Marte & Moran Lead Bucs To 6-3, 10-Inning Win Over Nats

Starling singled with an out off Pat Corbin and was quickly caught stealing before JHK fanned. Willy whiffed two of the first three Nats, so it's a quiet first. J-Bell picked up the pace when he launched a high heater into the seats to start the second, then Corbin got two K's and a comebacker. Williams issued a pair of walks, one to the eight hitter, and it bit him when Corbin singled home the tying run. Gonzo singled to start the third. Willy couldn't bunt him up, so Gonzalez stole second and later got to third on a wild pitch. Runner on third with an out - yep, Fraze K'ed and so did Starling. Anthony Rendon homered to give the Nats the lead. J-Bell walked among three routine outs in the fourth. Trevor picked up two more whiffs in a scoreless frame, but still hasn't solved Corbin, who singled with two outs. The Bucco fifth featured two more K and a 2-3 tapper. Washington put a charge into a couple of balls, but the only damage was a bopped batter. It was a 1-2-3 sixth; nine Bucs have fanned so far. The Nats again struck a couple of balls well, but they found leather for a clean frame.

Like clockwork, Willy gave the Pirates six good innings (photo Pgh Pirates)

The Pirates got a JB Shuck single in the seventh. Ric Rod came in for Willy after a double and bunt put a Nat 90' away and left him there, thanks largely to a two-out diving grab by Pablo in left; the Bucs aren't the only team that goes gooey with a runner on third. Tony Sipp took the hill in the eighth - Corbin probably wants to soak his arm after 11 strikeouts - and Gonzo led off with a single. An out later, Fraze singled Erik to third, taking second on the throw. Kyle Barraclough was waved in to face Starling, who came through with a two-run rap to left. Kang K'ed swinging at ball four, and he even saw some fastballs for a change. J-Bell was rung up on a borderline call; the pitch before, he also swung through ball four. Keone Kela held the lead for three pitches; Rendon spanked the fourth into the seats, the third dinger KK's surrendered in six outings. He got the next trio and Sean Doolittle took the hill in the ninth.

After an out, JB worked a pro nine-pitch at bat, and was rewarded with a triple to right center. He was cut down quickly enough on the contact play after Jake Stallings bounced the first pitch to drawn-in 1B Ryan Zimmerman; we'd rethink that ploy a bit. Gonzo fanned to bring on Nick Burdi. DC's Howie Kendrick doubled with an out and went to third on fly, but The Bird fanned Adam Eaton to take it into extras. Matt Grace toed the slab in the 10th and Melky greeted him with a two-bagger. J-Mart ran for him, and Fraze's bunt was mishandled (the throw to first was off and the safe call withstood a challenge), putting Pirates on the corners. Justin Miller rode the cart to the bump and got Starling on a comebacker (maybe a poorly played safety squeeze), leaving Bucs at second and third. Colin Moran grabbed some ash and launched an 0-2 heater delivered down the middle 397' into the RC stands. Pablo walked but no more damage was done. The Nightmare claimed the mound. With two outs, Juan Soto's double kept the Nat pulse alive; a pop to J-Bell pulled the plug to earn Felipe his fourth save.

Starling's knock kept the Bucs alive 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen

Well, Clint works in mysterious ways, but his teams do grind through nine innings. Give the little guys some props and Melky & Colin (why he's not playing against righties is a fair question) credit for doin' what big boys do in crunch time, with Nick Burdi getting his first MLB win for the cherry on top. The bullpens were night and day - the Pirates went 3-2/3 IP giving up a run, w/Ric Rod dancing out of a nasty inherited jam, while the Bucs battered DC for five runs in their three frames after Corbin owned them. Raise the Roger and go get 'em again tomorrow afternoon.

Notes:

• Per Joe Block, Colin Moran was the first Pirate to hit a pinch-hit, go-ahead home run in extra innings since Jose Guillen on April 11th, 1998.
• Starling had two hits but raise your hand if you had JB Shuck and Erik Gonzalez also contributing a pair of knocks. But it wasn't all roses; the Pirates struck out 14 times for the second straight game.
• Jeff Todd of MLB Trade Rumors reports that Tony Watson's 2018-19 contract with the Giants may not have been golden in guarantees but proved rich in incentives.