Simon's miscue sinks Bucs

He made the first out of the eighth inning at third base.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Randall Simon's wayward bat got him into trouble against the Milwaukee Brewers last week. This time, his legs were the problem.
Just as with his ill-advised swing at one of Milwaukee's sausage racers, it all came down to bad judgment.
With the Pirates down 7-5 after they once trailed by seven runs, Simon singled leading off the eighth against reliever Danny Kolb. Then Jack Wilson singled into short right field.
Simon, apparently thinking Wilson's ball was hit harder than it was, tried to take an extra base but was thrown out at third. Rather than having the go-ahead run at the plate and nobody out, the Pirates had only a runner on first and one out.
"It was a mistake you can't make," manager Lloyd McClendon said.
No more hits
Kolb went on to get the next two batters and Leo Estrella, at least temporarily taking over the closer's role from Mike DeJean, pitched a perfect ninth for his second save in three opportunities.
For the Brewers, the post-All-Star portion of their schedule featured not only a good start -- a five-run first against Kris Benson -- but, for a change, an excellent finish.
They hadn't played since they squandered a six-run lead Sunday in a 10-8 loss to Cincinnati that saw DeJean blow his seventh save. So, until Simon's base-running blunder, the Brewers must have been thinking they were about to witness a replay.
They led 7-0 as John Vander Wal hit a grand slam in the first and Geoff Jenkins had a solo shot in the second, but the Pirates rallied behind Craig Wilson's pinch-hit grand slam in the fifth against Wayne Franklin (6-6) to get to within two runs.
"The bullpen did an outstanding job, but it felt like we were hanging on at the end," manager Ned Yost said.
Simon probably won't be fined for this mistake but, unlike his ill-advised sausage swing that drew national attention, this one might have cost his team a game.
"It was bad base running on my part," Simon said.
Not that Benson (5-9) helped the Pirates much, following up three consecutive good starts in which he allowed only three runs by falling behind 5-0 before he retired a batter.
Eric Young singled to start the game, Scott Podsednik walked and Benson hit Jenkins with a pitch. Third baseman Aramis Ramirez threw wildly to the plate on Richie Sexson's grounder for his 22nd error, scoring Young and leaving the bases loaded.
Vander Wal, a former Pirates outfielder, followed with his second grand slam since July 4 and his third of the season.