Bucs Crack deGrom, Mets Late to Take 5-0 Victory; Dickerson to DL, Meadows Back Up

Willy tossed a 1-2-3 first; Jacob deGrom gave up a leadoff knock to Fraze and then fanned two of the next three Buccos. Both sides went quietly in the second. The Mets got a knock and a walk to open the third, but helped by poor bunt, Trevor stranded the pair. Fraze singled with two gone and was left aboard. Two raps and a walk with one gone set up shop for NY in the fourth, but a 6-4-3 DP doused the fire. Gregory opened with a double and moved up on a grounder but was cut down at home on Joey O's bouncer; looked like the ol' contact play backfired again. Willy kept dodging the Met slings and arrows, leaving another pair on the bases in the fifth. There was nada from the Buccos in their half. The Metropolitans got a two-gone single for their sixth inning troubles. The Bucs sprinkled a little two-out fairy dust around the batter's box in their half; Gregory singled, stole second and scored on Red Beard's grounder through the right side.

No back down from Willy tonight in his match up with deGrom (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

After six hard-fought zeros and 97 pitches, Willy handed the ball off to Edgar Santana in the seventh. After an out, deGrom (.111 BA) singled for his second hit of the day. A force & a steal put Amed Rosario at second and a K kept him there. J-Low opened with a rap and another by Jordy with an out put Corsairs on the corners. Freeser grabbed a bat and his gentle tap to short got the insurance marker home. Fraze followed with his third hit, a double, to make it 3-0 before Starling's liner to right was gloved. Kyle Crick got the call in the eighth and struck out the side. Robert Gsellman toed the slab and the dynamic duo of Polanco and Moran struck again with a double/single combo that produced another run. Luplow hit into a force, stole second, and scored on Amore's knock. Jordy walked before the party ended. Ric Rod started the ninth and a couple of whiffs and a fly later, finished it. RTJR.

With all the injuries, maybe the Pirates are showing that they have a little more depth than they're credited with; they're certainly not hanging their heads because of the DL list. We'll get a little better read on how strong the cavalry is when the Mets leave town and the Cubs & Cards visit. But it sure has been a fun ride in the past three weeks.

Fraze is back in the swing of things (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Notes: 

• Fraze and Gregory each had three hits; Red beard added two more. Maybe it's the Primanti sandwiches, but Frazier has been raking in his four games since being called up, going 6-for-11 with four doubles, a run scored, two RBI and two whiffs.
• Willy has tossed 17 straight scoreless innings. His ERA has gone from 4.60 before the streak to 3.89 after tonight. 
• Just before game time, the Pirates placed Corey Dickerson on the 10-day DL, retro to July 25th, with a strained left hamstring and recalled Austin Meadows.
• The Bucs drew their biggest crowd of the season at PNC Park with 35,900 packing the house.
• Per Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Bucs are interested in the Orioles RHP Brad Brach, a 32-year-old rental, with a slash of 1-2-11/4.85 (4.01 FIP). He was an All-Star in 2016 and has been pretty effective in his career until this year as a ground-ball guy with some swing and miss stuff.
• Per Joe Block, the Pirates have won 15-of-18 for the first time since 1990.