PITTSBURGH — Brandon Cumpton may be new to the National League Central fight, but he knows the Pirates’ rope-a-dope drill — help them spar with the other guys’ marquee starting pitcher long enough to keep the match within one good uppercut, then level that on their bullpen.
It worked again on Saturday — except for the final bell.
After the Pirates had clawed into a tie on Neil Walker’s single in the eighth and Travis Snider’s homer with one out in the ninth, Juan Uribe’s RBI single and a run-scoring double from Nick Punto off Vin Mazzaro in the 11th inning allowed the Dodgers to come off those ropes for a 5-3 win over the Pirates.
Making his Major League debut, Cumpton faced off well enough with left-handed ace Clayton Kershaw to walk out on a manageable 3-1 deficit after his five innings were done. Kershaw went two innings longer, and the score had not changed by the time he was done.
The bell rang for the Pirates to take it to Los Angeles’ maligned bullpen. Walker’s eighth-inning RBI single off lefty reliever Paco Rodriguez made it 3-2. Snider dramatically got the Pirates off the canvas with his pinch-hit homer off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen.
At least being taken off the hook somewhat rewarded the effort by Cumpton, who emerged from the shadows into blinding brilliance, as people suddenly got to know him.
Unfortunately, eventually so did the Dodgers, who began to hit him harder their second time around the lineup, and finished him off midway through their third look.
Although not a winner in the box score, the previously little-known Cumpton may have been that on the mound, turning what could have been a one-shot audition into at least a call-back.
Cumpton held the Dodgers hitless for three innings, then worked his way around the first two hits he allowed in the fourth.
Two more hits in the fifth, including Skip Schumaker’s RBI single, made it 1-1, and the Dodgers chased Cumpton in the sixth with three straight hits before he could get an out. Adrian Gonzalez doubled, stopped at third on Hanley Ramirez’s single and came in on another single by Andre Ethier.
The runners took an extra base when left fielder Alex Presley overran Ethier’s hit for an error — and Cumpton took a seat on the bench, replaced by Bryan Morris. A subsequent run on Mark Ellis’ sacrifice fly also went on Cumpton’s record.
Still, an overall impressive debut. In five-plus innings, Cumpton was charged with seven hits and three runs, walking one and striking out five.
Kershaw went seven innings, allowing three hits and run, with three walks and eight strikeouts.
A pretty good line for Kershaw — especially considering he nearly gave up a three-run homer to Russell Martin in the sixth. Martin’s wallop to left-center was caught above the 383-foot sign by Schumaker, who needed only a modest leap to get his glove over the eight-foot wall.
There was no forewarning, nor explanation, for what the Pirates and their fans saw at the very beginning from the team’s ninth-round selection in the 2010 First-Year Player Draft. Cumpton, who had four lengthy starts in the Minors this season with fewer than three strikeouts, whiffed the side in the first, and that side included Yasiel Puig and Gonzalez.
Cumpton fanned two more in the second, then no more, relying on his defense, occasionally in spectacular fashion, to protect the 1-0 lead he had been given in the first.
The Bucs seemed primed for a big first inning but, ultimately, were fortunate to get even one run out of it. Presley’s leadoff double — he slapped a ball right down the left-field line — and one-out walks of Andrew McCutchen and Gaby Sanchez loaded the bases. Martin’s perfect double-play grounder to Ramirez, rather than end the inning, turned into a run on the shortstop’s wild throw past first base.
