Pirates Bomb Astros, Grab First Place

Drew Sutton stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, hit a bomb to center field, and PNC Park went crazy. We were driving home from State College, and nearly wrecked the truck.

It sounds like the making of a can’t-put-it-down bestseller. The blast put the Pirates into a tie for first place.

For all the failings of Neal Huntington – which everyone has been so quick to point out – don’t forget the players that are making contributions on this 2012 Pittsburgh Pirates team. Right now, none is bigger than Drew Sutton.

Sutton murdered a 1-1 pitch to deep center for his third hit of the game. The Pirates have won six of their past seven. Sutton is on his third team of the 2012 season, and we aren’t even to the All-Star break.

AJ Burnett wasn’t sharp and allowed six Houston Astros runs, but that didn’t stop him from shoving a pie in the face of Sutton as he was mobbed after crossing home plate. The Bucs have plenty to celebrate, as they have six wins in the past seven games.

“I didn’t know if I hit it well because it was deep to center. I was yelling at it,” Sutton said

Another gem of a find for Huntington was Garrett Jones, who crushed a two-run homer after Andrew McCutchen legged out an infield single that put him into the NL lead in hitting. Manchild’s bomb left PNC Park, and put the Bucs ahead 7-6.

We were driving past Blair County Ballpark when GFJ crushed it and –right on cue– the fireworks from the home of the Altoona Curve went skyward.

Yeah, we took the long way home.