Pirates Pitch Their Way to Series Split With Reds In 3-2 Walkoff Win

Two hard outs, two walks, pitches being sprayed...it was a good inning for Chad Kuhl to escape, and he did somehow. Gonzo doubled to open against Tejay Antone, the ball not quite sticking in the CF's glove after a hard run. Redbeard walked with two away, but the duo were left on the paths. The second was better; Chad struck out the side, with another walk thrown in. J-Bell walked to lead off, Key rolled into a 6-4-3 DP and Cole flew out to make for a 1-2-3 frame. It finally caught up to Whip; his fourth walk cost when it was followed by a Nick Castellanos homer in the third. He was also tagged for a two-bagger, but no further scoreboard damage. Pittsburgh rallied; with two outs, Fraze singled, was wild-pitched to second and scored on B-Rey's rap to make the score 2-1. Colin Moran got bopped, but a K ended the inning as Antone fanned the side around the hits. Geoff Hartlieb got the fourth inning call; the speculation was that Kuhl was again having blister issues. Geoff left a single aboard; the Bucs had another DP-fueled, retired in order, frame.

Steppin' up - Geoff Hartlieb, image AT&T SportsNet

Hartlieb spun a quiet fifth inning while the Pirates wasted a Fraze single. Sam Howard worked the sixth with no ado. Amir Garrett took over for Cincy and did the same. Chris Stratton was waved in for the seventh, and issued a free pass but was otherwise clean. Nate Jones took the hill and allowed not a peep from the Bucs. Nik Turley toed the rubber in the eighth, He went full on the first three hitters, but one walk and two fans weren't a bad outcome, and a fly put it to rest. Michael Lorenzen climbed the slope and Gonzo greeted him with a rap. After a force, B-Rey walked and Raisel Iglesias took the ball. He struck out Redbeard and got Gregory to fly out. Ric Rod retired the Reds in order in the ninth. J-Bell and Key led off the Pirates last hurrah with singles. Tuck's weak but well-placed roller into right tied the game, and runners ended up on second and third after the outfield throw went astray. Bucs remained at second and third when K-Man, who pinch hit, bounced one back to box to catch Hayes at home after a dance to allow the runners to move up. But Gonzo wouldn't be denied; he lifted a fly to medium right that scored Tuck. Raise the Roger.

Well, they do play to the gun. The pen performance has been fierce lately; it would be nice to see Reynolds, Bell and Moran start banging balls, although with just 22 games left, it's getting a little late.

Notes:

• Fraze's hitting streak reached 10 games; Gonzo's stayed alive at eight. They both had two hits today, as did Ke'Bryan Hayes. And tip o' the cap to the bullpen, which tossed six innings on no-run, one-hit ball
• Today was the first game without a Bucco error since August 29th.
• Much has been made of Gregory's BABIP %, which is laughably low. However, hitting the ball is his bigger problem - he's K'ed 46 times in 110 plate appearances.
• On his radio show, Ben Cherington didn't seem too thrilled that Joe Musgrove's trade palaver became public; he said he called Big Joe to let him know the status when the news did break. He also noted that RHP Jandel Gustave's contract runs through 2021 and that they're sorting through the options for the Altoona development squad when it breaks up on September 18th.