Thursday, September 27, 2012

KC Clocked 6-5

Another day, another loss. The Bucs made this one interesting, scoring twice in the ninth to put a little fear of the Lord into the Mets before bowing 6-5. The first inning was a breeze for both RA Dickey and Kevin Correia.

In the second, Garrett Jones led off with a double to left and went to third an out later on a bloop knock to left by Travis Snider. Rod Barajas followed with a ground rule double, plating GI and putting Bucs at second and third. Jordy Mercer gently rolled a ball 60' up the third base line and Wright couldn't finish the tough play to make it 2-0 Bucs.

The lead was cut in half quickly when Correia served up a leadoff homer to Ike Davis on a 3-2 slider to start the second. An out later, Mike Baxter was served an 0-2 meatball heater that he drove to right center, causing KC to hang his head, sure he had been touched for another long ball. But Snider climbed the fence, and extending maybe three feet over the rail, he sno-coned the ball to take the homer away, hanging on as he came down to earth. That'll be on Sports Center tonite.

The third went quietly. Hot Rod hit a solo home run in the fourth off an 0-2 dancer. KC had retired six straight before giving up a single to Daniel Murphy to open the frame, followed by a David Wright grounder that went off Josh Harrison's couldn't corral for a single to put runners on the corners. An out later, Jerry Hairston lined an RBI single to right field to make it 3-2.

Dickey struck out the side in the fifth, sandwiched around a walk to Jones. It was the last frame for Kevin Correia.

Andres Torres walked on five pitches to lead off the NY half. With one out, Ruben Tejada blooped a single and Daniel Murphy banged one up the middle to score Torres. Hairston singled in another run. Wright, who owns KC in his career, clocked a 2-1 fastball into the bullpen in right-center to give the Mets a 6-3 lead. That was it for KC. He went 4-1/3 frames, giving up six runs on seven hits and a walk with two K while throwing 80 pitches. It was the second straight game that he exited after a three-run homer. Hisanori Takahashi closed out the frame.

Neither team did a whole heckuva lot after that until the ninth. Takashasi, Chris Resop and Tony Watson put up goose eggs. The only compelling moment was  in the seventh when Cutch dove for Murphy's bloop in center, trapped it but still got a force at second. Nice play, and we hope it doesn't cost him. He left the field between Hurdle and the trainer but under his own power with a left knee contusion. He said after the game that he would be good to go, but we'll hold our breath until the docs check him out in Pittsburgh tomorrow.

Meanwhile, RA Dickey struck out 13 , tying a career high. The knuckleballer retired eight straight batters during one stretch with a run of five straight strikeouts. He left after a two-out walk in the eighth to Snider, and Jon Rauch got the last out.

The Bucs tried to climb the hill in the ninth. Mercer battled for 11 pitches and drew a leadoff walk. An out later, Alex Presley's 10th homer off a 1-2 fastball, cut the lead to one. Bobby Parnell got the call, and retired the next two batters routinely to earn his fifth save of the season and ice Dickey's twentieth victory.

The Bucs come home for a season-ending six game homestand. AJ Burnett will take on the Reds' Homer Bailey tomorrow night.

  • Cutch went 0-for-4 to finish the day at .332; he's now behind Buster Posey in the BA race.
  • In his first start since the Gettysburg Address, Jordy Mercer went 2-for-3 with a walk. Hot Rod Barajas and Garrett Jones also had a pair of knocks.
  • The Pirates whiffed 14 times, led by Starling Marte and Pedro with three apiece.
  • The next Bucco loss ends any hope for a winning season. It looks like the streak lives on.
  • Neil Walker will see a back doc tomorrow in Pittsburgh to diagnose his progress. The visit was previously scheduled, and is just a maintenance exam.

Travis Snider catch:

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