Pirates defeat Rockies, 9-3, to get magic number to two

DENVER Go grab your goggles, and put champagne on ice. A 9-3 Pirates win Monday night at Coors Field ticked down their magic number to two. They could clinch their third consecutive postseason berth Tuesday with another win and a San Francisco Giants loss.

Starling Marte and Aramis Ramirez homered off Colorado Rockies rookie Jon Gray, and A.J. Burnett skirted major trouble as the Pirates (90-60) won their third game in a row. They remain four games behind the first-place St. Louis Cardinals and two games ahead of the Chicago Cubs for the top wild-card spot.

Headlining the Pirates’ 15-hit offensive bonanza: Ramirez was 2-for-5 with two RBIs; Marte had four hits and fell a triple short of the cycle; Jordy Mercer had four hits, including two RBI doubles that scored Francisco Cervelli, who singled three times.

Burnett (9-5) allowed six hits and three runs, two earned, over 5 2/3 innings to earn his first win since July 20. He walked four and struck out five. The All-Star right-hander’s otherwise smooth start hit the skids in a three-run fifth, a rally started by Pedro Alvarez’s league-leading 21st error.

The Rockies (63-87) loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth and sixth but wasted both chances.

In the fifth, Burnett struck out slugger Nolan Arenado for the third time on a breaking ball in the dirt.

In the sixth, reliever Antonio Bastardo entered for a left-on-left matchup and got Charlie Blackmon to line out sharply to right.

Gray (0-2) gave up nine hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings.

Before the game, manager Clint Hurdle was asked whether he had kept an eye on the magic number. He said he had not, and added that the anticipation of clinching another postseason berth gives him no “tinglings” or “warm fuzzies.” The Pirates are after much more.

“Does the opportunity to get to the playoffs diminish any? None whatsoever,” Hurdle said. “Only 10 teams are going to get in, and 20 teams are going to go home. ... I would never slight the fact of getting in. But we’re trying to create a different legacy.”

The Pirates have not won their division since 1992. That would seem a good place to start.

“We’re still playing for the title, and for winning the division,” Hurdle said.

“... It’s been a long time between World Series trophies. I’m sure (Pirates fans) could find room for one more.”

The Coors Field effect was evident early in the series opener.

Marte, the second batter of the game, rocketed Gray’s fastball to the upper reaches of the left-field grandstand for his 18th home run this season and his second in as many games.

Two batters later, Ramirez, a .333 career hitter in Denver, lifted a high fly ball into the jet stream. It wasn’t struck particularly well, but center fielder Blackmon slowly drifted back until he ran into the wall, and the baseball flew over.

The Pirates went up, 3-0, then 4-0 on nearly identical plays. In the second, Mercer pulled a double down the left-field line, and Cervelli sprinted to score from first. In the third, the duo did the same. As he walked to the dugout, panting, Cervelli shook his head and smiled at Mercer.

Mercer scored on Gregory Polanco’s single to center. Then, the Rockies began their march back from a five-run deficit. Alvarez dropped a double-play toss, and, two batters later, Tom Murphy smoked a three-run home run to left.

The Rockies proceeded to leave eight runners on base over the next three innings.

After Ramirez’s RBI single in the ninth, rookie Keon Broxton, who was called up Monday from Class AAA Indianapolis, pinch ran, stole third and scored on a throwing error, giving the Pirates their ninth and final run.

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