Fraze, Strong Pitching Carry Bucs to 5-1 Victory

Despite a dark and noisy t-storm, the game started on time. Big Joe punched out a pair of Cubs in a quiet first frame. The Bucs small-balled Kyle Hendricks. Fraze singled, and an out later, he went to third on a Starling rap. J-Bell's sac fly brought him home. The Baby Bears got a two-out single in the second from Jason Heyward; he was picked off. The Pirates went quietly. Three up, three grounders, three down for Chi-town in the third. The Bucco trio struck again. Fraze doubled and so did Starling to plate a second run; J-Bell walked before the fun ended. Then everyone was shooed in for a rain delay (hey, ya didn't expect two straight dry nights, did ya?) So a couple of hours later, the game resumed at 10:15; welcome aboard, West Coast fans. The time lapse was too much for Big Joe, even at just 34 pitches. Frankie started the fourth with a four pitch walk, but a K and 6-3 DP corrected that. Dillon Maples took the hill; the rain had claimed Hendricks, too.

9-for-10 is a good coupla days - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

K-Man walked with an out and pinch hitter Steven Brault singled him to third with two away. Joe Maddon called in lefty Mike Montgomery to face Fraze. So much for matchups; Adam pulled his fourth pitch over the fence in right. Bryan walked after falling behind 0-2 before MM got the third out with the tally 5-0. Ric Rod was called in for the fifth and gave up an infield single in an otherwise calm frame. The Bucs were also held without a peep. Clay Holmes climbed the bump for the sixth, and yep, it was raining again. No diff; Clayton struck out the side. Pittsburgh was silent, too. The Cubs went down in order in the seventh. Ho hum, Fraze led off with a rap, but a fly and 6-4-3 made short work of the inning. Kyle Crick was waved in for the eighth, and was tagged for a single-double combo with two away, but kept the zeroes comin'. Randy Rosario fluffed the rosin bag and used just seven pitches to sit the Pirates down. After three days off, Clint brought in Felipe Vazquez. He lost the first Cubbie after a battle, and then a bloop single after a whiff. Another K was followed by  double, plating the Cubs first run of the night. He finished it off, but at the cost of 29 pitches.

Clay Holmes may have turned the corner - photo Dave Arrigo/Pittsburgh Pirates

Guess Fraze likes leadoff, opening the game with a double that produced the first run and following with a three-run homer that iced the game. The pitching was solid, too; Ric Rod's resurgence and Clay Holmes growth are promising (along with unused by rallying Michael Feliz). They're a step away from taking the series, with those pesky Brewers next up. The club could make it interesting leading into the AS break.

Notes:

• Fraze went 4-for-4 with three runs scored/three RBI, and is the proud owner of seven straight hits. The last Pirate to do that deed was Freddy Sanchez in 2009. He's also the first Buc to have back-to-back games with four or more hits since Neil Walker in 2015. Starling added a pair and that was about it as the Bucs finished with just seven hits.
• Pittsburgh pitching struck out 13 Cubbos and walked just a pair, giving up six hits, of which four were in the final two frames. Clay Holmes got the win, the second of his MLB career.
• The Bucs continued their first-inning mojo: in past eight games, counting tonight, the Pirates are hitting .450 (18-for-40) with 14 runs scored in the opening frame.
• There were 14,573 tickets sold for tonight; it may be a holiday week but another stretch of steamy, stormy weather is in the forecast.
• Former minor league catcher and current hitting coach at Indy, Jon Schwind, will pitch to J-Bell during the AS Derby. Adam Berry of MLB.com wrote about their connection.
• 2B Dilson Herrera opted out of his minor league contract with the Mets. He hasn't found a home after being traded to the Mets as a hot prospect in 2013 as part of the Marlon Byrd deal.
• The Yankees record-breaking streak of 31 straight games with a homer ended against the Mets tonight as the Metropolitans took a 4-2 win