Rockies top Pirates with four-run ninth
PITTSBURGH -- Tony Wolters' sharply hit ground-ball single to first base produced two runs during a four-run ninth inning and the Colorado Rockies ended an eight-game losing streak against the Pittsburgh Pirates with a 5-1 victory on Saturday.
The Rockies had been 1-11 overall against the Pirates since July 27, 2014, and hadn't beaten them since Aug. 30, 2015.
With the score tied at 1, Pirates closer Mark Melancon (0-1) -- pitching in a non-save situation -- retired the first two batters in the ninth, but catcher Francisco Cervelli threw wildly on Gerardo Parra's bouncer in front of the plate, with Parra advancing to second.
After Melancon walked pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso, Wolters hit a ball down the line that first baseman John Jaso tried to grab one-handed, only to have it deflect about 20 feet away. Wolters was given an RBI single and Jaso was charged with an error -- the Pirates' third -- for allowing Descalso to score.
Cristhian Adames greeted reliever Tony Hughes' first pitch with a two-run drive to center for his first major league home run.
Carlos Estevez (1-1) got four outs for his first major league win and Jake McGee finished in the ninth.
Starting pitchers Tyler Chatwood and Jonathon Niese pitched effectively, giving up a run each before the bullpens took over.
Niese kept the ball in the park -- he yielded 11 homers in his first eight starts -- while checking Colorado on four hits in seven innings, matching his longest start of the season.
Chatwood gave up six hits and struck out two in six innings. He extended his stretch of effective pitching on the road, where he has an 0.53 ERA despite allowing only his second earned run of the season away from Coors Field.
Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang was lifted with discomfort in his left hand after five innings. Kang, who is hitting .263, missed the first month of the season after seriously injuring his left knee in September.
After a rain delay of nearly one hour, the Rockies jumped on Niese for a run in the first before the left-hander settled down. Trevor Story doubled after going 0-for-4 on Friday and Mark Reynolds followed with an RBI double to center, his fourth hit in his first five at-bats in the series.
Chatwood, who came in with a major league-leading 0.33 ERA on the road, got into trouble in the fourth when Kang doubled. One batter later, Kang was thrown out at a close play the plate by second baseman DJ LeMahieu on Matt Joyce's grounder, a call upheld after the Pirates challenged whether Wolters offered a safe lane to the plate for Kang.
The Pirates could have chosen to challenge whether Kang got his hand on the plate before being tagged -- replays were inconclusive -- but opted instead to challenge whether there was catcher's interference.
Pittsburgh tied it when Josh Harrison walked and Jordy Mercer singled to left to score Joyce on yet another close play at the plate.
NOTES: LHP Jorge De La Rosa, out of the Rockies' rotation since April 26 after struggling with his command, will start Tuesday in Boston, according to manager Walt Weiss. De La Rosa (1-3, 10.18 ERA) allowed at least four earned runs in all but one of his first five starts. ... Rockies RHP Jon Gray, roughed up for nine runs in 3 1/3 innings on Thursday by St. Louis, starts Wednesday and RHP Eddie Butler goes Thursday. ... CF Andrew McCutchen was given the day off Saturday by Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who said all players need breaks during the season. McCutchen played in all but one of the Pirates' first 41 games after playing in 157 last season. ... RHP Jordan Lyles, back with the Rockies as a long reliever after beginning the season as a starter, last pitched in relief on Aug. 26, 2013, with the Astros against the White Sox. ... Hurdle is not a big fan of proposed changes in the strike zone that might reduce the number of down-in-the-zone pitches that are called for strikes, saying ball-strike umpiring has been consistent the last few seasons.