Bucs Jump Out Early To Take A 6-3 Win v San Diego

J-Bell and J-Hay banged back-to-singles with an out, and a passed ball brought home a run against Eric Lauer, though the Bucs left Josh on third with one out. SD went 1-2-3 against Joe Musgrove with a very sweet play by Harrison. In the second, the Pirates got a bunt single from El Coffee, who advanced 90' on a balk, but couldn't move him around. The Friars got a leadoff knock from Wil Myers, who stole second and went to third on a bunt A two-out walk left runners on the corners and a whiff left them there. Starling opened the third with a rap and came all the way around on a J-Bell two-bagger, a huge hopper into left. J-Hay's single put Bucs at first and third. Freeser K'ed and Eli's hopper to short looked like it might 6-4-3 the inning, but a Friar throwaway saved the day, sending home a run. With two outs and an 0-2 count, Gregory battled until he got one he liked, doubling home two more runs tho getting tossed out trying for three.

J-Grove had a happy homecoming (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

A walk and two-out single again left Padres on the edges and again they stayed put. Jordy opened the fourth with a dinger to straightaway center after SD skipper Andy Green had been given the heave-ho by plate ump Angel Hernandez between innings for reasons unkown. J-Grove added a bloop bingle before Lauer settled down. Joe tossed a clean frame. The Pirates went down without a peep in the fifth; the Friars got an infield hit for their efforts. Kazuhisa Makita did the honors in the sixth. Jordy singled with an out and was bunted up, but Starling swung through a change to leave him at second. The Padres started with another infield knock and an out later, another rap put a pair aboard. J-Grove helped himself with some hustle, covering third on a ball Freeser knocked down to get a force, and a whiff put it to bed.

There was no Pirates action in the seventh. SD threatened with consecutive hits to open the frame, but a pop up and around-the-horn DP kept the zeros coming. Robert Stock took the ball in the eighth and bopped Eli, who got to second after a roller but no further. Steven Brault came in and was greeted by back-to-back raps; a wild pitch moved them up. A grounder scored one and Kyle Crick took over; he gave up a knock for a second run before closing the gate. Jose Castillo worked the ninth and Joey O opened with a triple, tho upon a SD challenge, it was downgraded to a double/tag-out at third, and the rest of the frame played out quietly. Edgar Santana was waved in, and was dented for a run after a leadoff double and one-out rap, bringing in Felipe Vazquez to face Eric Hosmer. He K'd him and then Myers to claim the save and RTJR.

J-Bell has thrived since being moved out of cleanup (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

It wasn't a real clean win as the Friars had 12 hits and stranded 10, but a win it was. Three out of four is a good start to any road trip and sure beats what the Bucs have been doing over the past few weeks.

Notes:

• Four Pirates had a pair of hits: J-Bell, J-Hay, El Coffee and Jordy.
• It's good to see Felipe back to using his whole toolkit - he got his K's on a slider and changeup.
• You can tell Angel Hernandez was behind the plate - the teams combined for 16 whiffs and just two walks.
• At the halfway point of their season, the Bucs are 39-42.