Home not so sweet
PITTSBURGH — Bases loaded, nobody out, the infield is in, the outfield is in. A fly ball wins it, so does a softly hit ground ball. There's almost no way a team can lose in this situation.
The Pittsburgh Pirates did, and the missed opportunity ended up giving the Arizona Diamondbacks a badly needed victory in a game they appeared to have given away.
Johnny Estrada's pinch-hit single drove in the go-ahead run in the 11th and the Diamondbacks halted a five-game losing streak despite squandering a four-run lead, rallying to beat Pittsburgh 5-4 Monday for the Pirates' fifth loss in a row.
The Pirates, losing their sixth in a seven-game homestand, loaded the bases with none out in the ninth, then had the potential winning run on third with one out in the 10th and couldn't score either time against reliever Greg Aquino (2-0).
"That game's in our hands," Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson said. "It's frustrating. You figure some kind of bounce is going to go your way."
The Pirates loaded the bases in the ninth on singles by Wilson and Sean Casey and Jason Bay's intentional walk. But Aquino struck out Jeromy Burnitz, Freddy Sanchez and Jose Castillo, all on pitches in or near the dirt.
"I saw two sliders for strikes," Pirates manager Jim Tracy said. "The rest were balls in the dirt. We didn't show good patience there. The onus isn't on the hitter there, it's on the pitcher. You have everything in your favor there."
An inning later, Ronny Paulino doubled and reached third with one out, but Aquino retired Jose Bautista and Wilson.
Right then, a fan stood up in the upper deck and yelled, "No team can be this bad."
The Pirates are — they take a 26-45 record into Kansas City for an interleague series starting tonight that matches the worst teams in the NL and AL. The Royals are a major league-worst 19-49.
"It seems like every time we lose, it's a one-run game," Bautista said, pointing to the Pirates' 7-21 record in one-run games.
After winning a game they probably should have lost, the Diamondbacks were glad they returned to Pittsburgh to make up a May 11 rainout. That day, manager Bob Melvin was unhappy the Pirates didn't wait longer before calling the game off, since it forced his team to make a side trip between series at Texas and Tampa Bay.
"Any time there's a win, it's worth the flight," Melvin said.
The Diamondbacks had opened the 4-0 lead against Zach Duke on doubles by Eric Byrnes and Scott Hairston, three Duke walks and Chris Snyder's two-run single.
Bautista cut it to 4-2 with his eighth homer, a two-run drive in the fifth that represented the only runs off starter Claudio Vargas in six innings. Reliever Brandon Lyon took the 4-2 lead into the eighth, but Burnitz led off with his 11th homer, and Sanchez doubled and scored the tying run on Paulino's single.
