Pirates fading from NL radar

A 9-4 loss to Houston was the ninth in 10 games for Pittsburgh.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- After being told reliever Ricky Stone pitched the only perfect inning of a seemingly endless game on a miserable night, Astros manager Jimy Williams displayed his deadpan humor.
"We'll send it in to Ripley's Believe It or Not," Williams said.
Williams was only joking -- a 9-4 victory Monday night over the reeling Pittsburgh Pirates gave him some levity -- but it seems his Astros are becoming believers again.
Since a forgettable stretch of 14 losses in 18 games raised doubts about their ability to contend again in the NL Central, the Astros are right back in the division race after winning nine of 11.
Sure, five victories are against Pittsburgh, which has dropped nine of 10. A more telling stretch is upcoming later this month, a two-week run of games against the Cubs and Cardinals.
"Those games could be crucial," Stone said.
What Williams likes isn't just that the Astros are winning, but how they're doing it -- with contributions up and down the lineup and an exceptionable bullpen.
Quick departure
Starting pitcher Scott Linebrink lasted only 32/3 innings on a chilly, damp evening on which only 9,095 showed up, easily the smallest crowd since PNC Park opened two years ago. But a Houston bullpen that leads the NL in innings pitched (1462/3) and victories (14) again found a way to get it done as Jeriome Robertson, Stone, Octavio Dotel and Nate Bland pitched the final 51/3 innings.
Lance Berkman, Jeff Kent and Morgan Ensberg hit solo homers before the Astros scored six times in the final two innings on shortstop Jack Wilson's two-run throwing error, Berkman's two-run single and two wild pitches from Dennys Reyes.
Nothing new there: The Astros have a 27-9 scoring advantage in the eighth inning and a 54-15 edge in the eighth and ninth combined.
"Our guys can explode at any time," Stone said.
Manager Lloyd McClendon wishes he could say the same thing. But the Pirates have dropped nine of 10 and 22 of 32. Namely, they don't get big hits and they always seem to find a way to give their opponents runs.
Pirates strand 12
This time, they stranded 12 runners through the first six innings, 14 overall and were 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position during their eighth loss in their last nine home games.
"It gets tougher and tougher to get out of this funk," Reggie Sanders said. "Everyone is trying hard, maybe too hard, with runners in scoring position. But the thing we have to do is stay upbeat. It's going to turn around; there's too much talent on this club for it not to turn around."
Of course, the Pirates have been saying that for weeks.
"We had an awful lot of opportunities to break this game open," McClendon said. "We had chances in almost every inning, and didn't do anything."
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