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Pittsburgh Pirates' Pedro Alvarez hits a solo home run off Miami Marlins pitcher Ricky Nolasco during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh Friday. (AP photo / July 20, 2012) |
Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle’s nickname for second baseman Neil Walker is “Dennis the Menace.”
Considering the way Walker tormented Miami on Friday night, Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen would be hard-pressed to disagree.
Walker broke a tie with a lead-off homer in the fifth then used a little trickery to turn a crucial double play in the eighth to help Pittsburgh to a 4-3 victory.
The affable Walker offered a sheepish “no comment” when asked if he actually tagged Miami’s Justin Ruggiano between first and second base to snuff out a late Miami rally. Replays indicated Walker’s glove may have missed Ruggiano, though that didn’t stop second base umpire Dan Iassogna from making a fist to indicate Ruggiano was out.
“I didn’t take acting class in high school,” Walker said with a laugh.
Maybe, but Walker and the rest of the Pirates are starting to get pretty comfortable of playing the part of contender.
Pedro Alvarez hit his 20th homer of the season, Andrew McCutchen had two hits to boost his batting average to a major-league best .372 and Kevin Correia (7-6) overcame a shaky start to win his fifth consecutive decision as the Pirates moved to a season-best 12 games over .500 (52-40) and remained a half-game behind Cincinnati for first place in the NL Central.
Joel Hanrahan survived a rocky ninth to pick up his 27th save for Pittsburgh, which has the best home record (30-14) in baseball. The Pirates’ 27 comeback victories trail only the 29 by the New York Yankees.
“This is a really resilient group,” Walker said. “We feel confident no matter who is out on the mound.”
Jose Reyes had three hits, including his fifth homer of the season, for the Marlins. John Buck singled and doubled for Miami, which has dropped three straight and seven of 10. Ricky Nolasco (8-8) walked one and struck out seven in six innings but couldn’t protect a pair of early two-run leads.
