Buc Bats Quiet As Cards Take Series With 2-1 Win

It took 24 pitches, but Willy worked the first clean inning against the Cards in the series. Jack Flaherty left a couple of fat ones for the Bucs but also tossed a quiet frame. A leadoff single in the second caused no probs for Trevor. Pittsburgh made no noise (other than the thunder booming overhead). Flaherty singled with an out in the third on a tapper that Willy should have let go; Pirates pitchers get in their own way too often. The Cards got a two-down knock but another zero ended up on the board. Joey O singled and Jordy got bopped, then Williams bunted them along. Corey D had a rare throw-away at bat, fanning on four pitches, and Starling bounced out to kill the rally. The Redbirds strung out consecutive two-out knocks in the fourth before a whiff banked the fire. The Bucs were 1-2-3'ed. The scoreless streak came to an end in the fifth when the unconscious Matt Carpenter took a down-the-middle, knee-high fastball yard, his third bomb of the set. That was followed by back-to-back raps, the second off Red Beard's mitt. That deflection cost when a two-out ground ball single by Jedd Gyorko plated another Cardinal.

Fraze stayed hot (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Fraze opened with a two-bagger. The Redbirds caught a break when Joey O's shot up the middle ticked off Flaherty's glove right to Kolten Wong at second for a 1-4-3 that froze Frazier. Jordy singled to put Buccos on the corners and J-Low pinch hit; his 6-4-3 check-swing double play on the first pitch killed another golden goose opp. Ric Rod took the hill in the sixth and had smooth sailing. Corey D walked to start it up; he died at first while the Pirates have fanned seven times so far. Edgar Santana got the call in the seventh and survived an error and knock thanks to DP to put up a goose egg. Southpaw Chasen Shreve took the ball and with one gone left a slider down the pipe to Fraze, who dropped it into the RF stands to halve the lead. Mike Mayers was waved in after that to face the Buc righties. Jordy worked a two-out walk after falling behind 0-2 and Eli singled him to third. Jordan Hicks came on to face Corey D and got him to ground out. J-Hay went to third, Cervy to first and Eli went behind the dish in the eighth as Keone Kela came on.

After two K's - he showed a nasty hook - Kela gave up a full count walk, followed by a steal, but got a fly to zip it up. Hicks tucked the Bucs away, helped by a lead off at 'em ball lasered by Starling to third. Kyle Crick was waved in for the ninth. After an out, Amore bobbled a grounder but recovered to get the out on a flip to Kyle, although the Pirates had to challenge to get the call. Cervy's a busy boy; the next place was the reverse, with Crick flipping to him to end the frame. Bud Norris came in looking for the save. J-Hay was an easy first out, swinging at balls and then watching strike three. Fraze also K'ed, at least seeing, tho not hitting, strikes. S-Rod pinch hit and popped out, giving the Cards the series.

KK looked more comfortable in today's outing (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

The Bucs lost their chance to steal another game (they were outhit 10-5) when they left runners at third with one out twice. What's a little more worrisome is they can't quite sync their hitting and pitching, a formula that led to their earlier miserable stretch. Let's hope they get it together on their upcoming trip; a 4-5 home stand is a disappointing way to kick it off, especially by losing the last game of all three series, twice by a run - they've scored one time in two Sunday finales.

Notes:

• The 1-5 spots in the lineup were held hitless (0-for-19 with a walk); Fraze had two hits as the bottom of the order collected all five Pirates knocks (including Eli's pinch-hit).
• For those wondering why there was no Freeser sighting, he was on ice with an arm contusion from Friday that swelled today after playing yesterday.
• Willy's scoreless skein ended at 21 innings.
• Fraze's homer was his first off a lefty in 112 plate appearances.
• Jordan Luplow is not so clutch so far (spoiler; very small sample) - he's hit into four DP's in 42 at bats and is 1-for-9 w/RISP.
• 19,376 braved the gray skies to catch today's game at the park.
• On his radio show, NH said he had first tried to pry Chris Archer loose way back in 2007. He added that the PTBNL in the Archer deal will probably not be chosen by Tampa Bay until the end of the minor league season. Neal also said the FO was leaning toward selling rather than buying until the Pirates win streak turned their thoughts around.