PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh fan would have to be well into his 20s to remember a Pirates team this good. They would have to be a little older to recall an inning quite like the one that lifted their team to yet another victory Saturday.
A.J. Burnett (Central Arkansas Christian) remained undefeated at home by pitching 7 2/3 strong innings and Pittsburgh matched a season high with its fourth consecutive victory, beating the Miami Marlins 5-1.
The Pirates went ahead during a four-run fourth inning in which they did not record a hit and did not so much as record an official at-bat until their ninth man came to the plate.
As if the idea of the Pirates tied for the third-most victories in baseball in late July wasn’t extraordinary enough, the fifth-largest crowd in PNC Park history (39,411 announced) witnessed one of the most bizarre innings in the majors this season.
Miami starter Carlos Zambrano imploded in the fourth, when Pittsburgh scored three times via bases loaded walks and an error.
Previously, the team to score four runs in one inning without a hit was the Oakland Athletics on Sept 23, 1998, against Seattle, according to STATS, LLC.
CARDINALS 12, CUBS 0 Jake Westbrook allowed three hits in seven innings and host St. Louis finally backed him by tying a 76-year-old major league record with seven doubles in an inning, scoring 12 runs in the inning, during a victory over Chicago. The Cardinals also matched an 86-yearold franchise record for runs in an inning. St. Louis totaled 10 hits with multiple hits by three players including pinch-hitter Allen Craig, who doubled twice with an RBI. The Cardinals tied the major record for doubles in an inning by the Boston Bees at St. Louis in the first inning on Aug. 25, 1936.
DIAMONDBACKS 12, ASTROS 3 Jason Kubel became the seventh player in Diamondbacks’ history to hit three home runs in a game, driving in six runs as host Arizona dominated Houston starter Dallas Keuchel (Arkansas Razorbacks).
BRAVES 4-2, NATIONALS 0-5 Bryce Harper returned from an ankle injury to single and score as a pinch-hitter, and Roger Bernadina had a tie breaking hit in the seventh inning as host Washington earned a split of the day-night doubleheader.
REDS 6, BREWERS 2 Ryan Ludwick and Brandon Phillips each hit two-run home runs, powering host Cincinnati to a victory over Milwaukee.
DODGERS 8, METS 5 Juan Uribe had a home run and four RBI as visiting Los Angeles defeated New York.
GIANTS 6, PHILLIES 5 Pitchers Cole Hamels and Matt Cain hit home runs in the same inning, and Gregor Blanco drove in the tie breaking run to lead visiting San Francisco over Philadelphia.
American League TIGERS 7, WHITE SOX 1 Rick Porcello ( 7-5) pitched into the ninth inning, and host Detroit took over first place in the AL Central with a victory over Chicago.
ATHLETICS 2, YANKEES 1 Brandon Inge and Yoenis Cespedes homered, Jarrod Parker (7-4) shut down one of baseball’s best lineups for eight innings and host Oakland beat New York.
BLUE JAYS 7, RED SOX 3 Edwin Encarnacion tied the game with a two-run home run in the sixth, then J.P. Arencibia gave visiting Toronto the lead with a seventh-inning shot.
MARINERS 2, RAYS 1 Jason Vargas (10-7) took a shutout into the seventh inning, Michael Saunders had two RBI, and visiting Seattle beat Tampa Bay.
ORIOLES 3, INDIANS 1 Jim Thome’s two-run home run in the seventh inning led visiting Baltimore to its fourth consecutive victory.
RANGERS 9, ANGELS 2 Mike Napoli homered twice against his former team, Yu Darvish struck out 11 over seven strong innings, and visiting Texas battered Los Angeles.
ROYALS 7, TWINS 3 Lorenzo Cain drove in three runs and Alex Gordon had three hits and scored two runs as host Kansas City beat Minnesota.
Saturday’s games NATIONAL LEAGUE Atlanta 4-2, Washington 0-5 LA Dodgers 8, NY Mets 5 San Francisco 6, Philadelphia 5 (10) Pittsburgh 5, Miami 1 Cincinnati 6, Milwaukee 2 St. Louis 12, Chicago Cubs 0 Arizona 12, Houston 3 Colorado at San Diego, (n) AMERICAN LEAGUE Detroit 7, Chicago White Sox 1 Texas 9, LA Angels 2 Baltimore 3, Cleveland 1 Kansas City 7, Minnesota 3 Seattle 2, Tampa Bay 1 Toronto 7, Boston 3 Oakland 2, NY Yankees 1
Sports, Pages 28 on 07/22/2012