No D + No O = 4-0 Loss to Friars

The rain came and went without disturbing much but the Bucco team photo shoot and the game started on the dot. San Diego opened with a knock against Ryan Vogelsong, but a pair of Ks and a pop up solved that. Josh started with a loud out, flying out to the track in right. Edwin Jackson's next two outs were garden variety. The Padres got a Jabari Blash double with one gone in the second. He came home when V-Song  tossed a bleeder away, ruled a single and error. Then Kang clanged Jackson's two-out ball and it was 2-0. Freeser walked with an out, but JHK's very bad inning continued with an around-the-horn DP.

V-Song worked a clean third. Fran drew an opening walk, getting the call on a couple of close pitches. A tapper moved him up; a pair of K kept him there. SD opened the fourth with a free pass, followed by a whiff and 6-4-3 DP. The Pirates remained hitless against Jackson, and for the perfecta, Fran left the game after taking a painful foul off his hand earlier in the game. It was 1-2-3 for the Friars in the fifth. With one gone, JHK walked after an eight-pitch at-bat and Eric Fryer banged into a DP.

Vogey was pretty much the only Bucco worth mentioning tonight (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

The sixth was another quiet frame for Vogey. Jordy got the Bucs first rap, a bouncer up the middle. Matt Joyce hit for V-Song, who was strong - three hits, two unearned runs with a walk and five whiffs after 75 tosses. Jackson hung a 3-2 change to Joyce; he swung through it. Josh's roller moved Jordy to second and Starling's grounder closed the frame.

Juan Nicasio worked the seventh and gave up leadoff double. He almost worked out of it with a pair of strikeouts, but an Alexei Ramirez single plated another Padre point thanks to a poor catch-and-tag effort by Fryer on a throw that had him beat; a Pirates appeal lost. Cutch opened with a rap and a wild pitch moved him up a station, where he laid at anchor. Juan gave up another leadoff double in the eighth to Travis Jankowski. Juan again got two outs, but this time Clint gave him the hook for Antonio Bastardo. Same result; Jankowski stole home. He broke as Fryer tossed the ball to Antonio without checking; Bastardo's quick pitch back was in the dirt, and Jankowski scored without a slide when Eric couldn't come up with the ball. Ryan Butcher retired the Bucs in order.

Fran left the game with a bum wrist (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Jared Hughes took the hill in the ninth. The good news: he only gave up a walk. The bad news: he didn't get one grounder (tho in justice a couple of balls were just pops). Brandon Mauer put the Bucs to sleep with the fishes without a peep.

Not playing D and not hitting is a pretty good recipe for defeat. Every run was gift-wrapped and two hits won't get ya very far. Edwin Jackson continues to own the Bucs; he's 10-3 lifetime against them. Judging by tonight, if this is a playoff team, God bless us all. And the FO, which had game-planned that this year's club would be brimming with youngsters by now, is still rostering the place warmers.

The Pirate obsession with control of assets is pretty clear and hurting the 2016 club. Stew and Tyler Glasnow are on schedule to finish rehab and return as September additions. Josh Bell and Elias Diaz (given Stew's absence) should both be on the roster. Jaso/Kang have been black holes at the dish and Fryer has a nice stick but isn't strong on catching chops (he is a converted outfielder), and that's a position the FO has always said was defense-first. We still can't figure out why Arquie was dealt; he was controllable with upside. Maybe it will fall in place, but we don't see it now.

• The Pirates had five baserunners on two hits and three walks.
• Fran Cervelli left the game with "left wrist discomfort."
• Today marked the fourth time the Padres have stolen home this year. If the Pirate battery was unaware of that, shame on the scouts.
• Mike Axisa of River City Blues wrote that the Yankees list of PTBNL for Ivan Nova includes four players listed among the Pirates Top 30 Prospects among others, according to his tweep sources. They get to pick a pair.
• The Atlanta Braves claimed RHP Wilfredo Boscan, DFA'ed last week.
• The Yankees released 1B Ike Davis.