Bucs Back on Winning Track, Top the Reds 5-2

Good start for Steven Brault; a 1-2-3 first, retiring both Billy Hamilton & Joey Votto (no more Brandon Phillips, thank goodness). It took Homer Bailey nine pitches to sit down the Bucs. Of course, Scooter Gennett is still around and singled, then a two-out infield bleeder kept the second inning alive. A wild pitch moved them up; another one put the Reds up 1-0. Freeser singled and was left aboard. Cincy was quiet in the third. Jordy led off with a double and Brault couldn't bunt him over, so J-Hay's single left runners at the corners. A sac fly by Gregory let Steven off the hook and knotted the score. Both sides have barreled up on a couple of balls, but chilly April nights don't provide much carry, fortunately a bit for Brault & a lot for Bailey.

Steven Brault did the honors tonight (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

The Reds worked a walk in the fourth. Cervy doubled for the Bucs with two gone, earning Jordy an intentional pass. Steven couldn't help himself, grounding out sharply to third. A walk and single with two gone in the fifth left Brault in a jam, but he whiffed Votto for the second time to shut it down. J-Hay walked and trotted home after Gregory planted one in the batter's eye shrubbery 421' away. An out later, J-Bell singled and Corey D yanked a three-bagger down the RF line. Freeser wasted his at bat, but was bailed out when a two-out Reds boot plated Dickerson. Kevin Quackenbush came in to douse the fire with the tally now 5-1. After a long sit and 80 pitches, Steven was also done after five innings, charged with one run, three hits, four walks, four whiffs and two wild pitches; good result but way wild. Edgar Santana tossed a clean sixth with help from a diving snag by J-Bell. With an out in the Bucco half, J-Hay singled and in trotted Amir Garrett to get the last two outs.

Michael Feliz took the ball in the seventh. He walked a guy with an out, then gave up a sinking liner to center that Starling fielded on the short-hop and turned into an 8-4 force. A K of Hamilton closed the frame. Dickerson doubled off Garrett with an out. He went to third after a drive to the wall by Freeser, who was robbed nicely by RF'er Ervin, and died there. George Kontos toed the slab in the eighth. He got two routine outs and then allowed Adam Duvall to homer after falling behind 2-0. Austin Brice climbed the hill and put up a zero. Felipe Rivero came in for the save, but old buddy Phil Gosselin singled off the first pitch. No diff; two grounders and a whiff later, the Bucs were back on the bar stool with a 5-2 win...and just maybe are shaking off the Cincy voodoo from last year.

Felipe notched save #3 (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

The Bucs hit the ball hard tonight, though it took a couple of trips around the order for them to fall. Steven did a nice job in his spot start, and the Pirate gloves were airtight tonight, with Jordy, J-Bell and Starling all making sweet plays. But Clint's gonna need a couple of middle guys he has confidence in or run the risk of burning out Feliz, Kontos and Rivero.

Notes:

• Gregory had three RBI tonight, while J-Hay and Corey D each had a pair of knocks; Josh added a walk. And Steven Brault is 2-0 already; he only had one MLB win coming into the 2018 campaign.
• The Pirates are 5-1, their best start since 2003. (Spoiler alert: they only won 75 games that season.)
• As @adamberry noted, this was the warmest game of the year for the Pirates with the first-pitch temperature at 43 degrees. The paid (not actual) attendance was 9,227, the lowest announced crowd since 2011. It bodes poorly that the advance sales are so dismal, especially if summer decides to roll around late this year and the Pens extend their season by a month or two.
• Took a while, but LHP Kevin Siegrist refused his minor league assignment and is now a free agent. Curious decision as the Pirates bullpen is pretty much a sieve now.