Local Sports
Ohlendorf, Bucs blank Cubs
PITTSBURGH — There was plenty of activity in the Pirates’ clubhouse in the hours leading up to Tuesday night’s game as Nyjer Morgan, Sean Burnett and Eric Hinske said goodbye.
Morgan and Burnett were traded to the Washington Nationals and Hinske was dealt to the New York Yankees. A much larger media contingent than normal milled about the room waiting for reaction to the trades.
Yet, Ross Ohlendorf was able to block the distractions out and pitch his best game of the season as he combined with two relievers on a six-hit shutout as the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 at PNC Park.
Ohlendorf (7-6) allowed four hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out a career-high eight.
Ohlendorf had lost three of his last four decisions following a run of five wins in six decisions. Pirates pitching coach Joe Kerrigan felt Ohlendorf had been tensing up on the mound in recent starts.
“Joe really stressed the importance of staying relaxed, really drove that home to me,” Ohlendorf said. “I concentrated on doing that and it helped. I felt really good on the mound. I felt like I was in a control of the game the whole time.”
Staying relaxed help Ohlendorf keep a better grip on his slider and he attributed that for the high strikeout total.
“That’s the best slider I’ve had, by far,” Ohlendorf said. “I was able to bury it when I got ahead in the count and get some swings and misses.”
John Grabow pitched the eighth inning, escaping a second-and-third jam with none out. Matt Capps worked around a two-out walk to Geovany Soto in the ninth for his 18th save in 20 opportunities.
However, it was Ohlendorf who set the tone, according to manager John Russell, on a day of upheaval for the Pirates.
“He threw the ball very well,” Russell said. “He threw strikes and worked quickly. He just made a lot of good pitches.”
While Ohlendorf and the bullpen were shutting down the Cubs, Pirates second baseman Freddy Sanchez was making amends for a miserable performance on Monday night.
Sanchez went 3-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBIs. The night before in a 3-1 loss to the Cubs, he went 0-for-4 and left six runners stranded.
“I didn’t get the job done (Monday) night, so it felt good to get the job done (Tuesday night),” Sanchez said. “It was a tough day for us. We lost guys who were leaders on the field and in the clubhouse. That is never easy. All you can do is move on and winning a ballgame always makes moving on a little bit easier to do.”
Sanchez helped open the scoring in the fourth inning when he led off with a single and took second on Andy LaRoche’s two-out single. Ted Lilly (7-6) then struck out Brandon Moss to apparently end the inning but strike three was wild and went to the backstop.
Soto, the catcher, retrieved the wild pitch and threw to Lilly at home plate in an attempt to get Sanchez out as he tried to score from second.
However, Lilly failed to make the catch and Sanchez was safe on the error.
Sanchez drove in the Pirates’ other two runs with a single in the fifth and a double in the seventh. The fifth-inning hit scored Jack Wilson, who singled, and the seventh-inning hit brought home pinch hitter Steve Pearce, who also doubled.
The Cubs’ biggest threat came in the eighth when they put runners on second and third with none out, trailing 3-0. However, Grabow struck out Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome then got Derrek Lee to ground out.
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