Pirates Pounded 14-1

It poured at 7:05; the Bucs pushed the first pitch back to 7:45 as the storm was expected to be a quick mover. The 41-minute delay didn't bother Joe Musgrove, who tossed a clean opener. Fraze drew a walk off Brett Anderson to start the Bucs up, and he advanced 90' on a bouncer. Melky singled Adam to third. J-Bell hit a comebacker, and Anderson threw to second but a mixup on coverage barely got the force as Fraze scored. A throwing error by JHK and single set up the A's in the second. A grounder up the middle tied it and sent the lead runner to third. A bopped batter juiced the sacks and a double unloaded them. Big Joe went to third on Anderson's bunt, was late, and Kang's relay to first missed the mark again. Oakland ended up with guys at second and third and a grounder plated another run to make it 5-1 before Joe doused the flames. Pittsburgh went down quietly after Cervy's bullet to center was run down. A leadoff walk and one-out single relit the Oakland fire in the third, another rap sent a run home, and a two-out infield single by Anderson loaded 'em up. Big Joe walked in a run (Meals gave the batter the benefit on a 2-2 pitch that Cervy thought was strike three) and Nick Kingham was waved in to stop the bleeding at 7-1. Fraze had a knock and Melky walked with two gone, but J-Bell fanned to close that door.

Mama said there'd be days like this... (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Nick was rocked in the fourth; a couple of walks and five raps added four more runs to the Oakland ledger, even with a runner thrown out at home. The Bucs got a runner via a boot, but took no advantage of the gift. The King tossed a clean fifth, and the Bucs were given another free runner via an error to no avail; that ties Oakland boots with Pittsburgh hits at two. Michael Feliz served up a single, fly and 5-4-3 DP for a quick sixth frame. The Pirates opened with a pair of knocks and a fly & tag put runners on the corners. There they stayed. Frankie gave up an infield knock with two outs in the seventh followed by a dinger as it keeps getting deeper. Yusmeiro Petit took over and the Bucs stranded Fraze and Starling, who had singled. The eight was 1-2-3 for Liriano, and Liam Hendriks left JB, who had singled, aboard. Ric Rod drew the short straw in the ninth and yah, gave up a homer, before wriggling out of a bases loaded jam while tossing 34 pitches. Fernando Rodney drove in the final nail.

Fraze reached three times tonight (image Pittsburgh Pirates)

Big Joe didn't get a lot of help and his command wasn't sharp enough to overcome. And we're kinda curious about what the Pirates are doing with Nick Kingham; it seems like working him as a mop-up guy isn't much of a plan. Other than that, we'd look for some bullpen movement as Nick, Frankie and Ric Rod should all be on the shelf tomorrow; we believe that Rodriguez is the only one of the three with an option if they bring up an arm from Indy, unless, of course, an overnight injury pops up or JB Shuck goes to the bullpen.

Notes:

• Fraze was a bright spot at leadoff; he reached three times on two hits and a walk.
• Bryan Reynolds kept his hitting streak intact; it's now at 10 games.
• A’s C Josh Phegley had eight RBIs, an Oakland record team record. He smacked two three-run doubles, an RBI single and a solo homer. That’s the most RBIs in a game against the Pirates since 1977 when Ken Rietz of the Cards went off on Pittsburgh.
• The most noise during introductions were the boos for plate ump Jerry Meals.
• The announced attendance was 16,428.
• This is Oakland's first visit to Pittsburgh since 2013, when the A's took 2-of-3.
• The Pirates activated Jose Osuna from the IL and optioned him to Indy, where he was already rehabbing.
• The Mets brought up SS Adeiny Hechavarria, who was ready to pull the trigger on an opt-out clause if not placed on the MLB roster.  
• Once-upon-a-time Pirates prospect Alen Hanson was DFA'ed by the Blue Jays while another ol' Bucco farmhand, Alex Dickerson, was called up by San Diego after a rough couple of years dealing with injuries.