Bucs polish off Rockies in finale

07/19/2006
PITTSBURGH -- Any progress the Pirates had made in the past week was slipping away fast as the misery of their first half came seeping back in during the ninth inning of Wednesday's 6-5 Pirates victory over the Rockies.
Holding a 6-4 lead heading into the final frame, Mike Gonzalez made things plenty interesting, allowing four of Colorado's first five hitters to reach base and close the gap to one.
Manager Jim Tracy watched as his closer vigorously paced around the mound in the agonizing humidity of the early afternoon.
"It seemed like I was out there forever," Gonzalez would later say.
Two months ago, in this same situation, Tracy would have certainly summoned Roberto Hernandez from the bullpen to finish the deal. But on this day, he never saw Gonzalez's confidence waver.
Even when he worked the count full to Rockies All-Star Matt Holliday and was being booed by the 19,881 at PNC Park, he was outwardly intense, which Tracy knew could have been mistaken for unease. But he saw that Gonzalez was in full control.
"He's not afraid of the inning," Tracy said. "That's what makes him so interesting."
On a 3-2 offering, Gonzalez struck out Holliday with a high fastball. Then with the crowd standing, he followed with another swinging strikeout to Ryan Shealy to nail down his 15th save of the season.
The Pirates are now heading south to Miami with a modicum of confidence, having won consecutive series for just the second time all season.
"It's a great start to the second half of the season," Tracy said.
"[We are] very positive," Sean Casey said. "We're trying to forget about our record and look forward. Let's quit talking about [winning] and do it."
The Pirates battered Rockies ace Jason Jennings for six runs over just six innings, making the 28-year-old right-hander endure his worst outing since April. Over his previous six starts, Jennings had allowed just seven earned runs.
All six of the Bucs' runs came with two outs -- a stark contrast to the Pirates' first half woes in the clutch. On Wednesday, their approaches palpably changed with runners in scoring position.
"It's a huge stride," Tracy said. "It's something that was lacking in the first half of the season. It was very encouraging."
The Bucs' strides started in the fourth inning with Casey's run-scoring single and continued when Joe Randa drove a two-run double to the wall past center fielder Choo Freeman.
Randa, who got a rare start at third and finished 2-for-4, is now hitting .394 in 23 games since being reinstated off the disabled list with a stress fracture in his foot and has seen his trade value soar.
"I feel like I'm healthy and finally able to do some of the things I'm capable of," Randa said. "I'm felling good right now."
Trailing, 4-3, in the sixth, the Pirates were able to pick up a win for starter Zach Duke with another three-run spurt. With two outs and nobody on, the Bucs banged out three straight singles to knot the game at four. Ronny Paulino delivered the decisive blow with a two-run double down the right-field line to put the Bucs ahead for good.
Duke was largely impressive in notching his second consecutive win, despite faltering in a three-run sixth. The 23-year-old lefty allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings.
"I had hitters on the defensive today and that was the key," Duke said.
"Pitching is everything when you're in close games," Randa said. "We got it today."
For Tracy, Wednesday's win offered him another opportunity to look back at what could have been this season. If only they had this pitching and situational hitting before the season unraveled. If only they hadn't gone 10-25 in one-run games. If only.
"We're not going to get them all every time, but if we picked up one here and there the first half of the season, the outcome of it would have been dramatically different," Tracy said.

Source: http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/