Jason Lane‘s pinch-hit double drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning and Chad Qualls came in with two on in the bottom of the 10th and induced a dramatic game-ending double play for his first career save as the Stros, held hitless by the Pirates Dave Williams for six innings, rallied in the late innings to beat the Pirates 5-4 Sunday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
How’s that for an opening sentence? Whew!
By winning this “must” game following three losses in four games in Pittsburgh, the Stros stayed a game behind the Giants in the NL wild-card race. The Giants beat the Diamondbacks 5-2. Even after losing three of five games over the weekend to the Pirates, the Stros have won 22 of 28 and 15 of 20 overall, and still finished 12-5 against the Bucs this season.
Roy Oswalt left with a 4-2 lead after seven innings and was in position to become the NL’s first 18-game winner, but the Pirates rallied for two runs against Brad Lidge, who had previously converted 21 of 24 save opportunities. The Stros trailed 2-0 and had only a walk through six innings against the left-handed Williams until breaking through for two runs in both the seventh and eighth.
After a well-deserved day off on Monday, the Stros gear up for a key three game series with the Cards on Tuesday in St. Louis. The Rocket starts the first game of the series, and then its almost anyone’s guess who Manager Garner will trot out for the next two games. The Stros return to the Juice Box this Friday for a weekend series against the Brew Crew before taking off for San Francisco for the season’s biggest series to date next Tuesday-Thursday against the Giants.