Cole Tucker, JHK, Jamo and Mother Nature Team Up to Whip The Giants 3-1

Jameson Taillon and Derek Holland traded clean first innings, with Cole Tucker starting a 6-3 to start the game and then drilling an at 'em ball in his first pro at bat. With two outs in the second, the Giants put together a walk and knock, but a liner shot to J-Bell kept it in hand. Holland had an easy frame, picking up a pair of whiffs. The G-Men got a runner to second with two away in the third on a boot and stolen base, but to no avail. J-Mart got the Bucs first hit, a broken-bat bloop, and was bunted up but died at second. It was a 1-2-3 fourth for Jamo. JHK led off the Bucco half with a dinger; that three day break sure worked wonders.Two outs later, Bryan Reynolds lined a single into left for his first MLB hit. Kevin Pillar opened the fifth with a rap into center as storm clouds gathered. And out later, a bunt single was popped over JHK, who charged too aggressively, followed by a rap to left to knot the score; J-Mart came up hard and bobbled the ball to allow Pillar to plate. Pity; the Bucs then turned two to end the frame (Kang-to-Tucker on a liner) just as the rain and thunder rolled in.

And so begins the Cole Tucker era... (image Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pablo walked on four pitches to start it up for the Bucs, and he got to second with two outs on Jamo's bunt. Then Praise the Lord; Tuck fell behind 0-2, laid off a couple off back foot sliders and punched the next pitch straightaway into the center field shrubs 431' away, earning a curtain call and dugout slap party. Kang K'ed wisely (he never took the bat off his shoulders; we suspect he wanted to get the inning in the books). If so, he had the right idea as the tarps were rolled out after his at bat. The delay lasted three hours before the game was finally called (and not by the umps, but by MLB), although radar showed the rain was supposed to last until 1AM or so. Took awhile, but raise the Roger.

Short but sweet game - Jamo gets the win, Cole Tucker gets a bunch of firsts, and the Pirates clinched the series with their fifth straight victory and a chance for an Easter weekend sweep tomorrow.

Notes:

• Cole Tucker is the first Pirates player to homer in his MLB debut since Starling Marte took the first pitch he saw in the show deep off Houston's Dallas Kuechel in 2012.
• Marte also has a right quad bruise to go with the originally announced abdominal wall injury. The team loaded up on corner OF's; center is pretty thin, so Reynolds may get a good look as he and JB Shuck are the only two competent for the spot.
• On the other side of the pillow, Jordan Lyles isn't expected to miss a start after being slapped in the hand by a liner last night. The swelling went down enough that he could toss a few balls around today.
• It was First Responder Day at the yard, and the Pirates wore DPS patches on their unis during today's game.