A Russell Martin one-out RBI single in the seventh inning was all Vance Worley and Tony Watson needed as the Pirates pulled off a 1-0 victory over the Brewers bringing their playoff magic number down to three.
Martin’s two-strike, run scoring single — He accounted for four of five Pirates RBI in the series — was the first hit out of the infield as the Pirates (84-71) recorded three infield hits up to that point — two by Josh Harrison and one by Andrew McCutchen to start the inning — against Brewers starter Wily Peralta.
McCutchen advanced to second on a passed ball and third on a wild pitch setting up Martin’s heroics for the second time in the three-game series.
“Right there, I was trying to put the ball in play, somehow, with a guy on third base and one out,” Martin said. “Luckily for us, there was the two balls that went to the backstop and whenever a team makes mistakes you have to take advantage of it. I’ve had success with my two-strike approach this year, so I felt confident to be able to put the ball in play and I was fortunate enough to get the run in.”
The lone run was enough for starter Vance Worley, who was lights out in eight innings of work allowing four hits and no walks while striking out five. The Brewers (80-76) had one chance against Worley in the second when Jean Segura led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a Peralta sacrifice bunt.
Worley then got Carlos Gomez to fly out to short right and Scooter Gennett to ground out to short to end the inning. Worley then retired 12 of the next 13 batters he faced.
“For me, it’s just going out there and trying to throw zeros and just give my team a chance,” said Worley. “I trust my guys back there playing defense and we’re going to get a run on the board eventually, so my job is to go as deep as I can and give us a chance.”
With only a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the eighth and the pitchers spot due up first, manager Clint Hurdle chose to pinch-hit for Worley — only at 82 pitches at the time — to try and add some insurance. The plan didn’t work as the offense went down 1-2-3.
With Mark Melancon having pitched in three straight games, Hurdle went with Tony Watson (Save #1) to try for the save.
Gomez led the ninth off with a single. Rickie Weeks followed with a high chopper back to Watson, who threw low to first allowing Weeks to reach safely. However, Gomez overran second base and was caught in a rundown for the first out of the inning.
Watson then got Jonathan Lucroy to pop out to short, but hit Aramis Ramirez to put the tying run on second with two out. Ryan Braun, ironically, came up with the game on the line and flew out to McCutchen to end the game.
The victory eliminated the Braves from playoff contention while bringing the Pirates playoff magic number down to three with seven games remaining. They now stand a half game behind the Giants and could tie them for the first Wild Card spot depending on this evening’s matchup with the Padres.
Final Score: Pirates 1, Brewers 0.
38,650 fans attended the regular season home finale for the club’s record-tying 23rd sellout of the season. The season total attendance ended at 2,442,564 fans, breaking the all-time mark set in 2001 when PNC Park opened.
“The confidence we have with the fan support, the energy. And you do’t just feel it at the ballpark,” said Hurdle. “You feel it now in the suburbs. You feel it when you go out to eat, when you get in a cab. Wherever you go, they’re talking baseball. It continues to find ways to drive these guys, to energize these guys to just continue to empty the bucket for these fans every time we’re at home. Not that we don’t on the road, but it’s different. It’s special.”
Starters Lines
Worley (W, 8-4): 8 IP, 4 H, 5 K’s. 82 Pitches (63 Strikes).
Peralta (L, 16-11): 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K’s, 1 WP. 87 Pitches (53 Strikes).
The Pirates now aim for the first Wild Card and the division as they begin a four-game set in Atlanta starting tomorrow evening.
Tomorrow’s Starters
(LHP) Francisco Liriano (PIT): 6-10, 3.45 ERA
(RHP) Aaron Harang (ATL): 11-11, 3.68 ERA
First pitch is set for 7:10.
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(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
