A few hours after finding out Tuesday that injured catcher Ryan Doumit will be out for at least two months, the Pirates started picking each other up and chipping in.
"I feel extremely bad for Ryan," manager John Russell said. "We'll be fine as a team. Guys will pull together. We'll move on and continue to do things the way we've done them." That means strong starting pitching, clutch hitting and solid defense ? the ingredients which added up to a 3-2 victory against the Florida Marlins.
"Ryan's a big loss," shortstop Jack Wilson said. "Everybody is down about it and thought about it for 20-30 seconds, then we said, 'OK, we all have to step up.'"
They did:
? Adam LaRoche, batting in Doumit's customary cleanup spot, swatted a run-scoring single in the first inning.
? Jason Jaramillo, who took over behind the plate, mashed an RBI double off the Clemente Wall in the second.
? Freddy Sanchez provided a dash of Doumit-style power with a solo homer in the third.
? Wilson flashed plenty of glove. He gobbled up Cody Ross' sharp grounder in the fourth, then turned a bang-bang, 6-3 double play in the seventh. In the ninth, he made a diving stop to retire Dan Uggla.
? The bullpen locked down the win. John Grabow got out of a jam in the eighth, and Matt Capps notched his fourth save.
Starter Jeff Karstens (1-0) righted himself after a bumpy debut outing. The right-hander worked six innings and allowed a run, three hits, two walks and struck out three.
"There's still some stuff I've got to work on," Karstens said. "I was able to throw some pitches behind (in the count) that they weren't able to hit hard, luckily. Hanley (Ramirez) squared up a few balls, but they went straight up."
Karstens gave up two hits in the first inning, but settled down and retired nine of the final 10 batters he faced.
By suffocating the Marlins, Karstens snapped a long personal losing streak. In eight starts after taking a perfect game into the eighth inning Aug. 6 in Arizona, Karstens went 0-6 with two no-decisions and a 5.80 ERA.
For the third game in a row, Nyjer Morgan led off the first inning by getting on base. He lined a single to left field off Marlins righty Anibal Sanchez (1-1).
Sanchez singled to right. With one out, LaRoche lined a single up the middle, scoring Morgan.
Andy LaRoche began the second with a double down the third-base line. With one out, Jaramillo hit a liner that hit near the top of the right field wall. It was Jaramillo's first RBI in the majors.
"I was just praying it would stay fair," Jaramillo said, grinning. "Good feeling. I'm just trying to keep the spot warm until (Doumit) gets back."
Going into the game, the Marlins were hitting .234 in the first six innings, but .316 from the seventh inning on.
So, even though the Pirates took a 3-1 lead into the eighth, the Marlins made things interesting. Cameron Maybin led off the inning by crushing a 447-foot, solo homer off reliever Tyler Yates.
Grabow replaced Yates and got pinch-hitter Alfredo Amezaga to foul out on the first pitch. However, it took Grabow 26 more pitches ? and a bit of drama ? to get the next two outs.
"Not the way I'd like it to go, but I'll take it," Grabow said.
Emilio Bonifacio singled to right and pinch-hitter Ronny Paulino walked. Ramirez, who doubled in a run in the third, popped out on a full-count pitch.
That brought up Ross Gload, who was a last-minute addition to the lineup when Jorge Cantu was scratched due to a sore left wrist. Gload got ahead 3-0, but struck out swinging.
"Changeup," Grabow said. "My first two pitches were sliders, but they didn't come out of my hand too well. I got back in the count with my fastball. (Jaramillo) came out and asked me what I wanted to throw and I was like, I think a changeup would be good right here."
How they scored
Pirates first inning (Anibal Sanchez pitching): Nyjer Morgan singled to left field Freddy Sanchez singled to right, Morgan to second. Nate McLouth flied out to center, Morgan to third. Adam LaRoche singled to center, Morgan scored, Sanchez to second. Pirates 1, Marlins 0
Pirates second: Andy LaRoche doubled to left. Jack Wilson grounded out to third base, Andy LaRoche to third. Jason Jaramillo doubled to right, Andy LaRoche scored. Pirates 2, Marlins 0
Marlins third (Jeff Karstens pitching): With two outs, John Baker walked. Hanely Ramirez doubled to center, Baker scored. Pirates 2, Marlins 1
Pirates third: Sanchez hit a solo home run (No. 2) to left on an 0-1 pitch. Pirates 3, Marlins 1
Marlins eighth (Tyler Yates pitching): Cameron Maybin hit a solo homer (No. 1) to left on a 1-0 pitch. Pirates 3, Marlins 2
