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Wednesday, Apr. 19 7:05pm ET
Ritchie pitches in as Pirates stop Marins | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
MIAMI (AP) -- After three outstanding starts, even fan interference couldn't prevent Todd Ritchie from notching his first win of the season in Pittsburgh's 5-1 victory over the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night. Ritchie (1-0) pitched seven strong innings and Kevin Young hit a two-run double that was caught by a fan reaching over the railing to help the Pirates snap the Marlins' three-game winning streak. "Good pitching slows down hot clubs," Pirates manager Gene Lamont said. "He struggled early and through the first five innings worked his way out of some jams, But he's carrying on right from last year." Ritchie, 15-9 last season, had no-decisions in his first two starts despite allowing just three runs in 13 innings. He gave up one run on eight hits, struck out four and walked one. "They've got a good-hitting club and anytime you get a victory against a team like that, I'm more than happy," Ritchie said. The Pirates loaded the bases with no outs in the third against Alex Fernandez (2-2) on consecutive singles by Chad Hermansen and Ritchie and a walk to Jason Kendall. Following a popout, Brian Giles' groundout scored Hermansen. With runners on first and third, Young followed with a drive to the fence in right-center field, where a fan reached down to catch it. Second base umpire Rich Rieker ruled it a double and allowed Giles to score from first, giving the Pirates a 3-0 lead. Young had been 3-for-30 against right-handers. "I didn't see it," said Young, who is still not all the way back from knee surgery. "My brain locked up and I thought it was a ground-rule double and with first and third only one run would score. ... They made the right call." After stranding three runners in scoring position through the first three innings, the Marlins scored a run on Mike Redmond's two-out single in the fourth. "We swung the bat pretty well through the fifth and then they shut us down," said Marlins manager John Boles. "We can't do it every time." Jason Christensen and Mike Williams each pitched a hitless inning in relief to wrap up the victory. "Ritchie pitched great and those two relievers pitched well," Boles said. "That guy is tough and made pitches when he had to." Pat Meares hit an RBI single in the Pittsburgh seventh and had a run-scoring grounder in the ninth. Fernandez pitched 6 1-3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits. Game notesRitchie hit a soft single into center in the second inning, the first hit of the season for a Pittsburgh pitcher. The pitchers entered the game 0-for-24. ... Pirates RHP Jason Schmidt was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of inflammation of the right shoulder. The move was retroactive to Saturday. Schmidt is 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA. LHP Jimmy Anderson will start instead of Schmidt on Saturday. ... Florida's Mike Lowell extended his hitting streak to six games. ... After drawing 9,494 Tuesday night, the first-place Marlins drew 10,911 Wednesday. ... For the first time in four starts this season, Fernandez failed to pitch at least seven innings, but he has pitched six or more innings in his last 17 starts, dating back to a five-inning outing against Colorado on June 19, 1999. ... Despite ranking fourth in the NL in batting before Wednesday's game, the Marlins have been outhit in seven of their 16 games and are 2-7 in those games. ... The Pirates sent down LHP Chris Peters and RHP Marc Wilkins to Triple-A Nashville and recalled RHP Mike Garcia. They also purchased the contracts of RHPs Jose Parra and reliever Brad Clontz. Parra will start against the Braves on Friday night. "I was hoping to jump into Schmidt's spot," said Peters, who was 0-1 with an 8.44 ERA in four games. "My goal was to start here, It's tough to do out of the bullpen, and when you're not pitching well out of the bullpen, you're not helping your chances, either." Wilkins was upset with the demotion. "I'm disappointed," said Wilkins, who was 0-0 with a 9.82 ERA in seven appearances. "They told me the truth, I'm not throwing well. It's discouraging but I know I can pitch in the big leagues. I'll get back here." | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Pittsburgh Clubhouse Florida Clubhouse RECAPS Chi. White Sox 5 Seattle 2
Pittsburgh 5
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