Pirates Rally With Two Gone in Ninth To Earn 3-3 Tie

Hey, nothing like a Gerrit Cole sighting, even if it's two teams and a few zillion dollars later. He rubbed off - there was some stalwart tossing going on, with K's (and walks) but not much hitting.The Bucs couldn't solve the Pinstripers while Chris Stratton, Geoff Hartleib, Edgar Santana, Yacksel Rios and Luis Escobar posted zippos through five. The Bucs had one knock, a Jake Stallings two-bagger, and the Bronx Bombers banged just a pair of raps; a couple of Bucco DP's, both involving Cole Tucker, Fraze (each started one/turned another) and J-Bell, eased the pressure.

Chris Stratton started the Pirates off on the right foot - photo Jennifer Stewart/Getty

The Pirates dented the scoreboard in the sixth, although they continued to shoot themselves in the foot with runners on. B-Rey was bopped by a pitch, Tuck singled him to third, and a J-Bell 4-6-3 DP chased Reynolds home as it killed the inning. The Bucs added on in the seventh when two soft hits and a two-out passed ball (thx, old buddy Erik Kratz) allowed Oneil Cruz to plate. Nik Turley handed the 2-0 lead over to Nick Mears. He loaded the bases with two outs, then launched a wild pitch before giving up a two-run knock, and the Pirates were in the hole for the first time tonight.

Samuel Reyes, Pablo's little bro, posted another zero for the Buccaneers. The 'Burg batters, eh - five of the next six fanned. But the one who didn't, Andrew Susac, walked with one gone, scooted to third on Ke'Bryan Hayes two-down flare into short right and tied the game when Jason Martin rolled one up the middle. Pedro Vasquez toed the slab and worked a 1-2-3, two-whiff frame - Pittsburgh has struck out 10 and the Yankees 14. And that was it; the game ended 3-3 thanks to some two out lightning and a thoroughly used up complement of pitchers. The two teams worked a total of 17 twirlers, each spinning at least a frame.

Edgar Santana worked his first frame since 2018 - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

Tomorrow: The Bucs already have a rematch, taking on the Phils at LECOM Park at 1:05 after dropping a 4-3 decision to them yesterday at Spectrum Field. The game is on AT&T SportsNet.

Notes:

• Jake Stallings had a single, double and was nicked by a pitch. Ke'Bryan Hayes also had a pair of knocks. And that was about it - the Bucs only had two more hits, drew three walks and were HBP twice.
• Archie was supposed to take his first bow tonight, but was scratched with a stiff neck, with the skip made just as a springtime precaution rather than a necessity per Archer & the team. Chris Stratton got the call instead; he was already scheduled as part of the team's rotation against the Yankees.
• Shelty gave a couple of regulars some playing time today - Fraze, Bryan Reynolds, J-Bell and Stalls got their first outings of the spring. The Yanks pretty much sent out their A team.
• Quick take: Pirates pitchers loved Stall's game-management last year, and seem to be on the same page with Luke Maile early on. They're also pretty heads-up in the field and on the bases; hopefully, the fundamentals will carry on during the season.
• Lonnie Chisenhall officially retired; that $2.75M the Pirates gave him last year was a nice parting gift. He mostly stayed home last season with a bum leg, although he did manage to fit in seven games with Indy first.