Sanchez lit up by Pittsburgh bats

First rough outing in weeks for lefty; mound doesn't help

Laurence Miedema - MercuryNews

Once Jonathan Sanchez got his first start of April out of the way, the Giants left-hander had an increasingly encouraging month. Maybe May will play out in similar fashion.

Sanchez's four-week run of solid starts ended in a hurry on Tuesday night when he allowed seven runs over 4 1/3 innings in a 12-6 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.
The rough outing was the first time Sanchez failed to pitch into the fifth inning since his season debut, when he allowed seven runs in four innings against Milwaukee. Sanchez (2-2) had gone 2-0 with a 1.82 ERA since that outing.

Sanchez had trouble adjusting to the mound at Pittsburgh's waterfront ballpark, saying it was too flat and calling it "the worst mound I've ever pitched on."

The mound didn't affect the Pirates' Zach Duke, who took a shutout into the seventh inning.

"It's no excuse, I just got hit," Sanchez said. "I couldn't make the adjustment and I was leaving the ball up and they took advantage."

Brad Hennessey took over for Sanchez in the fifth inning and, although the right-hander clearly wasn't fooling the Pirates, was left to fend for himself for 2 1/3 innings so Manager Bruce Bochy could rest his bullpen. Hennessey allowed seven hits and five runs in his first appearance in 11 days.

• The Giants trailed 12-1 before a four-run rally in the eighth. The uprising was capped with a three-run homer by third baseman Jose Castillo, who was making his first appearance in Pittsburgh since a messy breakup following last season.

Castillo broke into the majors with the Pirates and appeared to be a key piece to the franchise's future until management and teammates questioned his work ethic privately and publicly.

"I like hitting in this park," said Castillo, who has hit 16 of his 35 career home runs at PNC Park. "I was a little bit happy for me to hit a home run, but I wasn't happy the team didn't win."
The homer was the second of the season and second in 14 at-bats for Castillo, who had gone two seasons and 450 at-bats without a home run until breaking through last Wednesday against Colorado.

• Omar Vizquel played his third game in three days, logging six innings for the Single-A Giants in San Jose. Vizquel, who'd spent the previous two days at Triple-A Fresno, made four plate appearances Tuesday, walking twice and singling. He is expected to play in San Jose again tonight, and possibly on Thursday. Vizquel, 41, had surgery on his left knee Feb. 27 and his recovery was delayed by a bone bruise in April.

• Left-hander Noah Lowry returned from his meeting with Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., and said the renowned sports surgeon and another hand specialist, Thomas Hunt, confirmed that Lowry needs rest to address the nerve trouble in his left arm. Lowry said he won't pick up a baseball for at least four weeks.