Aggressive running spills Pirates in 9th

Photo by: Gene J. Puskar

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo

Washington Nationals shortstop Alex Cora, right, throws to first after getting the force at second on Pittsburgh Pirates' Neil Walker in the fifth inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, April 24, 2011. Pirates' Garrett Jones was safe at first on the fielder's choice. The Nationals won 6-3.

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Clint Hurdle refused to criticize the decision made by his third base coach or star centerfielder.

That choice ended the game for the Pirates in defeat, but attempting to score from third on a fly to right is exactly how the first-year manager wants his team to play.

“We want to be aggressive; we want to be smart,” Hurdle said after Jayson Werth threw out Andrew McCutchen at the plate to end Pittsburgh’s 6-3 loss to Washington on Sunday.

“You never want to make the last out at home, but sometimes those things are going to happen. It’s not a perfect world, it’s not a perfect game, but our mentality is to play aggressive.”

After the play, which was started by a ball hit by Jose Tabata, McCutchen threw his helmet to the ground in disgust and Hurdle argued with umpire Kerwin Danley.

McCutchen had calmed down by the time he spoke in the clubhouse after the game. He didn’t say whether third base coach Nick Leyva sent him.

“Oh well, nothing you can do about it now. The game’s over,” he said. “That’s about it.

“It doesn’t matter what I thought; it doesn’t matter if I was safe, the game’s over now,” he said.

Mike Morse had a three-run homer among his three-hits, Adam LaRoche also homered and the Nationals had a season-high 15 hits in handing the Pirates their fourth loss in five games.

Eleven of those hits came during starter Kevin Correia’s 4 2/3 innings.

“I was kind of doing what I wanted to, I felt pretty good out there; it was just one of those that got away kind of at the wrong time,” Correia (3-2) said. “One bad pitch, and in my two starts I haven’t won, that’s kind of what happened.”