Tigers Top Bucs 5-2; Moran's HR Only Pirates Offense

Today's Game:

Tyler Anderson toed the rubber, followed by Trevor Cahill, Sam Howard, Duane Underwood and Tyler Bashlor. Shelty sent out the A Team to start, with Fraze and K-Man (E-Gon subbed for him) in the middle and just one in-a-battle boy, Dustin Fowler, in center. It wasn't enough firepower as the Pirates dropped a 5-2 decision to Detroit.

Ex-Bucco farmhand Robbie Grossman homered to lead off the first off Anderson. He bounced from jam to jam after that, getting out of a two-walk pickle in the third and second-and-third w/no outs in the fourth to escape his stint with just one run surrendered. Cahill took over in the fifth and dove into immediate hot water after two walks, a single and sac fly rang up a pair for Motown. Howard came on to get the third out after Cahill had tossed 28 pitches. Cahill was reinserted for the sixth (spring rules).

Duane Underwood - 2019 Cub rookie, 2021 Pirates hopeful

He gave up a single and walk with an out, then some heads up fielding (and boneheaded running) saved him from a potentially painful inning. Fowler fired in a rap to center; the throw was cut and the runner caught in a brief rundown and tagged out. Ke'Bryan Hayes then fired to second and they nabbed another overaggressive Tiger who came in headfirst but late, limiting the damage to one run. Underwood left Tigers on the corners in the seventh and tossed a clean eighth. Bashlor gave up three straight two-out knocks in the ninth to give Detroit a three-run cushion.

A Bryan Reynolds walk and Redbeard dinger in the fourth gave the Bucs a 2-1 lead; it would have been three had Ke'Bryan Hayes not gotten picked off earlier. The Pirates used two hit batters and a single to load the bases in the fifth but grabbed no cigar. That was it; Pittsburgh had two runners reach first over the last four innings.

Notes:

• The Pirates had six hits and were 0-for-6 with RISP. Fraze, Newman and Hayes kept strokin' with a hit apiece.
• Wil Crowe was scheduled to start but replaced by Kuhl, who is returning to action after the birth of his son; it's been nine days since he saw Grapefruit action.

Tomorrow's Game: 

Chad Kuhl will start it up against Boston at LECOM Park. The contest begins at 1:05 and will be on AT&T SportsNet and 93.7 The Fan.