Buc Bats Frozen By Teheran, Bravos Take 3-1 Victory

Lotta pitching going on tonight between Frankie Liriano and Julio Teheran. The Braves scored in the third when a leadoff single, bunt and two-out knock by Freddy Freeman made it 1-0. A Tyler Flowers homer in the sixth made it 2-0. In between, there were really no threats to squelch or RISP chokes. It took until the eighth for the Pirates to make some noise when Jordy and Freeser hit back-to-back singles, but a JJ force out and a long fly to center by Cutch off Arodys Vizcaino, who stepped in for Teheran to match up with Andrew, ended the chatter.

Frankie was strong, but his support was weak (photo Carlos Osario/Associated press)

For some reason, after Frankie had gone seven strong IP (two runs, seven hits, two walks, four K) and Jared Hughes added a zero, Clint brought in Arquimedes Caminero in the ninth. A quick leadoff walk, bunt and Gordon Beckham double made it 3-0. He escaped further damage thanks to a 5-4-3 DP with Bravos on the corners. Would a shutdown inning have made a diff? Hard to tell; JHK banged a solo shot off Vizcaino with an out, and that sure would have made it more interesting. But the Bucs were done after that; two grounders, one a smoked at 'em ball by Fran, ended the game.

The Braves played small ball - two leadoff batters reached (and they were the only two to do so for Atlanta), were bunted up and then cashed in to go with the solo shot. The Bucs, after bashing some peach-fuzzed pitchers, were held to six hits by vets Teheran and Vizcaino. Disappointing to see the bats get icy, but a bounce-back tomorrow night will give Pittsburgh 3-of-4, and that will make the series a success.

• Jung Ho Kang's homer saved the Buccos from their first shutout of the campaign. It was his fifth in just 32 AB's since his return to action.
• The most excitement for Pittsburgh prior to JHK's long fly was Clint's outburst when Matt Joyce was picked off first in the seventh frame. It looked like a balk move, and by the way the umps let the ol' skipper rant, it probably was one that the boys in blue missed.
• Arquimedes Caminero hasn't had a clean outing since his first on April 5th. Those next 17 appearances lasted 14-2/3 IP, with 21 hits, 12 walks and 11 runs (10 earned) charged to him. 
• Attendance for the Atlanta series continues to be slim, with 18,201 fans tonight.
• The Bucs will play three straight ESPN Sunday night games in June - at PNC Park on the 12th v Cards at 5:05 PM, on the 19th at Wrigley v the Cubs at 8:08 PM, and home again on the 26th v the Dodgers at 8:08 PM. 
• Ex-Bucco Jeanmar Gomez has 16 saves for the Phillies, leading MLB. The Pirates released him after the 2014 season.