Pirates Thumped 9-1

Didn't take long; after a 1-2-3 Adam Wainwright intro, the Cards second batter, Paul Goldschmidt, took an 0-2 fastball from Trevor Williams deep to make it 1-0. The Bucs threatened by loading the bases in the second with no outs after a couple of singles and a bopped batter, but only plated once when John Ryan Murphy walked. There was no more action until the third inning when a walk and HBP to start the frame put St. Louis in business, but they couldn't cash in. They did the next frame when after a couple of knocks, the Redbirds put runners on the corners. Back-to-back slap singles made it 3-1, then Willy got tough, winning a 10-pitch battle with Harrison Bader. That was his last hurrah at 67 pitches; Chris Stratton got the call and served up an inning-ending pop up. A leadoff single went nowhere for the Bucs in the fifth while Stratton tossed a clean inning.

John Ryan Murphy - 2020 spring training photo Icon Sportswire/Getty

Same ol' for Pittsburgh in the sixth; 14 of the last 15 Buccos have gone down. Nik Turley toed the slab and answered with a 1-2-3 frame. John Gant took over from Wainwright in the seventh and sat the Pirates down in order. Kyle Crick got into trouble of his own making, giving up two dribbler singles (one later ruled an error) he couldn't make plays on around a full-count walk to juice the sacks with two outs, and it cost when Paul DeJong singled two more runs across the dish. Rob Erlin gave up a two-run two-bagger to Matt Carpenter on a fly not very well played by Tuck, and the route was on at 7-1. Tyler Webb put up another zippo in the eighth. With two gone, Erlin hit a batter, the Cards got another infield single and Tommy Edelman tripled them both home with a drive that was just a hair from leaving the yard. Tyler Webb, with help from Ponce de Leon, put up yet another zero to close the door.

Judging by the lineups and bullpen usage, Shelty is either baseball's greatest believer in equal opportunity or more likely, the Pirates brass has already determined that this season will be a 60-game audition for 2021.

Notes:

• Pittsburgh had three hits. John Ryan Murphy was the only Bucco to reach base twice with a knock and a walk.
• Today's outing was Nik Turley's first MLB appearance since 2017 with the Twins.
• A little more on El Coffee: Shelty said that Gregory has passed the MLB's COVID-19 protocol of consecutive negative tests and now just has to get back into game shape. He went out of action a couple of weeks ago with the virus.
• Old Bucco IF Josh Harrison is thought to be near signing a deal with the Nats; per reports, he is in the physical phase.