This time, fantastic finish eludes Pirates
By Tom Singer / MLB.com | 4/10/2012 8:26 PM ET
PIT@LAD: Correia pitches six innings of one-run ballLOS ANGELES -- For a manager whose club had just been bested in near walk-off style -- Andre Ethier's home run with two outs in the eighth had given the Dodgers a 2-1 win Tuesday afternoon -- Clint Hurdle wore quite a smile a few minutes after the final out.
Hurdle apparently likes gripping, quality, entertaining baseball almost as much as he likes Pirates wins.
"Great ball right out of the chute. Four great games," Hurdle said. "To play four one-run games out of the blocks, against three Cy Young Award winners, can't ask for more."
Until this season, Pirates fans couldn't even ask for that: For the first time in their 126-year history, the Bucs have opened the season with four consecutive one-run games, splitting them for the most stomach-turning 2-2 record imaginable.
"It doesn't turn my stomach. I'm built for this," Hurdle said. "I've got two small kids at home -- and a 26-year-old daughter."
On Tuesday, the Pirates had yet another response to being throttled by an elite starting pitcher, this time the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw. They tied up the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner in the seventh after he'd two-hit them through six.
The last word on this occasion, however, belonged to Ethier. With his tiebreaking homer off Jason Grilli, he dented the Pittsburgh bullpen's early-season perfection (no earned runs in 10 2/3 innings) to whip a raucous Dodger Stadium Opening Day crowd of 56,000 into a frenzy.
Ethier connected after Grilli had fanned the first two men he faced, including Matt Kemp on three straight awkward swings at his sliders.
"I'm not going to beat myself up, because I know I threw the ball outstanding today," Grilli said. "I made one bad pitch -- not a terrible pitch. It got more of the plate than I wanted it to. One inch down, it changes everything."
"Jason missed his location with one pitch. It was probably even the right pitch, just spun out over the plate," Hurdle said. "He threw it with conviction, it just got away from him."
With starter Kevin Correia holding the Dodgers at bay through six innings, again the Bucs climbed out from under an ace starting pitcher's thumb to draw into a 1-1 tie in the seventh. Alex Presley and Andrew McCutchen led off with singles, and both advanced on Casey McGehee's fly to left before Matt Hague's grounder to deep short delivered Presley.
"I knew that is was gonna be close, and against a Cy Young Award winner, I'd have to pitch well," Correia said, "to give us any chance to win.
"This is something we're gonna have to get used to. It's what we did last year, when we were winning: Keep it close, and find a way to grind it out in the end."
The beginning has been grand: Correia completed the first spin of the Pirates' four-man rotation, joining Erik Bedard, Jeff Karstens and James McDonald in allowing four runs in 25 innings.
The awakening had come after the Pirates had been held to two hits through six innings for the third time in four games. Before Kershaw, Philadelphia's Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee had done the number on them.
"Clay brought his 'A' game. I think he's over that flu," Hurdle said with a wry grin, referring to Kershaw exiting his Opening Day start after just three innings.
"Today was the first day I felt normal," said Kershaw. "I got out of the first inning and Opening Day jitters and then got out of the second inning with a guy on third. But my stuff got worse as the game went on, which comes from only throwing three innings last time and not getting my pitch count up."
Both of those early hits were shockers, though it wasn't clear which was the bigger -- the fifth triple of McGehee's career, or the 28th hit of Correia's.
It is unlikely that there is a bigger offensive sin in baseball than squandering a leadoff triple, and that's what the Pirates committed in the second. Of course, Kershaw was complicit in the offense.
After McGehee led off with his triple to straightaway center, Kershaw fanned both Hague and Neil Walker before retiring the side on Rod Barajas' liner to left.
"We had opportunities to score runs, and we didn't do it," Hurdle said. "At this level, it usually causes you some angst in you don't cash in the opportunities presented to you. We're still looking for that timely hit to prolong an inning."
Or, to give the offense an earlier jump-start: Of the Pirates' total of eight runs, six have come in the seventh or later.
