SAN FRANCISCO — Trevor Williams, the pitcher originally scheduled to start at AT&T Park Friday night, sat in the dugout with a hood over his head and chatted with the Pirates' other four starters, all of whom were given an additional day of rest at the behest of Clint Hurdle.
They watched as Clay Holmes, the 25-year-old pitcher recalled from Triple-A to spell the rotation with a spot start, and Casey Sadler, one of six available relievers in the bullpen, unraveled in a 13-10 loss to the Giants with the Pirates in the middle of a playoff chase. While the club's rotation allowed only seven earned runs in its previous four starts, Holmes was tagged for seven in only 2 2/3 innings and Sadler allowed four.
Their dynamic offense, backed by Francisco Cervelli's grand slam, had 17 hits, including six for extra bases, but was unable to overcome an eight-run deficit, snapping their three-game winning streak. It cost the Pirates, now 60-57, a game in the standings, as they're now eight back in the Central Division and five in the Wild Card race. Hurdle admitted the gamble didn't pay off. And one of his starters wished Hurdle would have consulted with the rotation following the series in Denver.
"I understand why they’re doing it for us, but I would have liked to see a decision made after the Colorado series to talk to the starters and see where we’re at, see if we need the extra day," Joe Musgrove told DKPittsburghSports.com. "I don’t personally think we needed another day of rest. Our starting five’s been throwing the ball really well and every game matters at this point. That’s not to say Clay couldn’t have come up here and gotten the job done. We had confidence in him."
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