Ninth Inning Lightning Finally Strikes; Bucs Rally Past Twins 6-5

Well, JT Brubaker's first outing had a rocky beginning. A bloop single, a two-out, nine-pitch walk and a Miguel Sano rocket into the bleachers made it 3-0 before the Bucs got to bat. Kenta Maeda served three short flies to center. The Twinkies got a single and Bucco boot in the second, but a 4-6-3 DP cleaned up the situation. And hey, bounce back, Buccos. Redbeard singled off a Sano deflection, Bryan Reynolds added another knock and Gregory Polanco took a first-pitch curve deep (446' and one hop into the drink) to tie the game before Maeda tucked away the bottom of the order. An infield single and walk put Minny in business with an out in the third, but no damage was done. Fraze tried to sneak a gapped liner past Byron Buxton in left center with no luck, followed by a pair of routine outs. After 52 pitches, Brubaker was done and Cody Pence took over in the fourth. After two outs, Buxton took one yard; he's having quite a day so far. The Pirates made no noise. In the fifth, again with two outs, the Twinkies went deep; this time, it was Eddie Rosario. The Bucs didn't get a ball out of the infield.

Sam notches his first Bucco win - photo Pittsburgh Pirates

The Twin Cities gang drew a walk with two outs in the sixth, so Cody's learning. J-Bell drew a walk with two away to become the first Pittsburgh runner since the second inning. Chris Stratton toed the slab in the seventh, and was dented for a two-out single. Tyler Clippard climbed the hill, and JT Riddle kept the two-out mystique a thing with a single, though it led to nothing. And yep, with two away in the eighth, the Twinkies got a knock, bringing on Sam Howard to close it down. Sergio Romo took over and walked Jarrod Dyson, who stole a couple of bases and came home on a Phil Evans roller to make it 5-4. In the ninth, something totally different: a two-out knock for Minny for the sixth straight frame. Howard worked around it. Taylor Rogers spun the ball, and the Bucs were up to their final frame heroics. Redbeard blooped a single, Tuck ran for him, and B-Rey doubled him to third. The lefty Rogers fanned Gregory swinging, and Kevin Newman hit for Riddle. Good choice; his knock (a one hopper past the pitcher and through the drawn-in infield) walked it off and finally, it's time to raise the Roger again.

Let's hope the wins come a little more frequently in the future. And big hat tip to the bullpen and Jarrod Dyson, whose happy feet pulled the team back into the game.

Notes:

• Redbeard and B-Rey each had two hits today while Gregory homered for the first time since June 6th, 2019.
• Chad Kuhl will start tomorrow. He's been the second guy in a piggyback with Steven Brault, so Shelty is switching up the order. Also, it's good to see his injury from his last outing, a cut finger, was nothing major.
• SS Jordy Mercer was outrighted by the Tigers and elected free agency.