Pitching Is the Name of the Game; Bucs Win Behind Big Joe, KK & Nightmare, 2-0

Big Joe Musgrove got a break in the first; with an out, Joey Votto double, then Yasiel Puig lined a shot up the middle. But the often-maligned shift was on: Fraze snagged the ball and flipped to Erik Gonzalez for the twin killing. Cervy singled against Sonny Gray for all the Pirate damage; Gray has his command going, unlike last outing. In the second, Colin couldn't catch up to a Eduardo Suarez fly and it fell for a leadoff double; Joe answered by whiffing two of the next three Reds. It was 1-2-3 for the Pirates. The third was quiet except for a two-out, bopped Cincy batter. Musgrove issued a walk in the fourth but has been strong; his offspeed stuff is working and he has five K so far. The Pirates went without a peep. Jose Iglesias singled in the fifth; he was picked off when he broke too soon on a steal attempt and run down to make it a clean frame for Big Joe. Pittsburgh flailed away unsuccessfully as 13 straight have gone down; Sonny and Joe both have authored a half dozen whiffs so far. The Reds went down in order in the sixth (they've gone 25 consecutive innings without scoring) while the Buccos made it 16-down-in-a-row. Big Joe fanned a couple of more Redlegs in the seventh, and is up to 88 tosses.

HBD Jung Ho - he had the game winning knock (image Pittsburgh Pirates)

Starling opened with a rap, and was wild pitched to second. Cervy's bouncer moved him up ninety feet. The Bucs ran the contact play; J-Bell bounced out and Marte was nailed at home when he hesitated, costing a run when the throw home was offline. Birthday boy JHK picked him up, though, doubling to left and plating a truckin' Bell, who was head down and pedal to the metal on his dash. Amir Garrett took the ball and K'ed Pablo. Big Joe was done after giving up three hits, a walk, a bop and fanning eight as Keone Kela toed the slab. Gonzo made a web gem play to rob Tucker Barnhart to start the eighth, allowing KK to cruise out. David Hernandez was waved in and greeted by a JB bunt single, confirmed by replay (looks like Votto's foot was late to the bag). Gonzo laid one down, and everyone was safe. Melky pinch hit and smoked a ball, but unfortunately right at the CF who was perfectly positioned. LOOGY Zach Duke was sent in to face Fraze, who won the matchup with a bloop RBI double that Matt Kemp couldn't catch up to. Jared Hughes answered the bell and got a Marte grounder that caught Gonzalez at home, and Cervy's fly stopped the music. Felipe got the top of the Reds order, and 11 pitches and two K later, the win was in the books.

The pitching has been brilliant, but a theme has been the offense's lack of situational hitting. Whether that's a matter of talent or focus is yet to be determined; probably a mix. And it's noted that the patchwork lineups have been doing a nice job in the field and keep on coming with what they've got; Clint has been small-balling with hit-and-runs, contact plays and bunts, which suits this group of hitters. With the pitching, that's enough. Raise the Roger!

Back to being The Nightmare (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Notes:

• The Pirates' starting rotation has allowed just five earned runs in 36 innings so far. Their three shutouts in six games is the quickest they've reached three blankings in franchise history. All three have come consecutively against the Reds.
• RHP Kyle Crick was placed on the 10-day IL with right triceps tightness, retro to April 4th. Crick said he felt some tightness, and this was purely precautionary, to prevent a potentially greater injury by pitching through it. OF Jason Martin has been recalled from Indy to balance the roster, but still, it's even money that Mick Jagger will come off the IL before half the Pirates will.
• Colin Moran played four games in left field for AAA Fresno in 2017. He also played four innings of short on the farm, too; hope that doesn't lead Clint any other brainstorms.
• Attendance was a bit better tonight at 12,947.
• Jim Callis of MLB.com rates the Top Ten minor league clubs; he has the Indy roster at number four in talent.