NEW YORK — Felipe Vazquez, moments after pitching a scoreless eighth inning, walked around the visitors' clubhouse at Citi Field to stay loose. The Pirates' closer entered in a double-switch to possibly pitch two innings, but his offense would need at least two runs in the ninth for that to happen.
As Vazquez paced around, bench coach Tom Prince asked Clint Hurdle what seemed like a meaningless question.
"Tom asked me, 'Will Vazquez hit if we get to his spot?' " Hurdle recalled afterward. "I said, ‘Yes, we’d be in a good spot if we can get Vazquez up in the plate.’ "
Vazquez watched from a television screen as the Pirates accomplished the unexpected. The deficit was cut to one run after three consecutive singles.
Then, David Freese, who entered as part of the double-switch, hit a two-run single to right-center for the lead. Moments later, Vazquez heard Prince yelling from the tunnel to get ready to hit. Vazquez, the ninth Pirates hitter of the inning, stepped to the plate and struck out, then went back on the mound to pitch a scoreless ninth to secure a 5-3 win over the Mets Wednesday night.
It required an unprecedented turn of events for the Pirates, now 38-42, to avoid a series loss against an opponent with the fewest wins in the National League, and all involved hope it's the first step in changing the direction of their season.
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