Bucs Hang On To Tame Tigers 5-4

Great start to the game; Josh Harrison bombed the game's first pitch over the wall in center. The Pirates added in the third, almost smacking a pair of homers. Gregory Polanco banged one off the wall to send Josh, who led off with a single, to third. Cutch's sac fly almost carried the fence and easily brought home Harrison. The Pirates tried for another, but on the contact play, El Coffee was cut down at home as Pittsburgh settled for one run. The seventh was the pivotal frame.

Josh Harrison 2015 Topps Heritage series

Cole was ahead of the three hitters he faced 0-2; all three reached (though one for sure and possibly two of them should have been rung up). In came Jared Hughes with the bases juiced and no outs; three pitches later, a 6-4-3 DP and pop out kept the Bucs up 2-1.

It was Anibal Sanchez's turn to tire; Pedro cranked one over the RC wall, Frankie Cervelli got a deflected infield knock and a sac bunt later, Corey Hart drilled one over The Notch to put the Bucs up 5-1. Detroit made it interesting against Mark the Shark in the ninth, opening with a pair of doubles, a homer by JD Martinez and a single, but another timely DP and a whiff was enough to give Pittsburgh a 5-4 win.

• Cutch tied Jason Bay for the most RBI in PNC Park history at 241 with his third inning sac fly.
• Josh Harrison's lead-off homer was the first long ball allowed by Detroit this season. The last Pirate to hit a leadoff homer in the Home Opener was RJ Reynolds, off the New York Mets Dwight Gooden in 1986. 
• Pedro has three homers, and all three have come on first pitches.
• Corey Hart is 3-for-3 as a pinch hitter, with a homer and four RBI. His seventh inning blast today was his 1,000th MLB hit.
• Today's attendance was 39,933 happy fans, the largest regular-season baseball crowd in the history of PNC Park.
• The Giants signed Kevin Correia over the weekend as pitching depth. He signed a major league deal, meaning he's on the 40-man roster, with opt-out dates if he doesn't make the active roster.