Pirates' losing continues

By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- The clutch hitting that was nowhere to be found on the Pirates' season-opening 1-6 roadtrip didn't show up at PNC Park for Monday's home opener.
Despite 14 hits against the Dodgers, the Bucs dropped their seventh game of the young season, partly because of a shaky outing by 22-year-old pitcher Zach Duke and mostly because of 13 stranded baserunners.
Behind 51/3 solid innings by Dodgers starter Odalis Perez, the Bucs fell behind 7-0 in the fifth inning before losing 8-3 before the second-largest crowd (39,129) at the six-year-old ball park.
"They don't quit and we won't quit," first-year manager Jim Tracy said after the Pirates chipped away at the lead in the late innings.
Starting pitching struggles
"We have to stabilize ourselves from a starting pitching standpoint and not finding ourselves digging out of a hole," said Tracy, pointing out how number five hitter Jeromy Burnitz didn't get an at-bat before the Bucs trailed 5-0.
No one struggled more than left fielder Jason Bay, the Pirates' cleanup hitter who went 0-for-4 in his first four trips to the plate, failing to advance seven runners on base.
"Through the first week of the season, we really haven't had that one clutch hit, whether it was to go ahead or tie, but even to get us within striking distance," Bay said.
"If this was an eight-game stretch over the middle of the season, it probably wouldn't be that big of a deal," said Bay who extended his hitting streak to six with a bases-empty single in the ninth inning.
"Being the beginning of the season, I can understand [frustration] with the win-loss columns," Bay said. "But I think we can't get caught up in that and start to feel sorry. We still have 154 [games] left and no one is going to feel sorry for us. We've got to battle and get back to respectability."
In his seven previous starts against the Pirates, Perez was 1-4 with a 4.22 earned-run average. Monday, he allowed six hits but only one run as the Dodgers jumped out to a huge lead.
Fell behind early
Three minutes into the game, the Pirates were in big trouble. After walking Rafael Furcal on four pitches, Duke had Jason Repko on the ropes with two strike pitches.
But after Repko fouled off Duke's third toss, he sent the fourth one over the left-field fence for a 2-0 lead.
Later in the inning, Olmedo Saenz's two-out single preceded Cody Ross' triple to right-center field for a 3-0 lead.
In the second inning, Repko's one-out triple drove in two runs for a 5-0 lead. Duke walked Perez on five pitches then gave up a double to Furcal to set the plate for Repko.
The Pirates mounted a miniature threat in their third at-bat when Duke singled and Jack Wilson walked. Sean Casey's bloop single to left field loaded the bases.
One pitch later, the threat was muffled as Bay hit a groundball to third baseman Ramon Martinez who converted a double play.
"A huge key was that third inning when we had the bases loaded and one out," said Tracy, the Dodgers' manager from 2001-05.
"We were in an ideal position to break out."
Instead, the Bucs watch the deficit grow to seven runs after Saenz hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Casey's leadoff double and Burnitz's single help chase Perez in the sixth inning.
"He was throwing his cutter for strikes," said Casey, the former Reds infielder who grew up in Pittsburgh and was traded to the Bucs in the offseason. "We weren't able to capitalize on the few opportunities we had."
Dodgers reliever Franquelis Osoria struck out Jose Castillo and retired Humberto Cota on a groundout to preserve a six-run lead.
Pirates score twice
The Pirates scored twice in the seventh inning on RBI singles by Casey and Burnitz. They again loaded the bases, but Castillo's groundout kept the Pirates four runs behind.
"The bottom line for us is that we've been putting up some hits, but we need to put up some timely hits," Casey said. "We have to find a way to get those runs in there."
williams@vindy.com