Karstens Falls at Home
Pitcher suffers his first loss as a Pirate, 5-1By RICH GIBSON, For The Intelligencer
PITTSBURGH - Following a pair of lights-out starts on the road, right-hander Jeff Karstens badly wanted his PNC Park debut to be a winning one.
It wasn't the case Tuesday night as Karstens yielded a pair of home runs and was simply outpitched by Cincinnati's Edinson Volquez.
The Reds' impressive right-hander turned in yet another impressive start for Dusty Baker's ballclub, limiting Pittsburgh to a single run and five hits through 6 2/3 innings in what was to become a 5-1 victory in front of 23,686 fans.
''You always want to pitch well in front of your home crowd,'' said Karstens who performed reasonably well despite sustaining his first loss in a Pirates uniform. ''For some reason, I didn't feel particularly sharp...at least early in the game.''
Acquired from the New York Yankees in the Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte deal prior to the trade deadline, Karstens had beaten the Cubs and Diamondbacks before Tuesday's loss.
With two outs in the top of the first inning, Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips went deep, sending a Karstens offering over the 383-foot sign in left field. Phillips' blow - his 18th of the season - came with rookie Chris Dickerson on base and jumpstarted the Reds to a two-run advantage.
In the fourth, Karstens was again victimized by the long ball as Cincinnati first baseman Javier Valentin clubbed his second homer of the season to the right-centerfield seats.
A costly error by Bucs third baseman Andy LaRoche led to the Reds' fourth run in the sixth. Center fielder Corey Patterson came through with a two-out, run-scoring single. In the eighth, Patterson delivered again, this time off Bucs reliever Tyler Yates.
Yates retired two straight to open the frame, but then walked third baseman Edwin Encarnacion before Patterson drilled a two-out, run-producing double.
The Pirates, meanwhile, scored their only run in the fourth on a walk to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz and LaRoche's double off the center-field fence.
Pittsburgh manager John Russell watched his club stage three scoring threats along the way, but the Pirates were turned back on each occasion.
''When (Volquez) had to, he made some big pitches to get out of trouble,'' Russell said. ''Other than the two home run balls, I thought Jeff threw all right. He got us into the seventh inning. Pitchers are going to give up home runs occasionally. That's the nature of the game.''
Pittsburgh's first threat was doused in the third inning. Second baseman Chris Gomez socked a one-out double, but was out at third when Karstens hit a comebacker to Volquez.
''I failed to get a bunt down in that situation,'' Karstens said.
In the fifth, Gomez and Nate McLouth singled, placing runners at the corners with one out. But Volquez retired shortstop Luis Rivas on a fly ball to shallow right field before Mientkiewicz hit a comebacker to Valentin at first for the final out.
The Bucs nearly broke through in the seventh. Gomez drew a base on balls and McLouth hit a ground rule double before Rivas walked to fill the sacks. Mientkiewicz then hit a two-hop shot down the first-base line which Valentin flagged down and underhanded to reliever Mike Lincoln for the final out.
''Give Valentin credit. If that ball gets by, it's a different story,'' Russell said.
Cincinnati reliever David Weathers worked a scoreless eighth before Francisco Cordero came on to close it out in the ninth.
Volquez improved his record to 14-5 and lowered an impressive ERA to 2.86. He recorded five strikeouts and walked a pair.
McLouth and Gomez collected two hits apiece for the Pirates who were without infield regulars Adam LaRoche, Freddy Sanchez, Jack Wilson and Jose Bautista. Sanchez made a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning.
The Reds were playing for the first time without Adam Dunn who was traded Monday to Arizona.
Tonight, Cincinnati sends out ex-Pirate Josh Fogg (2-4, 7.98) who opposes Pirates lefty Paul Maholm (7-7, 3.76).
