Locke Rocked; Bucs Overwhelmed 12-6

Chad Kuhl started off by serving up a Matt Carpenter double, then a walk. After two outs, another walked jammed the sacks but the rook was cool and got Randal Grichuk on a bouncer, tho it did take Chad 28 tosses to close the deal. J-Hay opened with a knock off Adam Wainwright, then JJ walked. Cutch rolled over on a curve and rolled into an around the horn DP. Waino hung a hook to Gregory and he roped it on a line to Matt Adams at first, an inning cloned from the ones against Milwaukee.

The second started with Kuhl's third free pass, and this one hurt when Wainwright's one-out double off the CF fence chased the run home. Carpenter was nicked in the foot, not called until after the Cards challenged (and it looked iffy on replay; maybe NY had a different angle). Somewhere, Tony LaRussa is smirking. An out later, Stephen Piscotty smoked a double to plate both runners, and an infield knock put Redbirds on the corners. Fran called for the trainer to check Chad out; he visited and the pitcher stayed on the hill, getting a soft 3-2 comebacker on his 58th pitch, getting the last out thx to a nice grab at first by JJ.  Starling and Freeser opened with raps, and Fran made it three in a row to tally Marte. Jordy lined out to right, and Josh Bell stepped in for Kuhl and doubled the opposite way for another run. Either the contact play or a TOOTBLAN bit the Bucs; Fran was cut down on Jay-Hay's grounder and JJ fanned. It's a game now, but the Pirates have missed some early opps.

Cutch bombed a two-run shot today (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Jeff Locke took the hill in the third and Bell stayed in at first. The first Card walked and was bunted up by the seven hitter. Odd strategy, but it paid off when Kolten Wong singled the run home. A wild pitch moved Wong up with two gone, but it didn't hurt. The Pirates have walked five, bopped one and hurled a WP while serving up 80 pitches; three of those gifts have scored. The Pirates went down without a peep, with Wong making a great grab on Marte's no-man's land lob. Jedd Gyorko led off the fourth with a dinger off a fat change. The next guy reached on a Freeser misfire (Bell took the wide throw and dove to the bag; the Bucs challenged the safe call and lost), and it's getting ugly. A single and bad Bell toss on a DP ball loaded 'em up, and another run scored when the Bucs couldn't turn a DP again. Another walk, another bases loaded situation, another Waino knock.The Pirates were 1-2-3'ed.

Fraze unloaded today, too (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

A bean and a blast added two more in the fifth. A J-Hay knock and 427' Cutch bop made it 10-4, good buddies. Jared Hughes came in for the sixth and put up a zero, holding the Cards to a double. Jonathan Broxton toed the rubber and gave up a harmless knock with two gone. St. Louis went down in order (about time) in the seventh, while Pittsburgh got a knock from Fraze. Antonio Bastardo answered the phone for the eighth. Three hits and a sac fly later, the Cards tacked two more on the scoreboard. Miguel Socolovich climbed the bump and held the Bucs to an infield knock. Tony Watson came in to work up a ninth-inning sweat (he hasn't pitched in a week) and went single, DP, whiff. Jordy trip-trip-tripled, scored on a sac fly and then Fraze's dinger closed it out at 12-6.

Walks. Errors. Two or three unturned DP balls. Redbird frozen ropes. Wasted at bats. Heck, the pitchers were late to cover first twice. And we can't quite figure out Clint's bromance w/Jeff Locke. Can they do a quick turnaround? Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? The next two days should tell the tale one way or another.

• The Bucs did bang out 12 hits, two each by J-Hay, Starling and Fraze.
• Francisco Cervelli left the game with "left thumb discomfort."
• The Pirates hadn't lost seven straight games since 2014.
• The Redbirds have homered in 24 consecutive games, adding to their club record. 25 games is the NL mark.
• 26,297 fans spun the turnstiles today.
• The injury news on Elias Diaz: he's being treated for cellulitis (a skin infection) on his left leg and will be re-evaluated in three days. It can become serious if the infection gets into the bloodstream.
• It took the AA Altoona Curve extra innings, but they persevered and qualified for the Eastern League playoffs. Indy finished third and out of the money with a 70-74 slate, so it's time for a couple of their guys to come up.

Monday: Chad Kuhl v Adam Wainwright, Lineup, Preview, Notes

Today: The holiday matinee begins at 4:05 and will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan.

