Big Joe, Bucco Bombs Leave 'Stros In Dust 10-0

Kevin Newman's on a roll; he banged Brad Peacock's first pitch over the fence to get the Bucs off and running. Bryan Reynolds walked and was forced out by Starling, who stole second. He came home on Redbeard's two-out, two-strike two-bagger. Corey D got a full count heater delivered down Broadway and lifted the ball the oppo way for another dinger; Buccos are en fuego! It took Peacock 39 tosses to get through the frame. Joe Musgrove gave up a hit between a pair of whiffs. JHK and Jake opened the second with back-to-back knocks, but the inning was short-circuited when Kang was caught off second by the relay. Big Joe got out of the 'Stro half when a one-out liner to Joey O became a DP; he's given up a couple of well-stroked balls without damage in the early going. Starling dropped a bunt for a knock to leadoff the third; J-Bell whacked the Bucs third homer (445' to left center); who are these guys? Another single, another strikeout, another zero for Big Joe. Cy Sneed took the ball in the fourth and just gave up a walk. Houston managed a couple of raps in their turn, but no one got past second.

Jake raked - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Sneed hung a slider on the second pitch of the fifth and Starling turned it into the Pirates fourth long fly of the day, slamming it 455'. J-Bell followed with a double, but the fun was done. A single, wild pitch and single left Astros on the corners with two outs, and Big Joe left them there. Jake bopped a long ball in sixth to make it 8-0; the 399' drive was his first big league bomb. Houston got a leadoff single and a two-out rap, but once again, Musgrove had it under control. The Bucs went in order in the seventh; Sneed has done a good job of damage control for the 'Stros. Michael Feliz took over; not sure why, as Joe was at 83 pitches, but they have been careful about his workload. Michael K'ed a pair in a clean frame. Joey O doubled with an out in the eighth and Jake plated him with a two-out rap. K-Man sent him home on the next pitch with another two-bagger. Clay Holmes drew the next straw and tossed a 1-2-3 frame. Sneed, who was just called up to replace Framber Alvarez, put up a zero in the ninth to finish his first MLB outing. Geoff Hartlieb was next in line and closed out with a quiet three outs. Raise the Roger.

But it's old hat to K-Man - 2019 Bowman

The old Astro bunch, Big Joe and Michael, showed off to their old team today. Musgrove gave up nine hits in six innings, yet only one runner reached third against him. The Bucs swatted 14 hits; five left the yard and four were doubles as they juiced the ball. Great start to a challenging road trip; now on to meet Milwaukee.

Notes:

• Kevin Newman and Jake Stallings each had three hits, including a homer. Starling Marte and Josh Bell added two knocks; they also homered. So did Corey Dickerson, who only had one hit but made it count. Every Pirate but Bryan Reynolds had a rap, and he reached on a walk. Seven Buccos scored and six had RBI (six had both) in another balanced offensive effort.
• Per Stats by STATS, the Pirates are the first team ever to win back-to-back interleague games by 10+ runs (14-2, 10-0). They also became just the fourth NL team since 1900 to hit four or more homers with four or more doubles in consecutive games.
• Hard to believe with Michael Feliz, Clay Holmes and Geoff Gottlieb pitching, but the Pirates issued no walks today.
• This is the first home series the Astros have lost. They were 9-0-3 in the 12 sets before this.
• The International League today announced its All-Star team, and Indy had three pitchers named to it: RHP's Mitch Keller, Montana DuRapau, and Dovy Neverauskas.