Kuhl Fires One-Hitter; Buc Bats Come Alive In 9-0 Series Clincher

Nice opening round for the Bucs against Chase Anderson - Adam Frazier took the second pitch deep and two outs later, a walk to J-Bell and a Corey D two-bagger put up another point after Josh's head-down hustle around the bases. Chad Kuhl ran the count full to each Brewer, but still had a 1-2-3 frame. Jordy lost a ball for the first time this year to make it 3-0 in the second. The Brew Crew got a soft serve single with an out; a DP quickly negated the bloop. Neither side could get aboard during the next two frames with both hurlers settling in after rough starts. The Brewers took a walk if the fifth but made nothing of it. Starling opened the sixth with a triple; Corey D singled him home an out later, bringing Jacob Barnes to the hill. Cervy greeted him with a knock, placing Bucs at the corners. Red Beard chased another home when his shot up the middle went off Barnes' mitt and ended up an infield knock; Jordy followed with another rap for a run. Chad bunted; Barnes threw the ball away to allow another score and leave runners at second and third with an out. The Bucs left them stranded, but at 7-0, it was a good inning.

Chad was icy cool today (graphic: Pittsburgh Pirates)

Cool Chad had a long wait but eluded the Pirates pitcher's dreaded sixth inning hex, giving up a walk w/o any further injury. Jorge Lopez took the ball in the seventh, and J-Bell added insult to injury by banging his second big fly of the year while Chad's last lap went 1-2-3. He gave up one hit, walked two and fanned eight (the third time he's whiffed that many) after 108 tosses in a great seven frames. A knock & a walk opened the eighth for the Pirates, and an out later another rap juiced the sacks. Gregory was productive again, lifting a sac fly. So was Richard Rodriguez, who struck out the Brewski side on 14 pitches. Taylor Williams drew the short straw for the ninth and stranded a walk and a knock. Ric-Rod fanned the side again, although he was tapped for a single up the middle between all the strikes (he threw 28 pitches in two frames; 21 were strikes). The Bucs take the series, get a day off, and once again RTJR.

If we could bottle today's Chad Kuhl...he still had a couple of spells when he sprayed the ball, but did a much better job with his location during his outing. And we're still trying to figure out how it was that Rodriguez watched the game yesterday from the bullpen bench but was used for two mop-up innings today. It is nice to have a drama-free win with the Buccos hitting on all cylinders. They're back in action Tuesday against the White Sox for a two-game set and will be back home Friday to meet the Giants and open a nine-game homestand.

Ric Rod was on fire (photo Rob Carr/Getty)

Notes:

• Adam Frazier, Josh Bell and Jordy Mercer launched solo home runs among the Bucs 13 hits. Jordy and Corey-D had three hits and Fraze two to lead the batsmen in a team effort; six Pirates drove in runs and seven touched home.
• Fraze's homer was his first leadoff dinger ever. It was only the 10th round-tripper of his career.
• Richard Rodriguez has 21 strikeouts/one walk in 11-1/3 IP. It's a small but smokin' sample.
• On his Sunday radio show, GM Neal Huntington said that with a bit of down time - the team is off until Tuesday night - the Bucs will discuss roster construction including starting pitching, whether to bring up another bat (ie Jose Osuna, who is suddenly seeing time in RF at Indy), etc., so tomorrow may be an interesting news day even w/o a game. He added that Jung Ho Kang is taking live BP & grounders at camp, but cautioned that he's several weeks away (at very least, a month) from being assigned to a minor league team for a rehab stint.
• Joe Musgrove being moved out of today's start at Altoona ended up a moot point - the game was a rainout.
• Clayton Kershaw is on the 10-day DL with bicep tendonitis as the Dodgers continue to see players drop like flies.