Alex Cole grounded a single through a drawn-in infield with one out in the 12th inning Tuesday night, giving Pittsburgh a 3-2 victory over the New York Mets that extended the Pirates` winning streak to five games.
Bob Walk (5-4) worked out of jams in all three innings he pitched for the victory as five Pirates pitchers combined to limit the banged-up Mets to two runs and eight hits. Pirates starter Danny Jackson checked the Mets on five hits and two runs on seven innings. He has a 1.60 earned-run average in his four starts since being traded by the Cubs but has received only 10 runs of support in his last six starts with the Cubs and Pirates.
Anthony Young extended his scoreless relief appearances streak to 10 for New York with three innings of one-hit relief, but Tom Filer (0-1) allowed Don Slaught`s leadoff single to start the 12th.
Slaught then surprised the Mets by running on the first pitch to Jose Lind, stealing his first base of the season when Filer`s pitch was high and wide. The steal was just Slaught`s second in three NL seasons.
Lind bunted him to third, and Mets closer John Franco came on to walk pinch-hitter Cecil Espy, who was 0 for 18 as a pinch-hitter since May 16. Cole then singled between third and short.
”I broke his bat and he hit it right where he wanted to,” Franco said.
”I was throwing him fastballs . . . and he didn`t really catch up to any of them. He broke his bat in the right spot.”
