PITTSBURGH -- In any sport, team success is often the product of advantageous individual matchups. If you match up well against an opponent, you will do well.For instance, the Toronto Blue Jays, with their porous bullpen, match up well with the Pirates' rope-a-dope tendencies. The Bucs did it again Saturday night, hanging with perplexing knuckleballer R.A. Dickey close enough to roar back against Toronto relievers for an 8-6 triumph in front of a PNC Park house of 31,439.On the heels of Friday night's similar 6-5 walk-off victory, the win marks the first time this season that the Pirates have won on consecutive days. Twice earlier they had won consecutive games, but with an off-day between them each time. 
Icing the comeback from deficits of 5-0 and 6-2, Neil Walker broke up a 6-6 tie with a two-run double in the eighth off Todd Redmond. His go-ahead blast was set up by Ike Davis' infield single with one away and Josh Harrison's outfield single.The key blow of the tying, four-run ambush in the seventh inning came off the bat of Jordy Mercer, whose pinch-hit, two-run double tied it at 6 and doubled his previous season RBI total.Dickey was still on the mound when the inning began, but he took his leave following Clint Barmes' leadoff double. Lefty Aaron Loup entered to retire Davis, and he stayed in to give up an RBI double by Harrison, a single by Walker and a walk to Andrew McCutchen that loaded the bases. Pedro Alvarez grounded out to bring in another run -- and to bring up Mercer for the dramatic knock that was only his second extra-base hit this year.Francisco Liriano could not make it through the fourth as he remained without a win for a 10th straight regular-season start going back to last year. Even more remarkable is that his record does not stick out on a rotation going through an amazing dry spell. Charlie Morton has 11 consecutive starts without a win, and, if rightfully considered the fifth member of the current rotation, injured lefty Wandy Rodriguez has not won since late last May.Run support has been an issue for Pittsburgh's starters. Liriano, for instance, has received a total of five runs in the 37 2/3 innings he has been on the mound. Saturday night, he didn't get defensive support, either.Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the third, after Steve Tolleson had begun the inning by striking out on a breaking pitch in the dirt, yet reached when catcher Tony Sanchez's toss for the putout at first base sailed into foul territory. Tolleson eventually got thrown out at home trying to score on a hit to Starling Marte by Josh Thole -- who was soon scoring on a Jose Reyes double.The Blue Jays' four-run fourth unfolded like something imagined by Andy Warhol. Marte got turned the wrong way on a Brett Lawrie liner that did not even reach the warning track but found grass for an RBI double, then Colby Rasmus dropped an RBI single into right. Tolleson's double-play grounder brought in a run to make it 4-0, clearing the bases.And the Blue Jays reloaded: Thole beat out a grounder deep into the second-base hole for an infield single -- the Pirates challenged the call, which stood -- and shortstop Barmes' boot of Dickey's grounder kept the inning alive for consecutive walks of Reyes and Melky Cabrera to force in another run to make it 5-0.The Bucs answered in the bottom of that inning, loading the bases with one out on singles by Alvarez and Sanchez around a Gaby Sanchez walk. Two runs scored during Barmes' at-bat: One on a wild pitch, another on Barmes' groundout to third.Pittsburgh's two new-old relievers picked up for Liriano's short start. Jared Hughes got the final out in the fourth, then Vin Mazzaro made his season debut with the Bucs with two innings marred only by Jose Bautista's solo home run in the sixth.That long ball came with a neat subplot, of course. It was Bautista's 23rd home run at PNC Park -- and the first struck in a visitor's uniform. The former Pirates player hit 176 home runs between trots on the bank of the Allegheny.Tom Singer / MLB.com
Icing the comeback from deficits of 5-0 and 6-2, Neil Walker broke up a 6-6 tie with a two-run double in the eighth off Todd Redmond. His go-ahead blast was set up by Ike Davis' infield single with one away and Josh Harrison's outfield single.The key blow of the tying, four-run ambush in the seventh inning came off the bat of Jordy Mercer, whose pinch-hit, two-run double tied it at 6 and doubled his previous season RBI total.Dickey was still on the mound when the inning began, but he took his leave following Clint Barmes' leadoff double. Lefty Aaron Loup entered to retire Davis, and he stayed in to give up an RBI double by Harrison, a single by Walker and a walk to Andrew McCutchen that loaded the bases. Pedro Alvarez grounded out to bring in another run -- and to bring up Mercer for the dramatic knock that was only his second extra-base hit this year.Francisco Liriano could not make it through the fourth as he remained without a win for a 10th straight regular-season start going back to last year. Even more remarkable is that his record does not stick out on a rotation going through an amazing dry spell. Charlie Morton has 11 consecutive starts without a win, and, if rightfully considered the fifth member of the current rotation, injured lefty Wandy Rodriguez has not won since late last May.Run support has been an issue for Pittsburgh's starters. Liriano, for instance, has received a total of five runs in the 37 2/3 innings he has been on the mound. Saturday night, he didn't get defensive support, either.Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the third, after Steve Tolleson had begun the inning by striking out on a breaking pitch in the dirt, yet reached when catcher Tony Sanchez's toss for the putout at first base sailed into foul territory. Tolleson eventually got thrown out at home trying to score on a hit to Starling Marte by Josh Thole -- who was soon scoring on a Jose Reyes double.The Blue Jays' four-run fourth unfolded like something imagined by Andy Warhol. Marte got turned the wrong way on a Brett Lawrie liner that did not even reach the warning track but found grass for an RBI double, then Colby Rasmus dropped an RBI single into right. Tolleson's double-play grounder brought in a run to make it 4-0, clearing the bases.And the Blue Jays reloaded: Thole beat out a grounder deep into the second-base hole for an infield single -- the Pirates challenged the call, which stood -- and shortstop Barmes' boot of Dickey's grounder kept the inning alive for consecutive walks of Reyes and Melky Cabrera to force in another run to make it 5-0.The Bucs answered in the bottom of that inning, loading the bases with one out on singles by Alvarez and Sanchez around a Gaby Sanchez walk. Two runs scored during Barmes' at-bat: One on a wild pitch, another on Barmes' groundout to third.Pittsburgh's two new-old relievers picked up for Liriano's short start. Jared Hughes got the final out in the fourth, then Vin Mazzaro made his season debut with the Bucs with two innings marred only by Jose Bautista's solo home run in the sixth.That long ball came with a neat subplot, of course. It was Bautista's 23rd home run at PNC Park -- and the first struck in a visitor's uniform. The former Pirates player hit 176 home runs between trots on the bank of the Allegheny.Tom Singer / MLB.com
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