Saturday, July 26, 2008
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Adrian Gonzalez homered to help the San Diego Padres earn a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, who traded two of their best players shortly after the game started Friday night.
The Pirates pulled outfielder Xavier Nady after the first inning and sent him along with reliever Damaso Marte to the New York Yankees, according to two people familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because physicals are still pending.
Headed toward another lost season, Pittsburgh added to its farm system top outfield prospect Jose Tabata, right-handers Ross Ohlendorf and George Kontos, and left-hander Phil Coke.
Josh Bard had two RBIs and former Pirate Brian Giles scored two runs for San Diego, which won for only the second time in 11 games.
Nady was in right field during the top of the first but was replaced by Jason Michaels in the field in the second. Nady was told of the move in the on-deck circle and was called back into the dugout.
“Disappointed,” Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said, when asked for Nady’s reaction. “Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of the human element of this game.”
Marte, one of the most coveted left-handed specialists in the game, was caught by television cameras hugging teammates in the dugout after leaving the bullpen.
“To lose those two guys obviously is an emotional blow for us,” Pirates manager John Russell said. “But we are very excited for them. They get an opportunity to do something. And it’s also a move where we want to be a very competitive team here for a long time.”
Kevin Kouzmanoff singled with one out in the fourth and Gonzalez followed with his 23rd homer, giving San Diego a 3-1 lead.