Mercury News
PITTSBURGH -- A lot can happen in 2,412 days.
You can start a family. Spend three years in Japan. Watch your former teammates become coaches. Wake up one day and realize you're in Venezuela, trying to restart a career.
You can lose belief in yourself over time, too. But Ryan Vogelsong didn't allow that to happen. And on a surprisingly sunny afternoon at PNC Park, he became a major league winner once more.
"There was a sense of accomplishment for me before the first pitch," said Vogelsong, who worked effectively for 52/3 innings while leading the Giants to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday.
"Absolutely, thousands of times I wondered if I'd ever pitch in the big leagues again, let alone be the starter and win the game."
Vogelsong had made two relief appearances as a Giant after his April 17 promotion, but he hadn't started a big league game since Sept. 29, 2004. He overcame jitters, established his curveball and tied his career high with eight strikeouts to delight a cheering section that included his wife, Nicole, and her extended, Pittsburgh-based family.
His 2,412-day gap between victories as a starter was the longest by a big leaguer since Brian Tallet waited from 2002 (with the Cardinals) to 2009 (with the Blue Jays).
A 33-year-old former Giants prospect who was traded to Pittsburgh in 2001 for Jason Schmidt, Vogelsong wasn't on the radar screen when he showed up this spring as a nonroster invitee. But he quickly established himself as the top option for rotation insurance, which the Giants needed when Barry Zito sprained his foot. "He opened eyes right away," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He could've easily made our club. "... He just looked very determined." The Giants showed enough determination to win a road series despite going 2 for 24 with runners in scoring position in three games. It helped that the Pirates played their special brand of baseball, too, committing four errors to work manager Clint Hurdle into gum-chewing overdrive. Pirates first baseman Lyle Overbay merited special mention for two glaring mistakes in the Giants' four-run third inning. Mike Fontenot started the rally with a leadoff single, breaking an 0 for 17 against right-handers this season, and he took off on a pitch to Eli Whiteside. Overbay camped under a foul pop near the bag but had thoughts of doubling off Fontenot and turned his head before securing the ball. Whiteside received another life, and Jeff Karstens nicked his arm with a pitch. Vogelsong followed with a sacrifice bunt, and Overbay tried for the force out at third base, but Fontenot beat the throw to load them up. "Hey, speed has been a big part of this series," said Fontenot with a wink, although he didn't dare put himself in the same class with Tuesday's hero, Darren Ford. "Oh, you mean the fastest man in the world?" he said. It still took a clutch hit, and Rowand provided it, a two-run double down the left-field line. He also hit a run-scoring single in the seventh, accounting for the club's only two hits with runners in scoring position in the series. "He's our hottest hitter," Bochy said. "He looks very determined to stay in there, be the everyday guy. We're lucky to have a guy like Rowand. Believe me, we think a lot of him." Rowand and Pablo Sandoval could boast of their speed, too, after pulling off a delayed double-steal in the third that ended up with the Pirates throwing the ball away and Rowand dashing across the plate with an official theft of home. Hurdle had intentionally walked Aubrey Huff with one out, presumably to set up the double play with Sandoval. But this isn't the same Panda who led the NL in double-play grounders last year. Sandoval beat out the relay throw after hitting into a fielder's choice, allowing Vogelsong to score. Then Bochy put his runners in motion, hoping to put pressure on the Pirates' defense. "When you're not swinging the bat, you try to think of ways to create runs," said Bochy, who ran Cody Ross into an out a day earlier. "Hopefully you execute, and the guys did a good job today." Sandoval showed off his night-and-day improvement while making several sprawling stops at third base, too. "It's awesome. I want to play every day like that," he said. "This one, we hustled. I think we won the game because of that." Hustle and perseverance -- two related concepts.
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