PITTSBURGH - The Baltimore Orioles play in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1979 on Monday and, just like then, they'll arrive as a first-place club.

The last Orioles-Pirates game in Pittsburgh - in what then was 9-year-old Three Rivers Stadium - was Game 5 of the 1979 World Series on Oct. 14, 1979. It proved to be the pivotal game of that unusual Series, and the outcome hung on a curious but highly successful managerial move by the Pirates' Chuck Tanner.

The Orioles, widely considered the best team in baseball, owned a 3-1 lead after beating the "We Are Family" Pirates in Pittsburgh the previous two days. With 23-game winner Mike Flanagan going again after winning Game 1, the Orioles seemed to be in excellent position to close out the World Series before it could return to Baltimore.

But, in an intriguing move, Tanner started Jim Rooker, who was hurt much of that season, rather than Bert Blyleven, an accomplished pitcher who would win 287 games in his career. Rooker, then 37, won only four games that season and would win just two more games in his career; Blyleven won another 139.

Tanner gambled with Rooker because he thought the left-hander's mix of off-speed pitches, which could be as confounding for right-handed hitters as left-handers, would negate some of the Orioles' power.

The move worked almost perfectly; Rooker limited the Orioles to one run and three hits before being lifted trailing 1-0 in the fifth for a pinch-hitter. Blyleven, a much harder thrower than Rooker, followed with four shutout innings as the Pirates rallied for a 7-1 victory behind Bill Madlock's four hits.

Using Blyleven in relief meant Tanner used up two starting pitchers for the rest of the World Series in one game, though he had no plans to give the Orioles another look at Rooker.

That game and the Pirates' belief the Orioles had become overly confident while cruising to the 3-1 lead may have turned the series. The Orioles scored only two runs in the final three games, with the Pirates winning 4-0 in Game 6 in Baltimore behind John Candelaria and 4-1 in Game 7 behind Jim Bibby, relievers Don Robinson and Grant Jackson and another save from Tekulve, who pitched 4 2-3 innings of shutout relief just in the final two games.

But if it hadn't been for Tanner's gamble in Game 5, there might not have been a Game 6 or Game 7.

"Earl Weaver was a great manager," Tanner said. "But I've kidded him that the Pirates had the better manager in that World Series."

The 2005 Orioles, managed by former Pirates outfielder Lee Mazzilli, lead the AL East as they open a three-game series Monday night in PNC Park.

The Pirates didn't bring up top prospect Ryan Doumit from Triple-A Indianapolis to sit, manager Lloyd McClendon said Sunday.The Pirates optioned former starting third baseman Ty Wigginton to Indianapolis because they couldn't find at-bats for him, but McClendon said they'll find them for the switch-hitting Doumit. The catcher-outfielder was hitting .345 with 12 homers and 35 RBIs in Triple-A."I'm excited to have him," McClendon said. "We've got a legitimate guy to fill that designated hitter spot now (for upcoming interleague games against the Red Sox and Yankees). ... We brought him here to play, we'll find places for him to play and get his bat into the lineup."Doumit impressed McClendon during spring training by hitting nearly .400 with five homers and 11 RBIs."He's different when he steps into the box," McClendon said. "He's like a golfer who jokes and laughs, but when he steps into the tee box he's focused. It's the same with this kid. When he steps in the box, he's all business. We think we've got a pretty special kid here."Doumit was pulled from Indianapolis' game against Charlotte on Saturday night by manager Trent Jewett just before he was to bat with the bases loaded. He didn't have time to get to Pittsburgh that night, but caught an early morning flight Sunday."Trent says, `Hey, back in the dugout,' " Doumit said Sunday. "I'm thinking, `You've got to be crazy.' I don't know what to think, but when I walked back in dugout, everybody congratulated me. They told me to go home and get some sleep, and I said, `Yeah, right.' "