May 15, 2002 4 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – This is the comeback the Pittsburgh Pirates were waiting for – no, not Kris Benson’s, but Chad Hermansen’s. Hermansen’s two-run homer backed Kip Wells’ effective pitching over 6 1-3 innings, and the Pirates rebounded from their most lopsided shutout loss in nearly seven years to beat Arizona 2-1 Tuesday night.

Hermansen, who rejoined the Pirates on Saturday to get another shot at winning the starting job he couldn’t keep in 2000, followed Wells’ one-out single in the third by homering into the left-field seats on a 3-2 fastball by Brian Anderson.

Hermansen, who hit only .193 in 74 games over the previous three seasons, is 5-for-11 with two extra-base hits and three stolen bases in three starts since being activated off the disabled list. One at-bat after homering, he showed his versatility by easily beating out a bunt.

“He knows what we have to have, and that’s consistency,” manager Lloyd McClendon said. “He’s been great with the bat, a lot more aggressive and now we’ve got to keep him that way.”

Hermansen is out of minor league options and seemed on his way to another team until catching the Pirates’ eye again by hitting .382 with three homers in spring training.

“I don’t think I had an approach when I was here before,” he said. “I just went up there hoping for the best, instead of going up there with a game plan and knowing the pitchers’ strengths. It’s working, and any time you get hits it helps your confidence.”

The homer – Hermansen’s sixth in the majors – provided the Pirates’ only runs off Anderson (0-3), who remained winless since Oct. 4 despite lasting seven innings. He gave up seven hits, struck out five and walked one.

“It’s still a loss, and I’m sick of losing,” said Anderson, 4-12 the last two seasons. “I’m sick and tired of losing. The other guy threw a heck of a game, but it’s a loss, and it gets tiring.”

A night after committing a season-high four errors in an 11-0 loss to the Diamondbacks in Benson’s first start in 19 months, the Pirates got solid pitching and excellent defense to win for only the seventh time in 20 games. Monday’s shutout loss was the Pirates’ worst since an 11-0 defeat to Houston on July 1, 1995.

“We had a high offensive output with Curt Schilling throwing (Monday), and we’ve got to find some way to get big points when the other guys are pitching,” Arizona’s Luis Gonzalez said.

This time, the Pirates’ defense held the Diamondbacks down almost as much as their pitching did, with second baseman Pokey Reese and third baseman Aramis Ramirez each making a succession of hit-saving plays.

“They made some tremendous defensive plays,” Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly said.

Reese said, “That’s our style. We won’t beat you with big ball, but we had pitching, defense and some hits at the right time.”

Unlike a 4-3 loss at Arizona on May 7 when Wells (5-2) couldn’t hold a 3-0 edge supplied by Craig Wilson’s three-run homer off Curt Schilling, Wells kept the Pirates in front until leaving after giving up five hits, striking out six and walking one.

“With the way we were playing behind me, it was just a matter of getting them to hit the ball on the ground,” Wells said. ‘I didn’t need to strike guys out and run up my pitch count, just let my defense help me.”

Arizona scored on Quinton McCracken’s leadoff triple in the fifth and Tony Womack’s ground out, but Wells allowed only one more hit, Chris Donnels’ leadoff single in the seventh. Scott Sauerbeck replaced Wells to get the next five outs, with Gonzalez -5-for-9 so far in the series – grounding out with one on to end the eighth.

Mike Williams finished for his 14th save in as many chances and his ninth in as many appearances, tying Bill Landrum’s 1989 club record. Williams is 36-of-38 in save conversions the last two seasons.

The Pirates beat Arizona for only the 11th time in 36 games since the Diamondbacks joined the NL in 1998 despite going 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position, making them 0-for-22 in the last three games. Brian Giles grounded in a double play to end the fifth with runners on first and third. Notes:@ Eleven of the Pirates’ 19 victories have come from the three pitchers they got from the White Sox for Todd Ritchie, with Josh Fogg and Wells winning five each and reliever Sean Lowe winning once. … Pirates C Jason Kendall has not struck out in 75 plate appearances since April 16. … Former Diamondbacks manager Buck Showalter will be the analyst for Wednesday night’s ESPN telecast. … Arizona 1B Mark Grace has a badly bruised right ankle, but tests revealed no breaks. He fouled a pitch off the ankle Monday night.