D'AMICO NEARLY FLAWLESS, SHUTS OUT EXPOS
Bucs Starter Also Belts 2-Run HR
MONTREAL, June 24 (AP) - Jeff D'Amico turned in the best start by a Pittsburgh
hurler this year, tossing a complete game two-hit shutout as the Pirates beat
the Montreal Expos, 8-0, at Olympic Stadium. It was the seventh complete
game two-hitter in the major leagues thus far this season and the first time a
Pirates pitcher has fired a shutout.
D'Amico didn't walk a single batter and needed only 88 pitches to tame
Montreal. It's only the second time in the major leagues this year that a
starting pitcher has needed fewer than 90 pitches to complete a game and the
first in a National League contest. Carlos Reyes of the Tampa Bay Devil
Rays required only 77 pitches in his complete game win over Texas on May 27 at
Tropicana Field.
The Pirates jumped on Expos starter Tomo Ohka (5-7) in the very first inning
with the only runs they'd need. Kenny Lofton and Jason Kendall opened with
back-to-back singles and advanced to third and second respectively on Brian
Giles' ground out. Aramis Ramirez then doubled into the left field corner,
scoring both runners.
Kendall and Giles hit back-to-back one-out singles in the third and Kendall then
scored on Ramirez's base hit for a 3-0 Pirates advantage.
Giles' sacrifice fly in the fifth scored Lofton, who led off with a single, to
make it 4-0 Pittsburgh.
The Pirates then broke the game open in the top of the sixth. Matt Stairs
laced a lead-off double to right-center. After Ohka retired Reggie Sanders
and Jack Wilson, a wild pitch moved Stairs to third and Jeff Reboulet's two-bagger
put the Pirates ahead by five. D'Amico then hit an 0-1 pitch just over the
wall down the right field line to make the score 7-0.
The Pirates capped the scoring in the seventh when Sanders doubled home Ramirez
for an 8-0 lead.
D'Amico, meanwhile, was giving the Expos nothing. After retiring the first
six hitters, Ron Calloway grounded a single to right but he was immediately
eliminated on Brian Schneider's double play ball. After 15 consecutive
Expos batters were retired, Brad Wilkerson reached on a swinging bunt to the
first baseman Stairs with one out in the eighth inning. D'Amico calmly
retired the next five batters to end the game, facing a grand total of only 28
hitters. This marks only the third time this year that a starting pitcher
has faced 28 batters in a complete game effort.
6/24/2003, Pit03-Mon03, Olympic Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2003 Pirates 2 0 1 0 1 3 1 0 0 8 16 0 7 1 2003 Expos 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 Pirates AB R H BI AVG Expos AB R H BI AVG Lofton cf 5 2 3 0 .269 Chavez,En cf 4 0 0 0 .226 Kendall c 5 2 4 0 .294 Guzman,E 3b 3 0 0 0 .349 Giles,B lf 3 0 1 1 .333 Cabrera,O ss 3 0 0 0 .275 Ramirez,A 3b 5 1 4 3 .274 Vidro 2b 3 0 0 0 .313 Stairs 1b 5 1 1 0 .313 Wilkerson lf 3 0 1 0 .310 Rivera,C 1b 0 0 0 0 .600 Cordero,W 1b 3 0 0 0 .265 Sanders,R rf 5 0 1 1 .318 Calloway,R rf 3 0 1 0 .201 Wilson,J ss 4 0 0 0 .212 Schneider c 3 0 0 0 .267 Reboulet 2b 4 1 1 1 .250 Ohka p 1 0 0 0 .148 D'Amico p 4 1 1 2 .185 Eischen p 0 0 0 0 .000 40 8 16 8 Mateo,H ph 1 0 0 0 .324 Stewart,Sc p 0 0 0 0 .000 Manon p 0 0 0 0 .000 Macias ph 1 0 0 0 .267 28 0 2 0 Pirates INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA D'Amico W 7-3 9.0 2 0 0 0 6 88 57 4.10 9.0 2 0 0 0 6 88 57 Expos INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Ohka L 5-7 5.2 11 7 7 0 1 73 51 5.27 Eischen 0.1 2 0 0 0 0 13 9 4.80 Stewart,Sc 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 18 13 5.40 Manon 2.0 1 0 0 1 0 24 13 4.50 9.0 16 8 8 1 2 128 86 Pit: Rivera,C inserted at 1b in the 9th Mon: Mateo,H batted for Eischen in the 6th Macias batted for Manon in the 9th E-Wilkerson. 2B-Ramirez,A 2(20), Stairs(8), Sanders,R(16), Reboulet(2). HR-D'Amico(1). RBI-Giles,B(32), Ramirez,A 3(46), Sanders,R(39), Reboulet(6), D'Amico 2(3). K-Stairs, D'Amico, Wilkerson 2, Cordero,W 2, Schneider, Macias. BB-Giles,B. SF-Giles,B. WP-Ohka. GWRBI: Ramirez,A Temperature: 70, Wind: none. Attendance: 8,686 Game Time: 2:19