Thursday, August 02, 2007
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Closer Matt Capps, center, celebrates with catcher Ronny Paulino after closing down the ninth inning of a 15-1 win against the Cardinals last night at PNC Park.
Click photo for larger image.
Worst to first?
No team or individual achieves that in a few hours, of course, but the Pirates' 15-1 clobbering of the St. Louis Cardinals last night at PNC Park had plenty of that feel.
The worst offense in Major League Baseball erupted from its month-long malaise for the team's greatest run total in two years, along with a season-high 20 hits.
The team's worst everyday performer in the first four months, catcher Ronny Paulino, rebounded from a lifetime low Tuesday night to belt a first-inning grand slam.
And the team's worst regular pitcher to this point, Tony Armas, took the mound as a starter for the first time since May 17 and turned in 6 1/3 solid innings.
What was that all about?
"Hey, man, things happen," Armas said. "All I know right now is that it feels pretty good. I'll take it. We'll all take it."
Paulino above all, to be sure.
He was summoned to manager Jim Tracy's office yesterday afternoon, perhaps fearing the worst after his two miscues cost the Pirates the game Tuesday and brought some of the loudest boos all summer.
As it was, Tracy sought simply to pump him up, asking him to "try to remember what it felt like last year, the way you carried yourself."
No one could know if that had any direct impact, but there was no mistaking the impact of Paulino's bat on the game's decisive blow.
After two outs, Freddy Sanchez, Adam LaRoche and Jason Bay singled, the latter driving in a run. Ryan Doumit walked to load the bases, and Paulino lined Braden Looper's 2-1 not-really-a-cutter just over the fence in left field for a 5-0 head start and the Pirates' first grand slam of the season.
It was Paulino's sixth home run, his first since June 5.
All that, and the 17,041 in attendance cheered loudly as he returned to the dugout.
Did those boos motivate him?
"Actually, last night made me see how many people believe in me," Paulino said, referring to Tuesday. "There are a lot of people who tell me I can play, so that got me a little more motivated to show the next day that I can come with my confidence back and play hard."
"Ronny bounced back from a tough night, really showed some mettle," Tracy said. "I'll tell you this: We believe in this guy."
Still, Paulino's comeback paled next to that of his battery-mate.
Armas probably was close to being released in June after failing as a starter, then as a mopup man. But he finally delivered the first return for general manager Dave Littlefield's $3.5 million investment, limiting St. Louis to a run and four hits while striking out five.
The latter might have been most impressive, considering Armas was having trouble getting simple swings and misses until the past month.
"Quite an effort," Tracy said.
Armas, like Paulino, was embraced by the crowd, getting a standing ovation after Tracy lifted him in the seventh.
"That meant a lot to me," Armas said. "I've battled through a lot here this year, and I never got the sense that anyone in Pittsburgh gave up on me."
LaRoche and Jack Wilson each slugged solo home runs, LaRoche's off another Looper cutter in the third, Wilson's a stunning blast to left off a Brad Thompson fastball that made it 8-0 in the sixth.
There was more: Sanchez went 4 for 5. Bay continued his revival by reaching base four times, including his first double since June 26. And Wilson, despite being distracted by the Pirates' ongoing trade talks with the Detroit Tigers, went 3 for 4 with two RBIs.
"It's just one of those nights where everything goes your way," Wilson said. "We had the pitching from Tony, and everybody was hitting. That's a great sign, hopefully, of things to come."
There was one other facet, as Wilson quickly amended.
"Freddy was just awesome for us defensively."
Sanchez made four superb plays, twice ranging well onto the outfield grass for rollers, once diving to his right to stab a liner and, finally, stretching beyond second base for an Albert Pujols bouncer, then throwing violently across his body to nail him in the sixth.
Sanchez's .988 fielding percentage ranks third among National League second basemen, and his five errors are tied for the fewest. He has committed only two errors since May 13.
"He's done nothing but get better at the position," Tracy said.
The Pirates' run total was their greatest since an 18-2 rout of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays June 11, 2005. They previously had 20 hits Aug. 30, 2006, in beating the Chicago Cubs, 10-9.
The victory last night snapped a four-game losing streak.
Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@post-gazette.com.
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