PITTSBURGH _ Edwin Jackson climbed the mound Wednesday at PNC Park and stayed on it for seven innings, a reflection of the quality of his outing. The Padres right-hander generally flummoxed the Pittsburgh Pirates, did not allow a hit until the bottom of the sixth and approached a shutout bid for the second time in as many starts.
Yangervis Solarte did not make it to the bottom of the first. First-year manager Andy Green, who has shown a willingness to deliver a message, pulled his starting third baseman after Solarte did not run out a popup.
The effort levels became juxtaposed in a 4-0 blanking of the Pirates. Wins and losses long ago turned secondary for the Padres, who moved to 15 games under .500. Just this month, Executive Chairman Ron Fowler told a crowd of season ticket-holders he would not "pay high-priced talent to sit on their butts and not perform." Late Tuesday, a photo of rookie center fielder Travis Jankowski, his uniform muddied and bloodied, circulated the Padres front office.
Wednesday, Jankowski stole home for the first time since ... Aug. 1. His eighth-inning derring-do supplied the final margin of victory, one largely delivered by a 34-year-old journeyman.
Jackson, who signed a minor league deal in June, making the Padres' his 11th organization, allowed more walks (three) than hits (two). He struck out seven. He took a no-hitter into the sixth for the second time in five starts for San Diego.
Rookie right fielder Jabari Blash doubled in the second, 24-year-old catcher Christian Bethancourt legged out an infield single and both scored on Pirates errors, dealing Jackson a 2-0 lead.
Rookie second baseman Ryan Schimpf doubled in the seventh and scored on a two-out single by veteran shortstop Alexei Ramirez.
Jankowski doubled in the eighth, advanced to third and, when reliever Antonio Bastardo temporarily turned his back between pitches, dashed down the line.
Bastardo, who'd just entered the game, noticed the commotion a second later but seemed stunned, hurrying a throw that bounced in the dirt. Approaching the plate, Jankowski tap-danced around a tag attempt by catcher Eric Fryer.
Early this month, Jankowski had similarly ambushed the Milwaukee Brewers on a delayed steal of home.
That kind of hustle, at least in Green's eyes, was blatantly lacking in the first half-inning of Wednesday's game. With one out and Jankowski standing on first, Solarte swung under an 0-1 curveball, watched a popup shoot skyward and moseyed down the first-base line, bat still in hand. By the time the ball landed in the glove of Pittsburgh shortstop Jordy Mercer, Solarte was not yet halfway to the bag. He altered his path and turned toward the visiting dugout at PNC Park.
The reception was one of disappointment. In the bottom of the first, utility man Adam Rosales trotted onto the field and over to third base. Solarte watched the rest of the game from the dugout.
Just five days earlier, Padres right-hander Paul Clemens did not run out a bunt attempt and was pulled before he could complete the fifth inning. Afterward, Clemens said he understood his manager's decision.
.jpg?w=600)
