Pirates notebook
Decision to keep Torres pays off PITTSBURGH (AP) – One reason the Pittsburgh Pirates unexpectedly released reliever Matt Herges late in spring training was to keep Salomon Torres in case a starting pitcher was hurt.
That injury came only three weeks into the season.
With right-hander Josh Fogg (1-2) expected to miss three starts with a strained abdominal muscle, Torres (2-0, 1.93 ERA) moves into the rotation. He will pitch Saturday against the Dodgers, unless he has complications from being hit in the left knee Sunday by a pitch.
“Torres will start if he’s able to go and we don’t foresee any problems,” manager Lloyd McClendon said Tuesday.
The Pirates risked losing Torres on waivers if they tried to demote him to the minors during spring training, perhaps the main reason general manager Dave Littlefield and McClendon kept him on the roster.
“We said coming out of spring training he was our sixth starter, so this shouldn’t be any surprise,” McClendon said.
Fogg led NL rookies in starts (33) and innings pitched (194 1-3 innings) last season, only to get hurt swinging at a Tom Glavine pitch last week.
The Pirates didn’t think the injury was serious enough to prevent him from starting Sunday, but he lasted only one inning against the Cubs.
If Torres stays in the rotation, he would start twice against the Dodgers, once each in PNC Park and Dodger Stadium, and once against the Astros before Fogg returns.
“Pitching is a valuable commodity and, for the most part, it’s not going to stay healthy all through the year,” McClendon said. “That’s just the way it is.”
GILES UPDATE: The Pirates are encouraged by left fielder Brian Giles’ progress as he rehabilitates his sprained right knee, though they still don’t know when he will return.
“His workouts are good,” McClendon said. “I suspect he’s going to start working in the cages someday this week, but I can’t tell you exactly what day.”
BONDS OUT: The Pirates felt like they didn’t catch many breaks while losing four straight series, dropping two of three in each one, but they did Tuesday.
Barry Bonds was out of the Giants’ lineup with a sore neck.
Bonds is a .474 career hitter in PNC Park, with four homers there in the Giants’ six games in Pittsburgh the last two seasons.
Before finding out Bonds wouldn’t play, McClendon said one of the biggest challenges is trying to decide not just how to pitch to Bonds, but when to pitch to him.
In certain situations, McClendon plans to intentionally walk Bonds even when first base is occupied – not exactly a novel idea, as Bonds once was intentionally walked with the bases loaded.
“He’s the one guy you identify to not let him beat you,” McClendon said. “There’s some situations where I’m not opposed to pitching to Barry. If we do what we’re supposed to do, we should be fine.”
McClendon was a teammate of Bonds’ with the Pirates, but said Bonds is a much different player than he was with Pittsburgh, when he stole more bases and was a better fielder, but didn’t hit as many homers.
Of Bonds’ 619 homers, 443 have been with the Giants (1993-2003) – an average of 44 per season. He hit 176 with the Pirates from 1986-92 – an average of 25 per season.
“He’s much more knowledgeable,” McClendon said. “He’s always been one of the most intelligent players about picking up on (pitching) patterns. But he’s probably not the same player defensively he was when he was here, he certainly doesn’t run as well.
“But he knows so much more.”