Joe Musgrove, Bucco Bats Take Opener in Style 8-1 & Notes...Nick, Starling, More

Matt Carpenter greeted Joe Musgrove's debut with a shot off the wall; Gregory played it like a pinball wizard and held him to a single. The next three Cards went down quietly, as did the Buccos against John Gant. St. Louis got a leadoff knock in the second but Musgrove needed just two more pitches; the next was a sinking liner that a sliding Austin Meadows corralled, and the following toss was a 1-6-3 DP. J-Bell led off with a shift-beating rap but went nowhere. J-Grove served up a clean third; he's burned a mere 25 pitches so far. The Bucs looked sickly with a hopper to second and two comebackers; Gant at 34 pitches isn't laboring, either. It was a nine-pitch fourth for Joe, even with a two-out infield hit. The Pirates got a hard out from Gregory while Cervy and J-Bell K'ed. Dexter Fowler jumped on a changeup that hung and started fifth with a double. A grounder moved him up, but two swinging K's of the 8-9 hitters kept him there. Corey D opened with a rap but went nowhere.

Nice debut by J-Grove (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

It was 1-2-3 in the sixth for the Gateway Arch gang. J-Grove opened with his first MLB hit; shortly thereafter, he scored his first MLB run when J-Hay's two-base gapper sent him home. Gregory's right-side grounder moved Josh up a station, then Cervy was HBP. Lefty Brett Cecil got the call, and J-Bell lifted his first pitch into left for a sac fly and 2-0 lead. Corey D padded it when he tripled to right to plate Amore. Red Beard got a good swing off but it resulted in an at' em ball to second to end the fun; all three outs were rockets. Marcell Ozuna opened the seventh with a double; he made it into second by the skin of his teeth as Gregory's laser almost nailed him. The Cards got Fowler to third but couldn't cash him in. John Brebbia scaled the hill after Cecil gave up an infield knock to AM. He stole second and went to third on Jordy's infield bleeder. Fraze pinch hit for Joe and lined out - been that kinda night - then J-Hay whiffed on three pitches. Gregory walked to load 'em up and Amore cleaned them off with a three-run double the opp way. J-Bell legged out a soft roller before showtime ended.

Musgrove did pretty good; he gave up five hits and fanned seven on 67 pitches, 50 for strikes. Guess he does like to fill up the zone. At 6-0, Clint stayed tried and true by calling Michael Feliz to the slab in the eighth. He gave up a solo homer to Tommy Pham to make it 6-1. The Bucs responded against Greg Holland, getting back-to-back triples from AM and Jordy after an opening out. With two gone, J-Hay's rap plated Mercer. Kyle Crick got the ball for the ninth. He got four grounders, one sneaking into right for a knock, to put the game to bed.

Another big hit by Amore (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Well, can't ask more of Joe Musgrove in his first outing; we're guessing Clint had him on a innings/pitches leash. He does throw strikes and moves the ball around; the only nit we have to pick tonight was allowing four leadoff guys to reach. The Bucs bats were befuddled by Gant's changing of speeds; he left balls in the zone but the Pirates seemed a little defensive. But the game pivoted when the Cards waved in a lefty and the Pirates south-swingers all stung the ball. So good start; laissez les bons temps rouler.

Notes:

• Five Bucs (Jay-Hay, J-Bell, Corey D, AM & Jordy) had two hits tonight. Gregory & Red Beard were the only starters w/o a knock, and they both had a couple of barreled up outs.
• The Pirates got back into clutch mode, going 5-for-11 w/RISP; the Redbirds were 0-for-7.
• Indy reports that Nick Kingham was pulled after an inning last night (not because of injury), and is on his way to Pittsburgh. So...callup? Trade in the works? Need another guy in the post-game conga line? Stay tuned. 
• Starling could be back tomorrow. He had a couple of days of going hard at it, and if he wakes up w/o an achy side, he should be uniform. That will require a move to clear a roster spot; there are a couple of possible scenarios still in play.
• Not much of a Friday night crowd - 22,629 were in the yard tonight. We kinda feel bad for the 2,629 who didn't get a free tee.
• Pitt plays Louisville at 1PM tomorrow in the ACC semi-finals. H2P!