Polanco helps with tarp, then triples as Pirates top Padres

Pittsburgh Pirates grounds crew member Jeff Miller tries to control the tarp on the infield Tuesday night, July 7, 2015, as a storm blows into PNC Park during a baseball game between the Pirates and the San Diego Padres in Pittsburgh. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; MONESSEN OUT; KITTANNING OUT; CONNELLSVILLE OUT; GREENSBURG OUT; TARENTUM OUT; NORTH HILLS NEWS RECORD OUT; BUTLER OUT Pittsburgh Pirates grounds crew member Jeff Miller tries to control the tarp on the infield Tuesday night, July 7, 2015, as a storm blows into PNC Park during a baseball game between the Pirates and the San Diego Padres in Pittsburgh. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP) MAGS OUT; NO SALES; MONESSEN OUT; KITTANNING OUT; CONNELLSVILLE OUT; GREENSBURG OUT; TARENTUM OUT; NORTH HILLS NEWS RECORD OUT; BUTLER OUT

By Associated Press July 8, 2015 2 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Gregory Polanco helped free a grounds crew member trapped underneath a billowing tarp, then hit a go-ahead triple in the eighth inning that sent the Pittsburgh Pirates past the San Diego Padres 3-2 Tuesday night.

Polanco and fellow Pirates outfielders Andrew McCutchen and Sean Rodriguez made the play of the game at the start of a 1 hour, 42 minute rain delay in the top of the third inning.

Strong winds and rain caused the tarp to start swelling as the grounds crew at PNC Park struggled to cover the infield, and a worker was swallowed up. McCutchen, Polanco and Rodriguez came from the dugout to help pull the tarp off him.

It was 2-all when Rodriguez was hit by pitch from Joaquin Benoit (5-4) leading off the eighth. Polanco tripled with two outs, giving the Pirates their fourth straight win.

McCutchen doubled, singled and set a career high by extending his hitting streak to 14 games. He had a 13-gamer as a rookie in 2009.