Pitchers: RHP Chad Kuhl (3-2, 3.70) opens the series against Adam Wainwright (9-8, 4.53) in a classic wet-behind-the-ears kid taking on a grizzled vet mound match. Chad put together a string of five starts that covered 6> IP and 2< runs per outing, but in his last outing, the Cubs put up a three spot in five innings, so he's looking for a bit of a bounce back. Wainwright was icy in April, hot in June and July, hit a wall in August and then tamed the Brew Crew in his first September start, so we'll see if he's heating up in the dog days. Waino is 12-7, 4.18, lifetime against the Pirates and has three starts against the Pirates this season (1-1, 3.26) with the Cards taking two, but he's lost four straight matches at PNC and hasn't won in his last eight outings, so there's that.

Mr. Consistent, Chad Kuhl, toes the rubber for the 10th time (photo Dave Arrigo/Pirates)

Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, John Jaso 1B, Cutch CF, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte LF, David Freese 3B, Fran Cervelli C, Jordy SS, Cool P. JJ's back in; gotta go with the hot hand in September. Now if Clint would consider flipping J-Hay and Fran...

Preview: The Cards have lost 3-of-4 to the Brewers and Reds while the Bucs have been toasted in their last six games, so both teams are kinda staggering in the late rounds. But the Redbirds have one big, if somewhat counter-intuitive, advantage: they are 42-27 on the road while Pittsburgh is just 34-33 at PNC Park and 1-8 in the last three home sets, being swept twice. The Bucs are 3-1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second wildcard and a series win would keep them in the hunt while the Redbirds can put the Pirates in intensive care if they take the set. There are only 25 games left to the campaign when the series is done, so like sand in an hourglass...

• Jung Ho Kang has rejoined the team from the DL. In kind of ominous news, Elias Diaz is also here, not to join the squad but to see a team doctor. Today is Indy's last game, so the Bucs may be bringing up a couple of more warm bodies shortly.
• The Pirates have had four pitchers make their MLB debuts as starters this year (Jamo, Kuhl, Steven Brault & Tyler Glasnow). The last time the Bucs had four or more rookies take their maiden voyage as starters in a single campaign was 1903.
• Pittsburgh's six-game losing streak is a season high and they were shut out in three of those defeats. They dropped five in a row twice in June while in a 2-13 funk. 
• The Redbirds & Pirates have exchanged three-game sweeps at PNC Park this season.
• The Cards have homered in 23 straight games, a franchise record. They are 12-11 in those contests.

9/5 TRS-PNC Era: Hans' T206, Sophie's Stadium, Maz's Statue, Ohlie's Immaculate Inning & More...

• 1975 - Montreal used a record 15 pinch hitters in their doubleheader split with the Pirates. The Expos claimed the opener 4-3 in 10 innings, and Pittsburgh won the nitecap 5-2 behind Jim Rooker. Les Expos used six pinch-hitters in the first game and nine in the second match. The Bucs burned four bats during the twin bill, all in the first contest.
• 1990 - The Pirates beat the Mets 1-0 and 3-1 at TRS to open a four game lead over New York in the NL East. Zane Smith pitched a one-hitter in the twilight DH’er opener for the Bucs and Neal Heaton won the nitecap. Barry Bonds drove in the first game’s only run in the ninth, singling home Gary Redus. Jeff King homered twice in the nightcap to account for all three Bucco runs. Pittsburgh swept all five of its doubleheaders that season.

Zane Smith 1991 Leaf

• 1991 - Mayor Sophie Masloff said while presenting her Six-Year Development Plan address that the City would like to build a 44,000 seat baseball stadium “...so we will finish the job of securing the Pirates’ future in this City.” She planned to locate it on the North Shore, to be ready by the turn of the century, and wanted to call it Clemente Field. She may not have got all the details right, but became the prime mover, often against stiff opposition, for the eventual building of PNC Park, pushed through by her successor, Mayor Tom Murphy.
• 1992 - The Pirates won for the ninth time in ten games behind Bob Walk’s six hitter to defeat the LA Dodgers 6-1 at TRS. Barry Bonds did the heavy lifting with a three run homer in the third to give Walk all the runs he’d need.
• 2007 - A 1909 T206 American Tobacco baseball card of Honus Wagner was sold for a record $2.8M. The card is such a rarity because Wagner refused to license his image to the tobacco company, and only between 50-200 of the cards were ever printed.

