Three-run eighth helps Pittsburgh avoid sweep

PITTSBURGH - Their offense had been on snooze control the better part of a week. And here they were again, entering the last of the sixth inning with nothing to show on the scoreboard.

Sooner or later, it stood to reason someone would step up and deliver a clutch hit for John Russell's Pittsburgh Pirates.

First it was Adam LaRoche, then Steve Pearce and later, Jack Wilson. In danger of sustaining a fourth consecutive loss to the Mets, this time Pittsburgh rallied for a 5-2 Monday afternoon victory at PNC Park.

A team which desperately needed to feel good about something finally could at the conclusion of a seven-game homestand that resulted in just two wins.

Though the Bucs pitched well enough to prevail in three of four decisions against New York, their lack of timely offense prevented them from doing so.

Russell would like to think his team has worked its way out of this recent slump, basically devoid of breakout innings. "We finally started to swing the bats a little better," he stated. "Now we need to keep it up awhile."

That wouldn't be a bad idea considering the Pirates visit St. Louis (tonight and Wednesday) before heading to Milwaukee over the weekend.

Pittsburgh received another sharp outing from southpaw Paul Maholm who yielded just two runs and five hits over seven innings Monday. "He's given us a chance to win every time out for the past eight or nine starts," said Russell.

For a fourth consecutive outing vs. New York, the Pirates struggled against a Mets' starter. The Bucs failed to score a run against John Maine on Monday.

"Fortunately his pitch count was up (96) early," advised Russell. After Maine was lifted, the Pirates had much better success vs. New York's bullpen - beginning with Brian Stokes in the sixth.

Catcher Ryan Doumit drilled a leadoff single in front of LaRoche whose two-run line drive home run tied the game and set the stage for the Bucs' bullpen to come up big.

After Maholm was pinch hit for in the seventh, Tyler Yates and Sean Burnett came on. Yates worked himself into an eighth inning bases loaded jam before Burnett entered and faced Mets' slugger Carlos Delgado.

"I got him with a fast ball. He may have been looking slider," said Burnett who earned his first big league win since July 25, 2004. "I feel as good now as I ever have," declared Burnett whose career has been beset by injuries.

Pittsburgh carried that momentum to the bottom of the eighth and finally broke through, scoring three times.

Consecutive hits by Adam LaRoche and Jason Michaels preceded an intentional pass to Andy LaRoche which loaded the bases.

Pearce then hit reliever Duaner Sanchez' first pitch into left field for the go-ahead single. One week earlier, Pearce produced similar heroics in Pittsburgh's come from behind win at Shea Stadium.

Wilson followed with a liner down the left field line resulting in a two-run double. "The way this series went, it felt real good getting that hit," the Bucs' shortstop observed.

Designated closer John Grabow made things interesting in the top of the ninth, issuing a pair of walks before inducing a game-ending dround ball off the bat of shortstop Argenis Reyes.

"Hopefully, this gets us back on track," Wilson remarked. "We have to carry this momentum over to the road and need to play better away from home."

Maholm had no problem digesting his eighth no-decision of the season. "I'm just interested in giving my team a chance," he offered. "(It's) all about winning and not about personal accomplishments for me."

Wilson and Adam LaRoche registered multi-hit outings for the Bucs. Mets' leftfielder Nick Evans colelcted two doubles. Centerfielder Carlos Beltran also doubled and clubbed a sacrifice fly.

The Pirates are scheduled to send righthander Ian Snell (4-10, 5.91) against Cardinals' righty Braden Looper (11-9, 4.07) this evening in St. Louis.