PIRATES 3 – ROCKIES 2
Win: Jared. Hughes (5-2)
Loss: Chad Bettis (0-2)
AROUND THE BASES
The Pittsburgh Pirates (51-46) rallied from a 2-1 deficit for the second straight game to beat the Colorado Rockies (40-57) 3-2 in extra innings on Saturday night.
Jordy Mercer hit the game winning double for the walkoff winner in the 11th inning. Neil Walker who had a three hit night, singled off Rockies reliever Chad Bettis to leadoff the inning and Colorado decided to walk Pedro Alvarez with one out and pitch to Mercer, putting runners at first and second base.
The move backfired as Mercer drilled a 1-0 pitch to the gap in left center, scoring Walker for the win.
Pittsburgh improved to 51-46 on the season and trail the Milwaukee Brewers by just 2.5 games for first place in the NL Central.
Jared Hughes received the win and got out of potential trouble in the 11th to keep the game tied when he snagged a blistering line drive from Charlie Blackmon.
Pirates starter Charlie Morton went seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs. His lone mistake came in the seventh inning when Carlos Gonzalez put the Rockies ahead 2-1 when he hit a two-run homer off Morton over the right field fence.
Aside from the Gonzalez homer, Morton was effective in keeping the ball down as eight of the first 10 batters were ground ball outs. “Breaking balls were down,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Really good for him. He needs to continue to look at the volume of work.”
POST-GAME NOTES
  • Neil Walker went 3-5 with one RBI and two runs scored
  • Starling Marte was held out of lineup but does not have a concussion, Hurdle said.
  • Gerrit Cole will throw 35-45 pitches tomorrow. Pitches will include fastball, curve ball and change up.
  • The Pirates improved to 26-11 against teams below .500
  • Pirates are an NL leading 31-20 at home this season