Wall-banger sends Pirates to victory

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Josh Harrison watched his long drive hit off the wall in right-center field leading off the bottom of the ninth of a tie game against Milwaukee on Tuesday night and one thought kept running through his head: keep going.

So the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman did, racing around second and diving into third before strolling home when the relay from Milwaukee second baseman Scooter Gennett bounded by the bag and out of play as the Pirates escaped with a 3-2 victory Tuesday night.

“I saw [Milwaukee center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis] jump for the wall, and from there I never broke stride,” Harrison said. “I was going to make [Gennett] make a perfect relay.”

Gennett didn’t, and Harrison’s Little League homer off Tyler Thornburg (3-4) allowed the Pirates to start a crucial stretch against National League also-rans with a victory despite a second straight blown save by All-Star closer Mark Melancon (1-1) and a scary moment in the second inning when rookie pitcher Jameson Taillon took a line drive to the head.

Taillon, making his return from a stay on the disabled list to deal with right shoulder fatigue, was pitching to Hernan Perez with one out in the second when Perez sent a shot right back to Taillon that hit the 24-year-old in the back of the head and rolled out into left field. Taillon lay on the ground for several minutes while being tended to by medical staff before being cleared to stay in the game.

“I saw it coming at me, turned from it and remember going down,” Taillon said. “I could feel it on my head a little bit, but I remained conscious. I saw where the play went. I answered all the questions they asked me. I wanted to get up quicker than I was able to. I remember it pretty clearly.”

Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle admitted his thoughts went to Taillon’s parents watching on television but decided to trust the recommendation of the medical staff that Taillon was OK to continue.