video thumbnail

HOU@PIT: Wood belts a two-run homer in the second

PITTSBURGH -- Perhaps naivety is a plus for this Pirates bunch, a group that has yet to accept that, on paper, they are not supposed to be this good. They don't have the names, the pedigrees or the experience to be making a climb in the standings. They don't have the talent to match up with the division's best. They don't have the depth to sustain success.

Or so everyone else assumes.

Clueless and unconcerned about whatever the thinking might be outside of Pittsburgh, the Pirates just keep marching on past injuries and through adversity to find a way to win. How appropriate it was, then, on Tuesday that a one-time fill-in starter and a waiver-claim infielder led the Pirates to a 5-1 win over the Astros in front of 18,151 fans at PNC Park.

It was a victory that, coupled with the Brewers' loss, bumped Pittsburgh up to second place in the National League Central standings.

"This is a group that is truly committed to one thing every day and that's winning that ballgame," manager Clint Hurdle said. "And nobody in that clubhouse cares who gets the credit."

Hurdle's no-excuse ballclub has not missed a step despite a disabled list that is 10 players in length. Half of the team's starting position players are on it, and Tuesday's lineup featured three hitters who began the year in the Minors and another that was discarded off another Major League roster in April.

But that hasn't stopped the offense from getting contributions from some of the most unlikely of places. And on Tuesday, it was Brandon Wood's turn.

Reaching base three times in four plate appearances, Wood drove in the first three runs Pittsburgh scored off Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez. His two-run homer in the second followed a one-out single by Lyle Overbay. He drove in Neil Walker with a two-out hit an inning later.

He emerged the key catalyst after going hitless in his last dozen at-bats. And to think that Wood could fall as low as fifth on the third base depth chart if you combined all the current members of the Pirates' roster with those on the DL.

"The guys that are coming up, they're not tentative," starter Jeff Karstens said. "They're jumping right in and helping a ballclub that has fought a lot of injuries all year. It's not just one guy. It's all of them."

Karstens was the one benefiting from Wood's early production, and his success upon stepping into the rotation for an injured Ross Ohlendorf is a fitting microcosm for the team's overall response to adversity. Though he got no mention of being a snub from the NL All-Star roster, Karstens (7-4) has put up numbers that would rival those of anyone in the league.

"He's a backyard ballplayer," Hurdle said. "He's not a guy that scouts are going to drool over. He's not 6-foot-4, 215 [pounds] and cut. He knows how to play the game. He knows how to pitch. He knows how to compete. I think that's his biggest strength out there -- the fact that he's fearless."

Karstens lowered his ERA to 2.55 after a seven-plus-inning start, during which the Astros managed one run. That came via a home run from Clint Barmes, who extended Karstens to his only three-ball count of the evening.

The homer was the 17th Karstens has served up this season. The damage hasn't been as bad it might seem, though, as only one of those homers has come with a runner on base.

"I guess it wouldn't be a typical outing if I didn't give up a solo home run, right?" joked Karstens.

Barmes' fifth-inning blast was Karstens' only hiccup. He allowed two baserunners in the first and then not again all night. He has now finished seven innings in five of his last seven starts, and he threw just 23 balls among the 95 pitches he needed.

That works out to an average of about three balls an inning.

"He worked fast, and obviously he mixes speeds on all his pitches pretty well," Barmes said. "He attacked us and made a lot of quick outs. We hit the ball hard at times, but we just couldn't find many holes tonight."

Karstens extended his own winning streak to a career-best four games and the Pirates' to three. He exited to a standing ovation after allowing a leadoff hit in the eighth. Karstens admitted that the gesture from the crowd left him with chills.

"I can't say enough about the city, which has waited a long time for this," Karstens said. "We just want to keep it going."

The right-hander helped his own cause, too, laying down a perfect bunt when Hurdle called a squeeze in the sixth. The Pirates had already padded their 3-1 lead with a sacrifice fly by catcher Michael McKenry. After two off-speed pitches to Karstens, Hurdle guessed that Rodriguez would come back with his fastball on the 1-1 count. He was right.

Overbay broke from third and scored the team's fifth run of the night without a play. All five runs were driven in by the bottom three hitters in the lineup.

"They're all in and they've got each others' backs," Hurdle said. "They wait to go see the lineup and who's in is in, and the other guys get ready to back up and fill in as the game dictates."

Sitting four games above .500 for the first time this season, the Pirates are assured of being, at worst, .500 at the All-Star break. One win before the break and the Pirates will have a winning record heading into the break for the first time since 1992.

That also happened to be the last time the club enjoyed a winning season.

"We're having a blast," Wood said. "You can tell that the fans are feeling it just as much as we are. It makes for fun baseball when you know you have some support."

Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. Read her blog, By Gosh, It's Langosch, and follow her on Twitter @LangoschMLB. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.