The Dodgers got a run in the first, when Dee Gordon led off with a single. Gordon then stepping-stoned around the bases on his own steal, Mark Ellis' grounder and finally Kemp's scoring grounder.
Correia would pitch out of both of his two-on jams, in the second and in the sixth. In his six innings, he was charged with four hits and a run, while walking two and striking out three.
In summary, Hurdle said, "These are the kind of games we expect to play. We're not going to get blown out, and we're not going to blow people out. This is where we are, without much margin for error, no safety net."
McGehee an important early-season player
By Tom Singer / MLB.com | 04/10/12 5:29 PM ET
LOS ANGELES -- Casey McGehee should be feeling like the bomb squad member who's called in when no one else can do the job. Cliff Lee and Clayton Kershaw? "Get me McGehee."
And the Pirates third baseman is loving the opportunity to start against the National League's top left-handed pitchers, as well as making the most of it.
In the early going, McGehee has looked less like the guy who struggled to a .233 average last season with the Brewers, and a lot more like the feared hitter who led Milwaukee in RBIs in 2010. Not coincidentally, McGehee has also been thinking like his '10 model.
Pirates on walk-off win
"I've made it a point to just go with it, react to pitches and drive them the best I can," McGehee said. "Last year, I got into a trap of overthinking everything. Just trying a more relaxed approach."
Manager Clint Hurdle, who has noticed, said that "McGehee is going to be an interesting player for us," which could become one of 2012's top understatements.
Early Tuesday, McGehee gave indication he was pumped for his at-bats against Kershaw. He blasted numerous batting practice pitches into the seats -- including one majestic drive that nearly cleared the roof of Dodger Stadium's left-field pavilion into the parking lot.
Pirates soak in Dodgers' historic home opener
LOS ANGELES -- Two down, one to go for the Pirates, in Opening Day-speak. San Francisco remains in the Bucs' Opening Day trifecta, but it is doubtful AT&T Park can cook up anything to rival what the Dodgers staged Tuesday afternoon.
From listening enraptured as the Beach Boys delivered their signature "Surfer Girl," to watching dozens of white birds circle above the field and through the smoke of fireworks, the Bucs took in favors of the party they hoped to crash.
The production was appropriate. Not only were the Dodgers observing Opening Day '12, they also began a yearlong celebration of Dodger Stadium's 50th anniversary.
The Pirates played a significant role in the iconic ballpark's maiden 1962 season. The Dodgers opened their second homestand in their new house on April 27 against the Pirates. After Los Angeles took the first two behind Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax, the Bucs came back to take the final two games of that four-game series for a split.
The Pirates will head to San Francisco later this week for the Giants' home opener, their third and final Opening Day.
Morton rejoins Pirates, with first start nearing
LOS ANGELES -- The last time Charlie Morton had joined the Pirates for an Opening Day gala, he was just visiting. This time, he's staying.
Morton had been in Pittsburgh for last Thursday's season opener, after which he'd returned to Florida to resume extended spring training.
Morton again rubbed elbows with Pittsburgh teammates lined up along the baseline following his introduction prior to Tuesday afternoon's Dodger Stadium opener. He trotted out of the Pirates' dugout a few hours after completing the convincing rehab start that should return him to the rotation this weekend.
The right-hander delivered 98 pitches in Monday night's start for Class A Indianapolis in Columbus, striking out eight while allowing six hits and a run in 7 2/3 innings.
The Pirates are weighing the roster move that would be needed to accommodate Morton, but manager Clint Hurdle acknowledged the likelihood he would be used in one of the starts against the Giants.
Worth noting
• Vin Scully's voice could still be heard at Dodger Stadium, delivering the taped welcome to fans approaching the gates. But the broadcast legend, silenced by a cold, missed his first Opening Day since 1977 under doctor's orders. Back in '77, Scully was off covering the Masters golf tournament for CBS. Jaime Jarrin, the Dodgers' other Hall of Fame broadcaster, was behind his microphone as usual, starting his 55th season with the club.
