Xavier Paul was running. No matter what. Paul, a Pittsburgh Pirates reserve, watched from third base as his teammate Chase d'Arnaud sliced a ball into the outfield with one out in the 10th inning against the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday and decided he was taking off regardless of where it landed. “It was extra-inning ballgame,” Paul said. “I felt like it was deep enough. I'm going to make him make a perfect throw to get me out.” Center fielder Colby Rasmus tracked down the ball, but his throw to the plate never had a chance. After tagging up, Paul sprinted home with the winning run in a 4-3 victory as the Pirates avoided a three-game sweep. “It's just a hustle play and it worked out in our favor,” Paul said. It is what the Pirates have done all year. Although they lack the firepower of the other National League Central contenders, they have made up for it by finding ways to win. Sunday's victory along with Milwaukee's loss to San Francisco created a three-way tie for the division lead among the Pirates, the Cardinals and the Brewers. “Throughout the season that's the way we've had to do it, that's the way we'll continue to plan on doing it,” Manager Clint Hurdle said. The sprint home was the third hustle play by Paul in the span of a minute. He beat out an infield single, stole second, then moved to third when the throw from catcher Gerald Laird rolled into center. Joe Beimel (1-1) retired the Cardinals in order to pick up his first victory as a Pirate in more than eight years as Pittsburgh snapped a three-game losing streak heading into a brutal stretch on the road against NL East leaders Atlanta and Philadelphia. Ronny Cedeno and the rookie catcher Eric Fryer each had two hits for the Pirates, who were badly outplayed in the first two games of the series but rallied three times Sunday to prevent the sweep. Rasmus had two hits, including his 10th homer of the season for the Cardinals, who blew their 19th save of the season to fall into a virtual tie with the Pirates in the standings as their three-game winning streak ended. Jason Motte (2-1) took the loss in part because he failed to beat Paul to the bag on Paul's infielder chopper in the 10th. In other games it was: Giants 2, Brewers 1; Reds 4, Braves 3; Phillies 5, Padres 3; Cubs 5, Astros 4; Dodgers 3, Nationals 1; Diamondbacks 7, Rockies 0; White Sox 4, Indians 2; Tigers 5, Twins 2; Red Sox 12, Mariners 8; Blue Jays 3, Rangers 0; Angels 9, Orioles 3; Rays 5, Royals 0.
