Hey, maybe life after Jack Splat and Freddy Sanchez won't be all that bad. With the dynamic duo on the bench nursing various aches and pains, the Pirates still pounded out a 10-3 victory over Arizona tonight.
Yusmeiro Petit, as befitting a pitcher with an 0-4 record and 7.15 ERA, was tossing watermelons. The Pirates failed to take advantage early, falling behind 2-0 after three innings, but finally caught up to the soft-tossing righty.
They rang up six runs in the fourth and fifth frames and never looked back. The middle infield pair of Ramon Vazquez and Delwyn Young combined for five hits, three runs scored, and three RBI.
Garrett Jones ran a couple of awkward routes in right field, but had no awkward moments at the dish. He banged out his tenth dinger, becoming the first Buc since the late Donn Clendenon in 1966 to hit 10 home runs in July.
The Pirates collected 16 hits; every position player, including pinch hitter Jeff Salazar, had a knock (it was his first of the season). Young led the parade with three hits; five other Buccos had a pair. Eight Pirates scored; seven drove in runs, and they went 6-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Zach Duke wasn't particularly sharp, but lasted 6-1/3 innings, giving up three runs and squaring his record at 9-9. The D-Back baserunners helped him immeasurably.
Stephen Drew was thrown out at third trying to stretch a leadoff double in the third. On the next pitch, teammate Ryan Roberts homered. In the fifth, the D-backs left a runner stranded at third when Justin Upton was caught in an inning-ending rundown between first and second trying to advance on a throw home.
It continued the feast-or-famine pattern for the Zachster. In his nine wins, the Pirates have scored 74 runs; in his nine losses, just 13.
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