Buc Bench Shows the Way In 10-2 Runaway

Just what we didn't want; Cool Chad started the game with a five-pitch walk, but he cleaned up nicely with a 6-4-3 DP ball that keyed a clean frame. Kyle Freeland whiffed two of the first three Buccos. The Rox opened the second with a knock (very nearly picked off, but a challenge didn't overturn the call), followed by a two-out walk but no further ado. S-Rod walked with two gone and Eli followed with a single before Max's fly turned the page. The first two Rockies went quietly; Chris Iannetti didn't, crushing a 1-0 heater into the bullpen. The Pirates bounced out three times.

Chad was solid today (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Chad remained ISO an inning w/o a runner in the fourth, giving up a two-out walk and knock before getting the third out; those last three hitters cost him 16 pitches, the equivalent of another inning. Freeser walked with two down and that hurt Freeland; he left a change hanging in the middle of the plate and S-Rod lined it over the short porch in LF, inside the foul pole, to give the Bucs their first lead of the series. The party went on when Eli singled and scored on Mad Max's two-bagger, drilled over the CF's head. Chad even got a good piece of the horsehide, but his liner ended up in a mitt.

Cool Chad didn't exactly toss a shutdown inning in the fifth, giving up a single and HBP, but he did the important part by putting up a zero. Fraze and Jordy opened with back-to-back raps, and that brought on Scott Oberg. An out later, J-Bell broke out of his funk and singled home a run. Freeser worked a 10-pitch at bat, smacking the last delivery into left center for a double that chased home two more Buccos, with the small band of loyalists at PNC giving him a standing O. Kuhl finished on a high note with a clean sixth. He went six, giving up a run on four hits with three walks, a bopped batter and four punchouts after 98 tosses. The Pirates kept coming as Colin Moran doubled and touched home after Fraze's knock.

Fraze got back to galloping the bases (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Kyle Crick got the ball in the seventh. With an out, he whiffed Pat Valaika, but he reached first when the ball eluded Eli (it was ruled a wild pitch). No prob; Crick cruised out. Antonio Senzatela walked S-Rod with two outs but didn't allow anything to come of it. Enny Romero made his Pirates debut in the eighth. After a one-out double, wild pitch and grounder, he also gave up his first Pittsburgh run. An infield single followed before a K looking ended it. Mike Dunn was next in line for Colorado. Enny batted; the Bucs want to get him some work today. He's also got some running in as he doubled (with a windmill wave aimed at the dugout; that could use some work), coming home after a Fraze knock and Jordy sac fly. A two-out walk bit the Rox again when Starling drew a free pass, followed by J-Bell's two-run two-bagger as the inning's encore. Enny was still feelin' it, striking out the first two Rox before a single and fly out put it to bed.

The series stayed true to form; the winners of the six-inning game took home the victory. And the Pirates bench came through in spades, maybe serving as a reminder to the regular troopers to get back to a more disciplined approach. Kuhl, like Glasnow, isn't there, but every outing shows an incremental improvement. Good day for the Buccos; now on to Philly.

"Plz, it was nothin'" says Enny of his first MLB knock (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Notes:

• Fraze with three hits and J-Bell with two raps (and three RBI) snapped out of the doldrums; Eli had a pair of knocks too. S-Rod reached three times with a knock and two walks; Freeser had hit and free pass.
• Enny Romero's two-bagger was his first MLB hit in only his second at bat (the first was a whiff).
• The attendance was 8,970.
• Starling has 11 walks in 18 games; his season high is 33. His walk rate is 13% so far in 2018; his career percentage is 5%.
• Edgar Santana told Noah Hiles of 93.7 The Fan that the difference between last year and this is his comfort level; he set the butterflies free and now feels like he belongs in the show. 
• Jerry DiPaola of the Trib writes how Jordy is helping his homies in Oklahoma who been tortued by wildfires.
• The flags at PNC Park were at half staff today in honor of former First Lady Barbara Bush. 
• The Braves have signed Jose Bautista, 37, to a minor league deal. Joey Bats will go into extended spring training before being assigned; the Bravos want him to return to third, his original position before he was moved to the pasture.
• A sad day for those who remember wrestling before it became a pay-for-view spectacular - Bruno Sammartino passed away at age 82.