Buc Bats Keep Smokin' In 10-4 Series-Clincher v Washington

Hey, a clean first frame with two punchouts for Tyler Glasnow. Fraze singled to open against Tanner Roark and J-Bell rang the gong with a long fly into the Clemente Wall stands to give Ty some early breathing room. Daniel Murphy made it a one-run game in the second when he went long in the second; Glasnow stranded a pair of later walks. The Pirates repaid in kind by leaving a pair of ducks on the pond. The Nats had a quiet third; Roark gift-wrapped a couple of Bucco runs thanks to three walks; one scored and another was with the bases loaded.

Ty was just one pitch-and-catch away from a strong outing
(photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

The game continued back-and-forth; a walk, single and double for the Nats made it 4-2 in the fourth. Ty should have stopped the bleeding there, but with two outs, he snagged a grounder by Roark and then airmailed the ball into right, knotting the game. God helps those... The Pirates were held without a peep. It was a 1-2-3 fifth for Washington and the Bucs reclaimed the lead on a JJ dinger into the bullpen. Wade LeBlanc took the ball in the sixth and thx to a DP ball had calm sailing. Pittsburgh took command in their half. Stew singled and Gift walked before Blake Treinen was waved to the hill. Fraze greeted him with a two-run two-bagger, went to third when the ball was kicked around and scored on J-Hay's sac fly.

Wade had some problems in the seventh A walk and single put Nats in scoring position with no outs. He came up with a big whiff and then a cut-down at home on a grounder. With Washingtonians on the corners, Felipe Rivero took over to face Bryce Harper and whiffed him with 100 MPH heat. Jordy opened with a walk and was picked off by Enny Romero, but the Bucs weren't done. Danny Ortiz banged out his first MLB hit and Stew followed with another; some more Nat ball-bobbling moved them up a station. With two outs, Fraze's knock chased the duo home. It was a no drama finish as Johnny Barbato and Huddy put up zippos for the Bucs, Shawn Kelly did the same for the Nats, and the Pirates booked a 10-4 win.

Wonder how much the Nats wish they still had Felipe in their bullpen?
(photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Nice series for the Buccos; they finally threw off that  season-long weekday hex. Tyler had a nice outing, if only he could peg a ball to first; still, he held DC to three hits and K'ed six in five frames. Now to see if they can work the weekend hoodoo on the Phils...

Notes:

• Fraze's four RBIs are a career high. He had three hits on the day; Cutch had a pair, as did Stew. J-Bell and JJ each had a homer and a walk.
• Wade LeBlanc must be stretched out; he was called on for rare back-to-back multi-inning outings, going two frames/40 pitches yesterday and 1-2/3 IP/28 tosses today - and that's with a day game following a night match, so he didn't have much recovery time between appearances.
• Odd month for John Jaso. JJ is 7-for-42 (.166) with seven walks (.286 OBP) in May, but of his seven hits, four have been doubles and two homers.
• Bucco prez Frank Coonelly is a new member of the Competition Committee, charged with examining on-field issues in baseball.
• 27,778 fans, mostly kids on an "Education Day" special, took in the win.