Bucs defeated, but not depleted after long day

The Pirates lost Thursday's game to San Diego, but retained most of its roster.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- On a day when many fans thought the financially-strapped Pittsburgh Pirates would see their roster plundered again, the Bucs lost the on-field battle but won a mini-victory by retaining all but one player.
Following a 10-7 loss to the San Diego Padres, the Pirates announced just one trade as the trading deadline expired.
Pitcher Jeff Suppan (10-7, 3.57 earned-run average), the Bucs' most consistent starter this year, was sent to the Boston Red Sox in a five-player deal involving four minor leaguers.
For now, outfielders Brian Giles and Reggie Sanders and catcher Jason Kendall remain Pirates.
Too many pitches
Against the Padres, starter Josh Fogg (6-6) couldn't handle the prosperity of a first-inning three-run lead and was knocked out after four innings and 97 pitches.
"He threw too many pitches," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He's got to get to the point where he's more aggressive. We've got to get him back to using his fastball. He did it for a couple of innings, then reverted back.
"I think that we played well even with all the things that were being said about trades," McClendon said of the game-day atmosphere.
"Anytime you have to go to the bullpen that early, it's going to hurt you. We just couldn't shut them down."
Trailing 7-3 in the fifth inning, the Pirates scored four of the game's next five runs to reduce San Diego's lead to one. But the Bucs were unable to dent the back end of the Padres' bullpen.
Pitcher Kip Wells led off the fifth inning with a pinch-hit double and scored on Jack Wilson's single.
But Phil Nevin's RBI single in the top of the sixth restored the Padres' four-run margin.
The Pirates chased Padres starter Adam Eaton in the bottom of the sixth when Jose Hernandez and Craig Wilson led off with back-to-back homers.
Scott Linebrink relieved Eaton (6-7) and was charged with a run when Giles singled home Abraham Nunez for an 8-7 score.
After that, the Pirates were shut down by Padres relievers Mike Mathews, Jay Witasick and Rod Beck (14th save).
Assessment
"It was a hard-fought game," San Diego manager Bruce Bochy said. "We swung the bats well and they did, too.
"Eaton didn't have his best stuff but he battled out there," Bochy said. "We just kind of lost it in the sixth inning, but the bullpen came through."
The Bucs jumped on Eaton for three quick runs in the bottom of the first inning. Nunez singled, then was sacrificed to second base by Jack Wilson.
With first base open, Giles walked and Matt Stairs connected for a three-run homer, his 13th on the season, to center field.
The Padres nicked Fogg for a run in the third inning and three in the fourth.
Mark Loretta's double scored Sean Burroughs with San Diego's first run.
An inning later, Loretta capped a three-run rally with a dying shot to right field that eluded Stairs. The rally could have been bigger if Loretta hadn't been nailed at third base after an alert throw by first baseman Randall Simon.
"I thought we had some pretty good at-bats against Fogg," Loretta said. "He did throw some pretty good pitches, not too many balls over the plate.
"The double that I hit for two RBIs, was kind of a flare that fell in there and was bad-luck for him," Loretta said.
Fogg's replacement, Duaner Sanchez, was pummeled for three runs when Ryan Klesko, Rondell White and Matthews consecutively hit a single, double and homer for a 7-3 lead.
McClendon said Sanchez "left the ball up. Pitches you get away with at the Triple A level, you don't get away with here."