Pirates tie game late, fall to Padres 7-5 in extras

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A gutty pitching performance by A.J. Burnett and Garrett Jones' dramatic home run weren't enough for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Chase Headley hit a two-run homer in the 10th inning to give the San Diego Padres a 7-5 win over the Pirates on Tuesday night.

The Pirates lost to San Diego for the 17th time in 20 games.

Jones got Pittsburgh back in the game with a dramatic, two-out, two-run homer in the ninth inning off Dale Thayer that tied the game at 5.

Jones' big shot came after Burnett clawed his way through a roller coaster 6 1-3 innings in which he allowed four runs on 12 hits with five walks and seven strikeouts.

"Very gritty, very gritty," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. "He didn't have a 1-2-3 inning, but they didn't beat the ball all over the ballpark either. He pitched out of the stretch and made pitches. It was a very gritty effort. He gave us a chance to win."

The loss dropped Pittsburgh 7½ games behind first-place Cincinnati in the NL Central. The Pirates are a half-game ahead of Los Angeles and St. Louis for the second wild-card slot.

Jones' second homer put the Bucs in position to steal the win in extra innings before Headley hammered a full-count changeup off Daniel McCutchen (0-1) deep into the right-field stands to give San Diego its fourth straight win.

"I hung a changeup and (Headley) hammered it," McCutchen said. "That wasn't what I was wanting. Jones' home run was clutch and I wanted to come in there and help. Walking the leadoff guy was a no-no. I threw a cookie to him 3-2 and paid for it."

McCutchen issued a leadoff walk to Will Venable, who stole second before Headley hit his 21st homer. The home run was Headley's ninth this month with 26 RBIs, both major league highs.

Venable and Cameron Maybin each tied their career high with four hits. It was the second time in three games that Maybin has equaled his mark.

Miles Mikolas (2-1) pitched one inning for the win.

Burnett pitched in and out of trouble all night in his bid to become the fourth pitcher in the majors with 16 wins.

"I give a lot of credit to Burnett," Headley said. "I thought he made a lot of really good pitches in big situations."

San Diego won despite squandering numerous scoring chances, going 4 for 19 with runners in scoring position and stranding 14. The Padres had the bases loaded in the third and fifth innings and didn't score.

Even in the sixth when it loaded the bases with no outs, San Diego managed just one run on Jones' fielding error to tie the score at 3.

The Padres pushed across the go-ahead run in the seventh after they loaded the bases again when Burnett walked Maybin.

That brought on reliever Tony Watson, who allowed Chris Denorfia's sacrifice fly for a 4-3 lead.

Carlos Quentin had three RBIs, including a sacrifice fly in the eighth that gave the Padres a 5-3 lead.

Trailing 3-1, Pittsburgh tied the game in the sixth on Jones' solo homer and a run-scoring double by Rod Barajas.

The Padres scored two runs in the first inning, just as they did in Monday night's 3-1 win, on Quentin's two-run double.

San Diego starter Jason Marquis, who threw a two-hitter in a 5-0 win Aug. 11 at Pittsburgh, allowed three runs and seven hits over 5 1-3 innings. He struck out five and walked three.

NOTES: Everth Cabrera stole his 22nd base of the season without being caught. The major league single-season record is 23, set by Philadelphia's Chase Utley in 2009. ... Cabrera has a string of 26 consecutive stolen bases without being caught, dating to Sept. 10, 2010. ... Pittsburgh RHP Kevin Correia started Monday's game after throwing two innings in relief during Sunday's 19-inning win at St. Louis. ... Correia became the first pitcher to pull off this feat since Oakland's Dave Beard did it in June 1982. ... Pirates RHP James McDonald (11-5, 3.61 ERA) opposes Padres rookie LHP Andrew Werner, who will make his major league debut in Wednesday's series finale.

WPXI