Marte Partay Makes It Worth The Wait; Bucs Outlast A's 5-3 In 13 Innings

Jordan Lyles lost the first guy after going full and tossed a wild pitch before settling in with a couple of K and a pop to center. Frankie Montas tossed a clean frame, sticking to the corners. The Bucs can't get Kendry Morales out; he singled to open the second for his sixth hit of the series. A one-out knock followed, but a 1-4-3 comebacker DP shut the door. The Bucs small-balled a run: J-Bell doubled to The Notch after getting a 3-0 green light, went to third on Melky's right-side grounder and scored on Redbeard's sac fly. The third went quietly for both the A's and Pirates. There was no noise by Oakland in the fourth, and Jordan is sitting pretty at 50 pitches. The Bucs didn't get a ball out of the infield. A single and a pair of two-out walks (the eight hitter & pitcher!) put Lyles in a fifth-inning jam; a bouncer to second got him out of trouble. Melky opened with a rap, and after an at 'em ball lined to second by Colin, Eli singled. But Cole and Jordy couldn't aid the cause. There were no problems in the sixth for Jordan.

Not a lotta luck today for Jordan but a strong bounce back outing (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

The Bucs opened with a couple of shots; Fraze doubled and Starling's knock put Bucs on the corners (Fraze was hesitant and danced at second too long to be waved around). Gregory flew out to medium center (the throw home was off the mark but Ramon Laureano's rep froze Joey Cora; understandable move with Josh on deck), J-Bell fanned on three pitches in a rare throw-away at bat, and Melky gently lined out. SOS; bad situational hitting and bad baserunning combined rarely end up well. With two outs in the seventh, the bottom of the order raised havoc again - Nick Hundley doubled and pinch hitter Rob Grossman, who started in the Bucco system, singled him home. In came Dovy Neverauskas who gave up a single and stolen base, but he kept it tied. Lou Travino took the ball. He struck out a pair before walking Tuck, then ended Bryan Reynold's hit streak by coaxing a fly to left.
Kyle Crick answered the phone for the eighth; after two outs, he plunked Khris Davis in the hip, forcing him out of the game before a K closed out the frame. Starling walked with an out and stole second; Gregory lined out to short and Marte was doubled off.

Marte Partay 2017 Topps Silver Insert

Felipe got the ninth and was tapped for a harmless two-out bloop single. Another ol' Buc, Joakim Soria, toed the slab for Oakland and it was three up, three down. Frankie Liriano got the 10th inning beckon and worked a calm inning. Soria also worked a quiet frame, getting a brutal full-count K call against Cole from plate ump Ron Kulpa; no wonder the kid can't figure out the MLB strike zone. Frankie mowed 'em down again in the 11th. Ryan Buchter was summoned and fanned a pair. Tyler Lyons made his Bucco debut and he tucked the A's away in the 12th. Yusmeiro Petit took his turn and sat the Buccos down in order. The 13th proved unlucky - a couple of walks (the first two batters, on eight pitches), a bad turn on a potential DP ball, and a couple of raps (a bloop and a blast off but not over the Clemente Wall) opened the floodgates against Lyons, who escaped with just two runs scored thanks to a bases loaded deflection DP (which would prove big). Fernando Rodney climbed the bump. Tuck singled with an out to become the first Bucco base runner since the eighth inning, followed by a JHK walk. Fraze singled home a run and chased Jung Ho to third. No probs for a change; Starling launched a first pitch meatball over the fence and knew it the second he hit it. In a gotta see-it-to-believe-it finish, you can raise the Roger.

Well, if you need a reason to drink, this team will give it to you.  The teams scored two runs total over 12 innings and then combined for six tallies in a four-out span in the 13th. One thing, despite all the warts, is the Pirates don't know when they're beat. Now to see how the Texas set plays out with the Red Cross rotation on the hill.

Frankie was sharp in the middle 2016 Topps Vintage

Notes:

• Starling hit his fifth walk-off homer today. To celebrate, he did his post-game interview without a translator for the first time that we can recall. He and Fraze had two hits today.
• Five Pirate pitchers went 11 innings giving up a run; Tyler Lyons gave up a pair in two frames and got the win.
• The biggest play in the 13th may have been the DP that ended the A's inning: it was a liner off Lyons, with the deflection snagged by JHK, who touched third and gunned to first, where J-Bell made a nice pick of a rushed throw. 
• The announced crowd on a cool and cloudy day was 18,517.
• The Pirates are sitting Keone Kela today with tomorrow off and will evaluate his shoulder again on Tuesday. Neal Huntington said he came out of yesterday's game as a precaution after feeling some "tightness."
• He added on his Sunday radio show that he thought Pablo was going through a stretch where he was having problems with playing sporadically, and they haven't given up on him. NH said that the club would "explore" an opener scenario depending on circumstances, saying that next man up Mitch Keller is working on a slider and they'd like him to master that pitch at Indy. The GM hinted there may be a steady stream of relievers between Indy and Pittsburgh if needed to keep the bullpen fresh with the starter situation being unsettled.
• Jamo said his elbow has bothered him since camp, but he kept mum and managed the pain until the Texas game when it prevented him from throwing a curve.