobatic double play — July 28th
Jordy Mercer and Neil Walker showed off their fielding skills on a near disastrous double play try that turned into a gem.
9) Pirates double play clinches playoff berth — September 23rd
The Pirates exercised another playoff demon when they went to Atlanta in late September with a chance to clinch a postseason spot. With a 3-2 lead in the ninth with one out and a runner on first, they turned a 3-6-3 double play to end things.
8) Harrison’s diving catch stuns Yanks — May 18th
With a 4-3 lead and a runner on first in the eighth inning. Yangervis Solarte sent a liner out to left field for what looked like extra bases and a tie game.
Harrison had other plans making a spectacular diving catch to protect the lead.
The Pirates went on to win 4-3 and began a 5-2 stretch helped the team correct themselves after an early-season slump.
7) Snider spells relief — June 18th
With the Reds leading 11-3 in the ninth inning of a long, rain delayed contest at PNC Park, Manager Clint Hurdle called on Travis Snider to pitch the inning. He would face slugger Joey Votto and do the unexpected.
“I settled down there and was able to throw some strikes when it mattered with [Votto] there,” said a chuckling Snider. “I’ll remember that one forever. I felt like the changeup was working pretty well, but I was having a tough time locating the fastball.”
6) Walker opens the season on a high note — March 31st
The Pirate second basemen began a roller coaster season with an extra-inning walk-off against the Cubs at PNC Park.
5) Polanco’s first career homer sinks fish — June 13
Gregory Polanco finished a career night at the plate with his first big league home run in extras to put the Pirates over the top against the Marlins in Miami.
4) Marte walk-off review — May 6th
In a tie game in the ninth against the Giants at PNC Park, Starling Marte sent a fly ball off of the top of the right field wall which bounced away from the Giants defenders allowing him to reach third, but an errant throw gave him a chance to score. However, he was thrown out at home on a bang-bang play by Pablo Sandoval and catcher Buster Posey, or was he?
3) Martin puts Pirates on his back — September 19th
In what turned out to be one of his final heroics in a Pirates uniform, Russell Martin stifled the Brewers chances to get back into the NL Wild Card race with an eighth inning three-run homer to put the Bucs ahead to stay.
2) Pirates turn Triple Play against Cubs — September 14th
With the Pirates trailing 3-0 in the fourth inning and the Cubs threatening to get more with no out, Josh Harrison fielded a sharp grounder at third and began an around-the-horn triple play. The Pirate bats would then wake up as they would cruise to a 7-3 victory.
1) Josh Harrison is an elusive baserunner — June 27th/July 27th
It is safe to say that Josh Harrison knows how to get himself out of a pickle. The third baseman, somehow, was able to avoid a tag in a long rundown against the Mets after appearing to get picked off after a chopper back to the pitcher.
He then topped himself in Colorado exactly one month later by getting out of another rundown after over-sliding second on a steal.
Those are our top plays. What’s yours?
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(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
