Saving the day
ATLANTA — Tom Glavine's homecoming was an afterthought by the time a routine fly ball finally ended a game that was anything but routine.
"That," said Braves catcher Brian McCann, "was probably the craziest game I've ever been a part of."
Xavier Nady hit his second homer of the game, a three-run shot in the 12th inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates overcame a horrific ninth and another potential collapse for a 12-11 win Monday night, ruining Atlanta's home opener.
The Braves took advantage of four walks and a huge defensive blunder to erase the Pirates' 9-4 lead. But Nady, who led off the eighth with a homer, lined a 2-0 pitch from Blaine Boyer (0-1) into the right-field seats with two outs and two aboard in the 12th.
Franquelis Osoria (1-0) pitched three innings for his first major league win. It was in doubt right to the end: Jeff Francoeur homered, Matt Diaz had an RBI single and the Braves had the potential tying run on base when Corky Miller flied out to center, ending the 4-hour, 28-minute marathon.
"I'm glad for him to get his first win," Nady said. "But I'm sure that wasn't the way it was drawn up."
Glavine returned to Atlanta after five years with the New York Mets. He left after the fifth, having surrendered one earned run, and turned over a 4-2 lead to the bullpen. The relievers were downright awful, giving up 10 runs (nine earned) in seven innings.
The Braves' defense wasn't better, making three costly errors.
Most of the crowd of 45,269 headed for home on a cool night when Pittsburgh went ahead with a four-run eighth off Manny Acosta. They missed quite a finish.
The Pirates had a five-run cushion with Atlanta down to its last three outs, but no lead is safe for a franchise that hasn't had a winning season since 1992.
Damaso Marte walked two, then closer Matt Capps walked two more to bring home a run. Chipper Jones followed with a two-run single, making it 9-7, then it looked as though Pittsburgh would escape. Mark Teixeira popped out, slapping his helmet in disgust. McCann, who homered in the fourth, followed with a soft fly to left.
Game over?
Not so fast.
Jason Bay inexplicably ran by the ball, apparently thinking Nate McLouth had called him off. It fell between them, allowing two runs to score.
"It was one of those things," McLouth said. "He thought I was going to get it, and I thought he was going to get it."
John Russell watched stoically from the Pirates dugout in his first game as a big league manager, perhaps wondering what he'd gotten himself into. At the end, though, his record was 1-0.
Glavine was the big story at the start of the night, returning to the team where he spent the first 16 seasons of his 303-win career. He had long since showered and dressed by the time it was over.
"I was a little anxious in the first inning," Glavine said. "After that, I felt pretty comfortable."
The 42-year-old left-hander has clearly lost a bit of the stuff that carried him to five 20-win seasons and two NL Cy Young Awards during his first stint with the Braves. Working from behind to all but five of 22 hitters, Glavine surrendered seven hits, walked two and threw 97 pitches — only 52 for strikes.
With the game tied at 4, the Pirates teed off on Acosta in the eighth. He gave up the homer to Nady after getting two quick strikes. McLouth lined another one over the right-field wall in nearly the same spot for a three-run homer, equaling his career best with four RBI on the night.
Yunel Escobar, taking over a shortstop for Edgar Renteria, went 3-for-4 with three RBI but made a costly throwing error that allowed the tying run to score in the seventh.