• 2009 - In seventh inning of the Pirates' 2-1 loss to St. Louis at PNC Park, Ross Ohlendorf tossed the Bucs’ second-ever “immaculate inning,” striking out the side on nine pitches. He fanned Kevin Greene, Julio Logo and Jason LaRue, all who were thrown out at first after swinging at pitches in the dirt.
• 2010 - Bill Mazeroski’s statue was dedicated at PNC Park outside the RF gate, located on Mazeroski Way (where else?) and unveiled on his 74th birthday. Pittsburgh sculptor Susan Wagner created the likeness. Susan also molded the Clemente and Stargell monuments for PNC Park.

9/5 Expo Park-Forbes Field Era: HBD Maz & Lefty, Diomedes Debuts, Cover Boys, The Quail Ends A Duel & More...

• 1883 - LHP Paul “Lefty” Leifield was born in Trenton, Illinois. From 1906 to 1911, Leifield was part of the Pirate starting rotation, winning 15 or more games each season. In 1909, he went 19-8 as Pittsburgh won the NL pennant. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs in 1912. Lefty was a Bucco for eight years from 1905-12, and his Pirate line was 109-84/2.38.
• 1929 - Pittsburgh banged out a homer, two doubles and four triples in a 10-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Redland Field. Lloyd Waner went 3-for-4 with two triples, two runs, and two RBI. His partner in crime was winning pitcher Erv Brame, who not only went the distance but also batted 3-for-4 with a homer, double, two runs and two RBI.

Erv Brame 1928 (Conlon Collection/Getty)

• 1936 - Bill Mazeroski was born in Wheeling, WV. The Hall-of-Fame second baseman was one of the defensive wizards of his time and will be remembered forever in Pittsburgh baseball lore for his walk-off homer in the 1960 World Series.
• 1945 - The Bucs held a Honus Wagner night at Forbes Field. They could have used him in the lineup, losing to the Brooklyn Dodgers 5-3 in 10 innings in front of 19,504 faithful.
• 1950 - The Bronx Bombers bought 1B Johnny Hopp‚ who was second in the NL in hitting with a .340 mark‚ from the Pirates for an undisclosed amount of cash. Hopp was at the end of his career, and played through 1952 as a bench piece.
• 1958 - Bill Virdon hit a leadoff tenth inning walk-off homer to give Pittsburgh a 1-0 win over Milwaukee in a classic pitching duel between the Braves Carlton Willey and George “Red” Witt, who tossed a five hitter, at Forbes Field.

Bill Virdon 1957 Topps

• 1960 - At the age of 41, LHP Diomedes Olivo made his MLB debut, pitching in relief of Harvey Haddix for the Pirates. The oldest rookie in NL history other than Satchel Paige tossed two goose eggs against Milwaukee at Forbes Field, giving up a hit to Eddie Matthews and a pair of walks. The Bucs lost 7-1, splitting a doubleheader with the Braves.
• 1964 - Roberto Clemente was featured on the cover of The Sporting News for the story “Confidant Corsair.” Though the Pirates were a disappointing 80-82, Roberto led the NL with 211 hits and a .339 BA.
• 1966 - Harry “The Hat” Walker was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated for the story “Pittsburgh Pirates: Very Good to Excellent.” It ended up they were very good; they finished 92-70, three games behind the LA Dodgers.

• 1969 - Steve Blass beat the Cubs 9-2. Blass helped his own cause with his only MLB homer‚ a three run blast off Ken Holtzman‚ and three singles. The win was Pittsburgh's first at Wrigley since July 5th‚ 1968‚ ending a string of 13 straight losses.

Stormy Seas: Brewer Tsunami Rolls Over Bucs 10-0

Keon Broxton opened the contest with a double, but no prob. Orlando Arcia's liner was snagged by a leaping J-Hay, who dove to tap the sack with his mitt before Broxton got back for an unassisted DP to key an easy, if hard-hit, frame for Steven Brault. J-Hay opened with a knock against Chase Anderson. JJ repaid the Brewers; his liner to first doubled up Josh. Cutch lined out, too - lotta lasers this inning by both clubs. After an opening K in the second, Domingo Santana lost a ball in center to make it 1-0. After a whiff and line out, S-Rod doubled, just missing tying the game, and he was left there when Fraze was rung up after successful challenge (he was clearly out) of a fairly close play at first.

