Bucs Implode in the 9th, Lose Third Straight to Friars 8-5

It was 1-2-3 for Willy in the first; Josh opened with a "I'm back..." knock off Jordan Lyles, but a couple of well-stroked flies sandwiched around a whiff left J-Hay stranded. The Padres went quietly in the second. Austin Meadows flared a single with two gone for the Bucco action. Trevor kept dealing in the third. T-Willy opened with a knock and a double off the wall by J-Hay sent him to third; Williams got a late jump as he was unsure if the ball was going to be gloved. Gregory got ahead 3-0 but ended up whiffing on a curve; he missed a couple of juicy heaters before that. Cervy's fly to the track brought in a run; J-Bell's shot to center was run down. The Bucs have hit the ball pretty well so far without much to show for it. Eric Hosmer singled with one gone in the fourth, then Christian Villanueva dug out a two-out, first-pitch heater and sent it into the bullpen to give SD the lead. The Bucs went down in order.

Pretty sweet start for Mr. Meadows (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

More trouble in the fifth; a single, double and grounder brought in a Friar tally; a successful squeeze by Lyles plated another. The Beach Boys did what you should with runners on second & third with no outs, even with the 8-9 hitters up. Jordy walked, taking a borderline 3-2 pitch and winning the coin flip. Willy popped out try to bunt; with a day off tomorrow, seemed like a good spot for a pinch hitter, but... J-Hay beat out an infield rap, though it took a Bucco challenge to get the call. Gregory popped out foul; he just can't catch up to the fastball so far today. Cervy looked at a curve for strike three. The sixth was calm for Willy; Red Beard drew a two-out walk and it led to big things: Austin Meadows cracked his first MLB dinger off a 2-2 curve and Jordy made it back-to-back bombs on a first-pitch heater. Suddenly, it was a tie game and Matt Strahm was on the mound. Fraze kept it going with a knock before the fun ended. Edgar Santana was waved in and tossed a clean seventh inning, thanks to a diving, juggling catch by Corey D and after falling behind 3-0 on Manny Margot. Gregory opened with a walk, again on a 50-50 pitch, but no further damage was done.

Edgar Santana keeps on impressing (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Michael Feliz got the eighth inning call and breezed. Kirby Yates took the ball and gave up a knock to Colin Moran, cut off nicely by Matt Szczur to hold Red Beard to a base, and S-Rod came in to run. An Austin single moved him up 90'. Jordy K'ed swinging over a splitter. Freeser grabbed a bat; he didn't need it as he got plunked to juice the sacks. J-Hay got the ball in the air to center for a sac fly and the lead; Meadows tagged to third. Gregory continued his icy day with a pop out and it was Felipe Vazquez time in the ninth. He gave up back-to-back knocks, then Jordy threw away a bouncer; the game was tied and Friars were on the corners. The Padres bunted another run home and got a single to boot; no one covered first. A double steal and single about iced it at 8-5. Richard Rodriguez came on; he gave up a single but shut the door, albeit late. Brad Hand walked Cervy with an out and S-Rod with two away. Joey O pinch hit for Meadows - Clint sat Colin and Austin down because Hand is a southpaw - and he reached on a ill-advised force attempt on his grounder. Jordy hit it on the nose, but it was an at 'em ball to third to close the book.

Brutal loss again. Early on, balls wouldn't fall and later some mental & physical misplays were scattered among wasted at bats; Clint's teams have always been stronger on effort than fundamental baseball. They have a day off and the three-game set with the Reds should help them shake it off before a 16-game stretch when they play the Cubs and Cards 13 times.

Notes:

• Josh Harrison and Austin Meadows each had three hits. The team had 10 hits, five walks and a plunk to strand a dozen runners.

Nice to have Josh back in the saddle (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

• This was the first game the Pirates had lost when leading after eight and Vazquez's first blown save in 10 opportunities. The homestand ended at a disappointing 5-4 after a great start.
• San Diego is not only Willy's hometown, but was the last NL club for him to face; now he's worked against everyone in the Senior Circuit.
• Today's paid attendance was 17,783.
• Clint said pre-game that Joe Musgrove is pencilled in to start on Friday against the Redbirds at PNC Park. It will be his first MLB start since July 15th, 2017.
• Starling is still in no baseball activity mode, but says that this oblique strain is much less severe than his previous one, which laid him up for three weeks.
• Altoona OF'er Jason Martin, the EL Player of the Week, has extended his hitting streak to 11 games.