Tigers Sweep Bucs 2-1

Today's start went a lot better for Steven Brault than Friday's as he tossed a clean frame. Fraze opened with a rap off Spencer Turnbull and swiped second with two outs, ahead of a Redbeard walk, with both men stranded. A one-out walk and bopped batter put Steven in a bit of a jam, but a 4-3 DP cleaned up the second. Pittsburgh went down 1-2-3 as Erik Gonzalez singled but was caught stealing. Steven, even at a pitch count of just 26, was yanked for Chris Stratton. He gave up a leadoff double, then K'ed the side swinging. JR walked and Fraze singled to set up the Bucs, but a K-Man 3-6-1 DP and fly prevented any damage. Strats is on a roll; he whiffed another pair in the fourth. Captain Redbeard was clipped by a pitch to start up the Bucs. A couple of grounders moved him to third and Gonzo's deflected shoetop shot off the 2B's mitt brought him home. The Tigers came right back; a double-single combo tied it in the fifth. K-Man doubled with two away to no avail.

Gonzo had two more hits today - 2019 Topps Opening Day

Geoff Hartlieb retired the side in the sixth; ditto for Turnbull, who is sitting at an efficient and so far effective 81 pitches. Nik Turley gave up a walk in the seventh but kept the zeroes comin'. Nada again from the Pirates. Ric Rod took his turn in the eighth. With two outs, he clipped a batter, chucked a wild pitch (and we mean way wild; his spikes stuck in the mound and he launched the ball into a different zip code) then gave up a two-strike Miggy rap to put El Tigres up by a run. Buck Farmer took over from Turnbull (his seven inning stint is Detroit's longest of the year). He got two outs before J-Bell's rap and Colin's walk, but the Bucs left a couple of more men aboard. Rodriguez bopped a batter with two outs in the ninth but escaped damage this time around. Joe Jimenez struck out a pair to complete the sweep.

Notes:

• Fraze and Gonzo each had two hits; the rest of the team added two more. Frazier's double was the only extra-base hit for the Bucs.
• Phil Evans is the seventh Pirate to go on the 45-Day IL. Jameson Taillon was on it prior to the season; the others are Chris Archer, Nick Burdi, Michael Feliz, Kevin Kramer and Luke Maile. In addition, Hector Noesi opted out of the year. The pitching has really taken a hit, especially with Keone Kela, Clay Holmes, Kyle Crick, Big Joe Musgrove and Mitch Keller also out, although they are all expected back, maybe by next week.
• Robert Murray of MLB Insider reported that the Bucs have agreed to a minor league deal with RHP Henderson Alvarez, pending a physical. The 30-year-old was pitching indie ball.