This was an amazingly long 4-3 game, but yet another fun one. When you're up three runs after three batters against Clayton Kershaw, you know things are going well. Akinori Iwamura started the game with a walk, and then Andrew McCutchen singled, and then came Garrett Jones, who continued his amazing run with a three-run homer that landed a couple rows into the stands in right-center.
Jones also looked great getting from first to third after a hit by Lastings Milledge in the bottom of the third. I'll give Jones some credit--he's a lot better rounded than his minor league numbers made him look. He can run. As MarkinDallas pointed out earlier today, Neal Huntington recently said that because Jones was so athletic, he may not be much of a downgrade on Brandon Moss defensively. I don't buy that--Jones frequently looks awkward on defense, particularly on plays at the wall--but I can at least see what Huntington is saying.
Things came apart for Ross Ohlendorf in the fifth, as he allowed a leadoff homer to Russell Martin and then, after an error by Andy LaRoche, RBI hits by Kemp and Andre Ethier. He finished the inning with the game tied. Overall, neither Kershaw nor Ohlendorf had their best stuff. Ohlendorf's velocity was fine, particularly at the start of the game (when his fastball was hitting 93), but his command was shaky, and he allowed three walks against only one strikeout.
This was hardly the convincing win that Monday's was, but I liked that the Pirates managed to get 18 runners on base, and at least the bullpen, though shaky, managed to come through in the end.