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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Kirk Rueter doesn't have to worry about coming
out of San Francisco's rotation -- or, maybe even better for the
Giants, their batting order.
|  | | Giants starter Kirk Rueter pitched seven innings and allowed two runs. |
Rueter beat the Pittsburgh Pirates as much with his bat as with
his arm, driving in four runs with three hits to back his two-run
pitching as the Giants cruised to a 10-2 victory Thursday.
Bill Mueller and Jeff Kent homered as the Giants won three of
four in the series to increase their NL West lead over idle Arizona
to three games.
The last time the Giants entered September with the NL West
lead, a 4½-game edge over Atlanta in 1993, they wound up second by
a game despite winning 103 games.
"I don't think anybody is going to change their approach now
that it's September," Rueter said. "This is a team that stays on
an even keel. We know we have 30 left and we know we play eight of
the last 11 against Arizona. We just want to stay where we are."
Just as Rueter will stay where he is: The rotation. There was
speculation he might move into the bullpen after failing to last
past the fifth in three consecutive starts, giving up 18 runs in 12
1/3 innings.
"Now don't have to answer any questions about whether he's
going to stay in the rotation," manager Dusty Baker said. "He
wasn't coming out, but this still was a big game for him. This is
usually his time of the year and, hopefully, he can reel off four
or five in a row."
Rueter is 17-6 in September and October despite going 2-3 last
season.
"I like pitching in September," Rueter said. "I've been on
some good teams in Montreal and San Francisco where the games mean
something in September."
The Pirates haven't have many meaningful games since April.
Their eighth loss in 10 games finished a miserable August (8-21)
for the team with the majors' worst record (53-79).
With manager Gene Lamont almost certain to be fired when the
season ends, the Pirates fell a remarkable 52 games under .500 over
the last two calendar years. They lost 25 of their final 30 in 1998
and were 78-84 last season.
"Just when you think it's as bad as it can get ...," said John
Vander Wal, who hit his 16th career pinch-hit homer. "Kirk's a
heck of a pitcher, but when he drives in runs, too ... it can't get
any lower."
The Giants didn't need long to get to Jose Silva (8-9), who
allowed eight runs on 10 hits in 3 2/3 innings while failing to
last five innings for the fifth time in six starts.
Rueter, a .170 hitter with only one RBI in 47 at-bats this
season entering the game, followed center fielder Adrian Brown's
run-scoring throwing error in the second with a two-run double that
made it 3-0. Marvin Benard and Mueller then singled in runs.
Kent led off the third with his 29th homer, giving him 107 RBIs.
In the fourth, Rueter singled for his second hit and scored on
Mueller's eighth homer. Rueter added another two-run double, off
Bronson Arroyo in the fifth.
Mueller also had three hits as the Giants had 13 hits even
without Barry Bonds, Ellis Burks and Rich Aurilia, who took the day
off.
Rueter (9-9) lost his shutout on Emil Brown's run-scoring single
in the sixth. He pitched seven innings, giving up seven hits and
two runs while walking one and striking out none.
Giants right fielder Armando Rios left the game after running
into a bullpen gate making a backhanded catch of Abraham Nunez's
foul fly ball in the sixth. He lay on the warning track for several
minutes, but said later he had only a sore left arm and left knee.
Vander Wal tied Jerry Lynch for sixth place with 116 career
pinch-hits by homering in the seventh, his third pinch-hit homer
this season.
No matter, the Pirates still can't see daylight. They are 3-15
in afternoon home day games, losing 11 in a row, and were outscored
30-7 in three day games during a just-completed 1-6 homestand.
"It seems that right now whenever we make a bad pitch or have a
bad at-bat, it costs us," Jason Kendall said. "We've got a month
left in the season and we've got to make something positive of
it."
Game
notes
The Pirates are 12-26 against the NL West, with upcoming
series in San Diego and Los Angeles. ... Silva has allowed 13 runs
on 19 hits in 7 2/3 innings in his last two starts. ... The Giants
were 19-10 in August and have won 12 of 17. ... Pirates 3B Enrique
Wilson sprained his right ankle sliding into second base and was
lifted after the eighth inning. His status for Friday's game in San
Diego is uncertain.
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Baseball Scoreboard
San Francisco Clubhouse
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RECAPS
Tampa Bay 2
Kansas City 1
Detroit 6
Baltimore 1
Texas 14
Cleveland 7
San Francisco 10
Pittsburgh 2
Milwaukee 8
Los Angeles 2
San Diego 11
Chicago Cubs 5
Cincinnati 4
Atlanta 3
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