Willy, Bats Have Bad Day As Cards Even Series 4-1

Bad start for Willy; Matt Carpenter knocked his second pitch into the seats and that was followed by a Jose Martinez double. A grounder to short erased him when Martinez tried for third and Jordy picked him off; thank you sir. That was followed by a 4-6-3 DP, so no more blood was shed. Welcome back Starling; he smacked a two-out homer off Jack Flaherty and it was crushed, landing 447' away and clearing both bullpens. Trevor spun a clean second. Gregory walked with two outs but Jordy couldn't turn the order over. Eight hitter Yairo Munoz opened the third with a knock and was bunted up; it was key when Martinez stroked a two-out, two-strike single to score Munoz, though he was thrown out try to sneak into second. Cervy walked with two away and Starling legged out a roller to second, but J-Bell couldn't cash in. Tommy Pham yanked a slider down the line for a two-bagger to start the fourth; the Buc starters have been miserable against the leadoff hitters this series. A single and bopped batter (Fowler had to leave the game after taking one off the knee) around a pop juiced the sacks. A sac fly brought a run home and moved the runner at second up; he plated on a left side infield knock before the third out. Red Beard singled with an out and Gregory bounced into a DP after his safe call was successfully challenged by St. Louis.

Willy is still looking for answers... (photo Pittsburgh Pirates) 

Richard Rodriguez was given the ball in the fifth, ending another sloppy start by Willy. Carpenter led off with a bunt single in response to the shift and a strikeout on a wild pitch moved him up. Ric Rod worked out of it, but wasn't real sharp and burned 22 pitches. It was 1-2-3 for the Pirates and Tyler Glasnow got the sixth inning phone call. He gave up a rap and steal but no points. J-Bell doubled, but, ya know... The Cards got a fly out, single and GIDP for an easy seventh for Ty. Another Ty - lefty Tyler Lyons - came in for Flaherty. Moran singled to greet him and got to second on a wild pitch. Gregory fanned after being ahead 3-0, looking at strike three. Wild child Jordan Hicks of the 100+ MPH heater was waved in and got two grounders on three pitches to shut the door. Kyle Crick drew the short straw for the eighth. He gave up a leadoff knock, sheesh, but sailed through with a couple of whiffs. After an out, Cervy singled off Hicks, but two more worm burners took care of Pittsburgh. Edgar Santana worked the ninth without a hitch. Bud Norris came on for the save - we remember when he was a Pirates target to join the rotation way back when - and worked a 1-2-3 frame, with Polanco again striking out after being in a 3-0 count; this time he went after ball four and the resulting foul tip rung him up.

Ty had another good outing. (photo Pittsburgh Pirates) 

Give credit to Card youngsters Flaherty and Hicks, who both spun nice outings. On the other hand, the Bucco rotation is becoming a very large question mark. Guys step up, then fall back...the team could stand a string of solid starts if they're to win with any consistency. What looked like the strength of the club coming into the season has instead been an anchor. How the club handles the development/deployment of the young pitchers, including the bubble guys, will be crucial to not only this campaign but for seasons to come. Uncle Ray and Justin Meccage need to kick their charges up a notch.

Notes:

• The Pirates had six hits; Starling and Red Beard each had two raps.
• Amore has played 602 MLB games; this is the 10th time he's started in the two hole. 
• Colin Moran has flown under the radar with Gregory drawing all the fire for slumping, but since May 9th, even with two hits today, Red Beard has hit just .190
• The Cards put reliever Greg Holland on the DL and activated Tyler Lyons off it for today's game. Dexter Fowler, who left after taking a fastball off the knee, had an x-ray and is day-to-day with a bruise.
• Ripley's Fact - Jordan Hicks has touched 105 with his heater and averages 101.7, but has just 11 strikeouts in 24-2/3 IP while averaging 60% plus grounder rate. The 21-year-old never pitched at a higher level than High Class A before joining the Cards this year.
• Another slim showing at the gate as 22,133 spun the stiles.
• The Bucs upped their attack, but the leather is leaving them in a hole. Defensive Runs Saved within the division per Fangraphs are: Milwaukee (42), Chicago (21), Cincinnati (12), St. Louis (8) and the Pirates (-15). Pitching and glovework do go hand-in-hand...
• The Pitt bubble finally burst; they were ousted in the ACC semifinals, 5-2, by Louisville. It was a nice run by the Panthers.