Pirates Steal One From Cincy 3-2

It was a quiet first inning; Chad Kuhl gave up a walk (a Joey Votto special; ball four should have been strike three) and Matt Harvey was clean. The Reds got an single and intentional walk in the second with denting the scoereboard while Harvey tried to give the Buccos a big inning. Two walks and a single loaded 'em up, but the Pirates got just one run when Gregory hit into a DP; he smoked the ball (110 MPH velo off the bat) to short, hard enough that it didn't stick in the mitt but dropped; if the SS could have hung on, he'd have had an easy twin killing without a run. Kuhl ran out hidey-holes in the third when a single, Votto double and sac fly tied it. Chad grounded out while J-Hay & Corey D fanned. In the fourth, Cincy started with back-to-back knocks. Harvey bunted; Kuhl went for the lead runner but threw the ball into left to allow a run and put Redlegs at second and third. Chad channeled his energy after that, picking up a pair of whiffs and a bouncer to strand them. A Starling single and caught stealing started a 1-2-3 frame.

Chad kept his cool (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

The Reds got the leadoff man on for the fourth straight inning in the fifth when J-Bell muffed Cervy's throw on a bunt, with the runner scooting to second. Once again, Chet Houdini slipped the chains. J-Bell opened by dropping a bunt; he was out. Gregory continued to be the poster boy for bad ball luck; he lasered an at 'em ball to center. Jordy did the same, but to left. The Cincy nine opened the sixth with a bloop single; he was bunted up but Chad left him there in a sweet eight-pitch inning. That was it after 93 pitches - he gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits with three walks and six whiffs. Eli started it up with a pinch hit rap and J-Hay followed with a knock. Lefty Wandy Peralta took the ball from Harvey, who was at 100 tosses. He plunked Corey D to fill the bases and righty Michael Lorenzen was called on to face Starling. His sac fly tied the game and moved Josh to third. Colin also got the ball in the air, J-Hay tagged and the Buccos had the lead at 3-2. Cervy walked by J-Bell ended the party with a soft comebacker.

Tyler Glasnow came on for the seventh and got Votto, then continued the Rawling's curse by fumbling Scooter Gennett's grounder for another Bucco boot. It cleaned up well after an around-the-horn DP to end up a quiet nine-pitch frame. Jordy singled with an out, leading to naught. Kyle Crick was handed the horsehide in the eighth and tossed a 1-2-3 inning with a pair of whiffs. Red Beard singled with two gone but no insurance marker was to be had. Buckle up baby; Felipe Vazquez came in for the close. He gave up a two-out flare to center, with Billy Hamilton coming in to run for Tucker Barnhart. He stole second, but Votto lost a seven-pitch battle, swinging through a fastball. RTJR!

Red Beard's sac fly was the game winner (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Bad ball luck. Three errors. Just six singles. Sounds like a formula for a loss, but hey, the Bucs stole this one from Cincy, thanks greatly to an 0-for-12 RISP output by the Queen City club, Chad keeping his cool though constantly surrounded by runners, and a shut-down bullpen performance. After giving away so many games in the past month, it's about time the sun shined on the Pirates.

Notes:

• Only two Pirates reached base twice tonight: Red Beard with a knock, walk & sac fly, and Cervy with a pair of free passes.
• Tonight was the first time the Pirates have won back-to-back games since May 17th.
• Pirates pitchers lead the NL in errors with nine.
• There were 23,007 fans in the stands tonight. That's the biggest crowd since the Giants "Welcome home Cutch" series in May.