Bucs buckle down late, move to within win of NLCS

Alvarez puts Pirates up after tying HR off Melancon; Grilli closes ninth

October 6th, 2013

PITTSBURGH -- When this postseason began, Clint Hurdle was asked whether his Pirates, having merely earned the right to play beyond Game 162, were now playing with "house money."

Hurdle's eyes flashed bolts.

"Not at all. That's not the thinking of the guys in there," the manager said, tilting his head toward the clubhouse. "There's only one thing on their minds. You go into it planning to win the World Series."

One step at a time, but the Bucs, Major League dregs for 20 years, took a big step Sunday toward the next step -- which would come at the expense of National League postseason royalty.

With a tiebreaking RBI single by Pedro Alvarez and an insurance one by Russell Martin in the eighth inning, Pittsburgh downed St. Louis, 5-3, to push the Cardinals' backs against the wall of sound put up by 40,489 at PNC Park.

Hurdle has been steadfastly declining to identify a potential Game 5 starter -- a relatively controversial choice between veteran A.J. Burnett and rookie Gerrit Cole -- until it was relevant. Now he hopes to never have to make that choice -- from which he would be absolved if the Pirates knock out the Cardinals in Monday afternoon's Game 4 (3 p.m. ET on TBS).

The Bucs could be that close to advancing to the NL Championship Series and making that wall of sound so tall and sturdy, not even Gabriel could bring it down.

Alluding to the early weekday start of Game 4, Neil Walker said, "I'm hoping a lot of people take off from work or school [Monday]."
Have no fear, the house will be rocking and emotions will surf a wave that has been cresting for 21 years. Pirates fever is like The Blob, spreading from neighborhood to office building and to other venues in this City of Champions.

The "Let's Go Bucs!" chants for Sunday's game in PNC Park actually began Saturday night in Consol Center, where the Penguins were facing off with Buffalo. Several Pirates players attended the game, and when their faces flashed on the video board, the place erupted. When Marc-Andre Fleury hit the ice waving a giant Jolly Roger, the fans completely lost it.

The city has lost it. Five hours before Sunday's first pitch, the streets around PNC Park were filled with people waving those Pirate flags and wearing black.

On an unusually warm early October day -- temperature for the 4:30 p.m. first pitch was still 84 degrees -- black was not the most comfortable attire. Pirates fans gladly suffered through another PNC Park Blackout.

When this Pirates ride is all over, ears, nose and throat specialists in the 'Burgh will need larger waiting rooms.

Andrew McCutchen gave Sunday's crowd a large assist for the decisive rally in the eighth. With his leadoff double, McCutchen himself fueled the frenzy -- which wouldn't recede even after he ran into the inning's first out by trying to advance to third on Justin Morneau's grounder to short.

"We kept it going, got the fans into it -- and I think that's all we needed to do. We picked each other up -- and that's what we've done all year," McCutchen said. "I really think our fans make a difference in that, keeping us in the ballgame, not letting [momentum] shift to them.

"They stay loud through the course of the game. It's definitely a plus for us, and we just kept answering back."

Their answers consistently were for Carlos Beltran, whose two-run fifth-inning single off Francisco Liriano erased a 2-0 lead, and whose eighth-inning homer off Mark Melancon erased another lead of 3-2.

"But the thing is ... I never felt like we were going to lose," Melancon said. "I don't know if that's from playing a lot of one-run games [the Bucs were 29-23 in those] or what, but never once did I feel like we would lose that game."

It is almost like the Pirates don't want to let down all the people hanging on every one of their pitches, their hits -- their inevitable comebacks.

"We hear the fans having a good time, cheering for us, and we're just trying to do everything we can to please them," said Liriano, whose ears were still ringing from the crowd chanting his name -- five days ago, during his NL Wild Card Game victory over the Reds. "That was very exciting. But I just try to stay in the game, not get too excited."

The visitors' challenge is to not get too rattled. To the Cards' credit, they genuinely appeared to get their own rise out of the electricity in the house.

"They were awesome," saluted St. Louis third baseman David Freese. "It was fun. That is what you expect playoff atmospheres to be. They did a heck of a job rallying around their team."

"I thought the atmosphere was great," echoed Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. "We love the excitement and the noise. It was great to see that the people here are into it."

As they had on Tuesday, the Pirates made sure that the pregame fervor building for hours would not peter out, by scoring first, this time on Marlon Byrd's two-out, two-run single off Joe Kelly in the first inning.

The crowd's "Kel-ly! Kel-ly!" chants did not have as dramatic an effect as "Cue-to! Cue-to!" had on Cincinnati starter Johnny Cueto in Tuesday's NL Wild Card Game. Still, to ensure a better chance of success, future Pirates postseason visitors might do well to trade for Brett Oberholtzer or some other pitcher with a chant-challenged name.

By following up that 6-2 victory over Cincinnati in the NL Wild Card Game, the Bucs won home consecutive games in the same postseason for the first time since Games 3-4 of the 1971 World Series.

That was Roberto Clemente's World Series. It followed Bill Mazeroski's 1960 World Series and preceded Willie Stargell's 1979 World Series. Generations of Pittsburghers have been told of those storied times. A new band of Pirates could be writing new stories for a new generation.

To whom will the 2013 World Series belong? The way this trip has begun, if they get there, it will not belong to any individual player -- but to an entire city.

Hurdle always talks about batters "taking ownership of at-bats." The 'Burgh is intent on taking ownership of October.

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com