May 16, 2002 4 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – This might have been the only homer of Steve Finley’s career that he didn’t feel like celebrating. Finley’s sixth-inning homer struck a woman in a wheelchair located behind a protective railing, one of three Arizona home runs as the Diamondbacks rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-2 Wednesday night.

Several fans rushed immediately to assist the woman in the right-field stands before paramedics arrived. She received several stitches in the head but otherwise was not seriously injured.

The Pirates withheld the woman’s identity, saying they could not release it because of legal reasons.

Finley’s homer came a batter after Luis Gonzalez’s two-run shot landed only a few feet away in the right-field stands. Like most everyone else in PNC Park, Finley didn’t know the ball had hit the woman.

Diamondbacks publicist Mike Swanson told Finley after the game, and he immediately signed a ball for the woman.

“It was just bad luck, an unfortunate accident,” Finley said. “I didn’t know what happened until somebody told me in here … you generally don’t watch where balls land. It’s too bad, because you see foul balls whizzing into the stands all the time and they always seem to find the empty seat.”

However, Finley criticized the decision to locate a handicapped section in an area where homers are bound to land, saying, “That was a hell of a place to put that.”

Finley also mentioned that putting fans directly behind a railing eliminates the chance for other spectators to protect them by running in front to deflect any balls.

The Pirates refused all comment on the incident.

Gonzalez and Junior Spivey also homered as Arizona took two of three in the series and finally won a game not started by Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. They had started during each of the Diamondbacks’ last three victories.

“Hopefully, this will stop that from being a topic of conversation,” manager Bob Brenly said. “It just seems like on the days they don’t pitch we have trouble scoring runs. That’s why it’s nice to get Rick a win.”

The Diamondbacks had been held to two runs and 12 hits in their last three losses, including a 2-1 defeat Tuesday night that was their third in five games.

Rick Helling (4-4), whose road ERA is six runs per game lower than that at Bank One Ballpark, shook off Brian Giles’ homer in the Pirates’ fourth for the victory. He gave up three hits over five innings in which he usually was ahead of the hitters, throwing 54 of 77 pitches for strikes.

Eddie Oropesa, Jose Parra and Mike Morgan followed Helling with a scoreless inning apiece, and Byung-Hyun Kim pitched the ninth in a non-save situation.

Pirates starter Jimmy Anderson was lifted after giving up four runs, three earned, on seven hits over six innings.

“He walks a guy and hangs a curve ball, and then he leaves a fastball up in the zone,” manager Lloyd McClendon said. “But we didn’t score many runs again. We need a breakout game, because we’re not as bad as our averages are – if we were, these guys wouldn’t be here.”

Gonzalez’s go-ahead homer followed Spivey’s leadoff walk. Gonzalez went 1-for-9 in PNC Park last season, but was 7-of-14 with two homers and two doubles in the series.

He is 9-for-19 in his last four games, jumping his average from 246 to .274.

Spivey returned to the lineup after sitting out the first two games of the series to go 3-for-4 and reach base four times. His homer came in the seventh and was the first allowed by reliever Joe Beimel this season.

“You couldn’t tell that Spivey’s been sitting around,” Brenly said.

Pinch-hitter Chris Donnels had a sacrifice fly in the eighth. Notes:@ Helling hadn’t started against the Pirates since May 5, 1997, when he beat them 3-0 for Florida by pitching six shutout innings. They faced him several times in exhibition play when he pitched for Texas. … The Pirates lost their 14th in 21 games to again drop to .500. … The Pirates were 0-for-22 with runners in scoring position over three games until Jason Kendall’s RBI single in the third, three batters after Giles hit his second homer in 22 games. Giles was 3-for-25 before homering. … The Pirates have lost six of their last seven series.