• As the Pirates were introduced prior to the game and lined up along the first-base foul line, the players didn't draw any reaction from fans, spared the usual booing accorded visitors. However, when Rod Barajas' turn came, he received loud cheers for his contributions as the Dodgers' catcher the prior two seasons.
After strong openers, Billingsley and Bedard face off
By Evan Drellich / MLB.com | 4/10/2012 9:24 PM ET
This time through the rotation, the tougher task for Chad Billingsley isn't following up on a fine start from ace Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, but a fine start of his own.
Billingsley was dominant in 8 1/3 innings against the Padres in his 2012 debut, striking out 11 and allowing just three hits and one walk in a 6-0 win Thursday. His second start comes on Wednesday in the middle game of three against the Pirates.
"I've probably faced him 100 times, and I've never seen him pitch like that," said San Diego's Chase Headley. "He's a great pitcher, an All-Star, but we couldn't figure him out."
Left-hander Erik Bedard goes for Pittsburgh after a strong first outing of his own, a one-run, seven-inning performance against the Phillies on Opening Day -- a day when the Bucs were held scoreless by, who else, Roy Halladay.
"All you can do is try matching up zeros with Roy Halladay," Bedard said.
A career American Leaguer before this year, Bedard's made one career start against the Dodgers, start No. 10 of his career in June 2004. He gave up one run in five innings of a 4-3 loss for the Orioles,
The Pirates (2-2) haven't been able to rev their bats before the late innings so far. In three of their four games, they've been held to two hits through six innings -- including Tuesday's 2-1 loss to Kershaw -- but the Pirates still have won two of those games.
Billingsley isn't typically a dominant April pitcher, with a 4.01 ERA lifetime. Bedard's April ERA is 4.08. Lifetime, Billingsley is 5-1 against the Pirates in six starts and four relief appearances, and he's allowed them just two home runs.
Pirates: Morton set for weekend return
• Right-hander Charlie Morton (offseason hip surgery) threw 98 pitches in Monday night's start for Triple-A Indianapolis in Columbus, striking out eight while allowing six hits and a run in 7 2/3 innings. The Pirates have a three-game weekend set with the Giants in San Francisco, and Morton's fifth day would be Saturday.
• Shortstop Clint Barmes, 0-for-12 to start the season, is 4-for-11 against Billingsley lifetime.
Dodgers: Lilly on track for Saturday
• Left-hander Ted Lilly, on the disabled list with neck stiffness, remains scheduled to pitch on Saturday at Dodger Stadium against San Diego despite the six earned runs he allowed in as many innings in a Class A game on Sunday.
• A cold kept Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully from calling Tuesday's home opener.
• James Loney is 0-for-14 to start the season. "He's the same as he was in Spring Training and the end of last year," manager Don Mattingly said. "At this point, I'm still feeling good with James. My concern is that the next thing you know, he's got a toe tap and his hands are lower and his feet are spread out. But I think he feels all right."
Worth noting
• Including Tuesday, the Dodgers have the National League's best winning percentage against Pittsburgh over the last 10 seasons, going 51-21 (.708) against the Pirates since 2002. The Dodgers haven't dropped a season set against Pittsburgh since 2000.
Starting pitching sparkles again in loss
April 11, 2012 5:36 am
By Bill Brink / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
LOS ANGELES -- For seven innings, the Pirates went round for round with the reigning Cy Young award winner.
They received another good outing from their starting pitcher, as they did in the first series. They also struggled to score runs, as they did in the first series, and a late Los Angeles Dodgers run made the difference.
Andre Ethier's eighth-inning home run against Jason Grilli sent the Pirates to a 2-1 loss to the Dodgers Tuesday at Dodger Stadium, evening their record at 2-2.
"Seeing it take off, I knew it was gone," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "You can tell when he hits them they're going to go."
Today
· Game: Pirates at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m., Dodger Stadium.
· TV, Radio: Root Sports, KDKA-FM 93.7.
· Probables: LHP Erik Bedard (0-1, 1.29) vs. RHP Chad Billingsley (1-0, 0.00).
· Key matchup: Billingsley vs. Andrew McCutchen, who is hitting .333 (4 for 12) with two doubles in his career against him.