Erik Gonzalez opened with a rap and stole second against Trevor Bauer. Ke'Bryan Hayes walked an out later, then Bauer bore down and fanned Colin Moran & Josh Bell swinging. Still, the Bucs milked 25 pitches out of him which may pay off down the line. Cody Ponce started out with a walk, but a caught stealing led to a 1-2-3 inning. The Bucs started the second with a walk and Cincy boot; a caught stealing and two more swing 'n' miss whiffs shut that down. The Reds went down in order. The Pirates made no noise in the third; ditto for Cincy. It was another routine frame in the fourth for Bauer, who has also cleaned up his pitch count nicely. Joey Votto ruined Cody's no-hitter and shutout when he took a ball the opposite way and out of GABP to give the Redlegs a 1-0 edge. Bauer struck out the side in the fifth. Chris Stratton came on for the Pirates (Ponce was at just 63 pitches after throwing 70+ times in his last two outings). With two gone, he gave up back-to-back knocks and a walk, but got Nick Castellanos on a loud line out to center on a 3-2 pitch.
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| Cody had another good outing - image Pgh Pirates |
Nothing for Pittsburgh in the sixth; Bauer has 11 K. Sam Howard walked the first batter, then cruised through the next trio. And yay Redbeard; he took Bauer's 96th pitch and banged it out of the yard (about three rows deep, a classic GABP dinger) to knot the score in the seventh, then J-Bell singled. Another whiff was followed by a K-Man infield tap, and that brought Raisel Iglesias on. Gregory pinch hit for Tuck, and yah, he struck out, as did Murphy. It was a short-lived hurrah; Howard got two quick outs before he was touched for a knock and pinch hitter Tyler Stephenson's long ball to give the Reds the walk-off win.
Bauer was tough, and the Pirates don't offer much of challenge, although they are game to the wire. Their best offense is in the final three innings (64 runs); too bad they can't break out of the gate better.
Notes:
- No Buc reached base twice; they had four hits and drew two walks to go with 14 K.
- RHP Kyle Crick (lat strain) went on the 10-day IL to clear roster space for RHP Mitch Keller, the second game starter.
- The Brew Crew DFA'ed RHP Trey Supak, a former Bucco farmhand who was part of the 2015 Jason Rogers deal. It was a bit of a surprise; the 24-year-old is a soft tosser, but was the Class AA Southern League's Most Valuable Pitcher last year.
- Neil Walker cleared waivers after being DFA'ed by the Phils and became a free agent. LHP Robbie Erlin was waived by the Braves, went unclaimed, and is also a FA.
Game 2: The nightcap will start at 7:25 and be broadcast by AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. This is the Covid makeup game from August 16th. And remember; like the opener, it's seven innings.
Lineup: Erik Gonzalez SS, Adam Frazier LF, Ke' Bryan Hayes 3B, Colin Moran DH, Josh Bell 1B, Bryan Reynolds CF, Gregory Polanco RF, Kevin Newman 2B, Jake Stallings C and Mitch Keller P. Tuck is swapped out for Gregory and Stalls is behind the dish for the second match.
Mitch is back in the saddle - 2020 Topps Future Star
Pitchers: RHP Mitch Keller (1-1/3.52) tangles with RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-2, 7.20) in the back match. Mitch had started two games and gone 7-1/3 IP before injuring his oblique six weeks ago, so this should be yet another scheduled short start. Kell tossed 43 pitches in his last session while on the IL, so we're likely looking at four innings/50 pitches in this outing. DeSclafani is 0-1 against the Bucs this year; he got shredded early in the season by the Buccos for 11 runs, but last time out was much sharper, giving up two runs in four frames. Overall, the Pirates have had success against the 30-year-old, who in 15 career starts against Pittsburgh has a slash line of 2-7/5.31.
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