Big Joe, Big Blows, & Big Ke'Bryan Lead Bucs to 8-0 Romp

Key smacked a double off Aaron Civale and touched home after Colin Moran's rap. J-Bell singled next, but the party ended with no more ado. Joe Musgrove stranded a two-out double. Pittsburgh added on in the second when Joey O took a long fly the opposite way to up the count to 2-0. After the Tribe led off with a knock, Big Joe struck out the side. Ke'Bryan swatted his second two-bagger to open the third and came around on J-Bell's single. With two outs, Bryan Reynolds got a 2-0 heater and sent it into the seats to make it 5-0. The Indians lost a runner when Francisco Lindor tested Joey O's arm trying to stretch a single and lost. A walk and two K's closed out the frame. Jake Stallings and Key picked up knocks in the fourth, and with two gone, the beat went on when Redbeard went boom. Cleveland went down in order. Tristan McKenzie tossed a clean fifth inning; Musgrove did the same. 

Big Joe on a roll - photo 2020 Pittsburgh Pirates

The Bucs remained quiet in the sixth and so did the Cleves. Logan Allen was greeted by Key's fourth hit in the seventh but worked his way through the rest of the order without a bump. Big Joe kept on truckin' through the lineup. Joey O banged a double and Jake worked a free pass with two away in the eighth but caused no damage. Nick Tropeano took the ball and old Bucco Jordan Luplow greeted him with a double, but Nick shut the gate after that. Hayes opened the ninth with a double, then Allen fanned the side. Dovy Neverauskas came out for the closing act. He gave up an opening infield single and a two-down walk before turning out the lights. Three homers and a shutout earned a well deserved raise the Roger tonight; all the cylinders were purrin'.

At least the last week has been fun with some hitting and wow factor pitching against contenders. Be nice to see it carry over...

Notes:

• Ke'Bryan Hayes had five hits, including three doubles. He became the 12th Pirates rook to go 5-for-5 or better (S/O Joe Block). Colin Moran, J-Bell and Joey O had two hits; Jake had a walk and a knock as the Bucs collected 13 hits tonight.
• In his last two starts, Big Joe Musgrove has been unscored on in 13 innings, giving up six hits with two walks and 21 strikeouts. His ERA dropped from 5.74 to 3.86 during that span.