Meek returns, serves up big hit in Pirates' loss
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Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle decided to let reliever Evan Meek try to work through the mess the righty created in his first appearance after a trip to the minors.
Didn't quite pan out.
Meek loaded the bases in a tight game by walking two batters and hitting another in the seventh inning, then allowed Adam LaRoche's three-run double — his 1,000th career hit — and Pittsburgh lost to the Washington Nationals 7-4 on Wednesday night.
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"It got away from him a little bit, but I wanted to give him a chance to get out of it. He makes a pitch to LaRoche, and he's out of the inning," Hurdle said. "He deserved that opportunity, in my eyes, and I wanted to give it to him."
Washington led 4-3 entering the seventh, when Meek replaced starter Erik Bedard (2-5).
After putting three runners on, Meek faced LaRoche with two outs.
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"Hitters know that they're probably going to see a fastball. He was sitting on it," said Meek, who was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis before the game. "I served it up — and he did what he should have done."
Meek, an NL All-Star in 2010, was sent to the minors May 1 with a 5.59 ERA.
LaRoche never has been an All-Star, but he's putting up those types of numbers this season. Hitting cleanup while Michael Morse is on the disabled list, LaRoche leads the Nationals with a .339 batting average, seven homers and 29 RBIs. Talk about a turnaround: LaRoche hit .172 with three homers in 43 games in 2011 before having left shoulder surgery.
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He entered Wednesday with 997 career hits, but got things started with a single in the first, then hit a homer in the sixth before getting the milestone hit.
"Shoot, I feel like I've been playing 50 years to get 1,000. I'm serious," said the 32-year-old LaRoche, who's in his ninth season and with his sixth club. "To look at some of these guys — 3,000-plus hits is just unbelievable."
He and Xavier Nady — who were teammates in Pittsburgh from 2007-08 — hit consecutive homers off Bedard in the sixth.
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That hit No. 1,000 came against the Pirates "makes it a little bit sweeter," LaRoche said.
For Nady, it was his 100th homer in the majors.
Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez (5-1) allowed three runs, four hits and two walks. His 10 strikeouts give him 60 in 2012, surpassing teammate Stephen Strasburg's 56 for the NL lead.
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Washington reliever Tyler Clippard let in one run in the eighth, and struggling fill-in closer Henry Rodriguez overcame an error for his ninth save in 12 chances. He ended the game by getting Josh Harrison to ground into a double play.
In the seventh, Gonzalez walked Barajas then gave up Harrison's first homer of the season, a two-run shot to left that made it 4-3. That ended Gonzalez's streak of 58 innings without allowing a homer.
Still, the Pirates' offensive woes continued: They've gone a dozen games without scoring more than five runs in any.
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"Some days you're going to feel good. Some days, you're not," Harrison said. "It's a matter of fighting through it."
NOTES: Pittsburgh optioned OF Alex Presley to Indianapolis. Presley was 3 for 42 over his past 15 games. ... Nationals RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-3) faces Pirates RHP James McDonald (2-2) on Thursday to close the two-game series.