Brault went to three balls on the first three Brewers in the third (spot a trend?), whiffing a pair and walking one. A grounder to Fraze at third was airmailed to first and Hernan Perez collided with Jaso as he sought the ball (LeBron couldn't have caught it). Jaso was charged with obstruction, a dead-ball infraction, putting Brewers at the corners and getting Craig Counsell ejected (a run had scored during the Keystone Kop segment). After play resumed - it took eight minutes to sort it all out - a stolen base and another line out put it to bed. Josh doubled with two outs, after yet another challenge on whether it was a fair ball or not. It was moot; JJ...wait for it...lined out.

It all went south after Steven Brault left the hill (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Kinda the same in the fourth; a couple of fans and a walk for Steven, without the extraneous stuff. Cutch opened with a knock, trailed by a fly and DP, the Pirates sixth in the last 11 innings. Broxton doubled with an out in the fifth, but his happy feet failed him when he was tossed out trying to steal third. That was followed by a walk that caused no aggravation. Fraze legged out a single with one gone. Stew hit a little pop to second; Scooter Gennett dropped the ball intentionally to force Frazier at second, swapping a fast kiddo for an ol' catcher on the bases, pretty heads-up though it didn't come into play.

Juan Nicasio took over in the sixth and gave up a leadoff double. A following knock put Brewers on the corners. Juan got a whiff and pop, then walked Jake Elmore after a nine-pitch joust; free passes are the bullpen's calling card. This one came with a high price tag - Nicasio fed Jonathan Villar six straight four seam heaters waist high and away; he caught the last one, taking it the opposite way for a grand slam. We put that blow squarely on Clint; lefties have been hitting Juan hard, and he was at 23 pitches before Villar stepped in. Tyler Cravy came on. JJ doubled with one gone and was left on.

JJ was solid at the plate today (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Kelvin Marte worked the seventh, giving up a single and then a pair of grounders, the last good for a twin killing. Fraze walked with two outs but Cravy put up another zero. Kelvin tossed a clean eighth, as did Yadiel Rivera, who was saved when Jaso's ball was hauled in at the wall. JJ's been about the only bright spot today, drilling the ball all four at-bats, though with minimal luck at finding grass. A single and error on a booted DP ball put Brewers at second and third with one down in the ninth, then Chris Carter and Santana hit back-to-back dingers to make 10-0; lose by a little, lose by a lot - ya still lose. Ben Rowen wrapped it up.

The Pirates have been a streaky team all year, so you can't count them out yet. It is worrisome that so many pieces are out of sync, though. Outside of the starting pitching, everything is derailed - the attack, the base running, the fielding, the bullpen... It makes this upcoming set with St. Louis huge. The Bucs are already 3-1/2 games behind the Cards for the final wild card spot. Pittsburgh can prime itself for a run by taking the series, or risk being left in the dust by the Redbirds. So buckle up.

• The Pirates have now lost six straight. They've dropped 8-of-9 at home and are 67-67 on the season.
• J-Hay had two hits; the only other Buc to reach twice was Fraze with a rap and a walk.
• On his radio show, NH said that Neftali Feliz's arm injury appears to be muscular in nature, not structural, so we suppose that's good news.

Sunday: Steven Brault v Chase Anderson, Lineup (Shook Up), Notes

Today: The game's first pitch is at 1:35 and will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. It's kid's day, as always, and the lil' ones will get a baseball cap.The Pirates are pinning their hopes of avoiding a sweep on Steven Brault's left arm this afternoon.

Pitchers: Brault (0-1, 3.86) tosses the finale against Chase Anderson (7-11, 4.92). Steven returns from his brief paper transfer to Bristol and has a month to make an impression. He's got a WHIP of 1.643 and walks 4.5 batters per nine, so the young lefty could stand working out of the stretch a little less often. Steven also has to be more efficient; he's only gone 14 IP in his three MLB starts. Anderson twirled a decent outing against the Bucs on August 28th, going 5-1/3 IP and giving up a pair of runs on five hits. He's been solid versus Pittsburgh this year, as he's 1-1/3.14 in three starts.

Steven Brault gets his fourth start this afternoon (photo Butch Dill/USA Today)

Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, John Jaso 1B, Cutch CF, Grgory Polanco RF, Starling Marte LF, S-Rod SS, Adam Frazier 3B, Stew C, Brault. A couple of cool bats get a sit-down, and with both J-Hay and Fraze playing, there will be a pair of over-caffeinated Buccos zipping around the yard to boost the energy level.

• Neftali Feliz's injury? So far, it's just "right arm discomfort." The team offered no update other than he's "feeling better" today.
• From @joe_block: Andrew McCutchen has slashed .297/.403/.465 (4 HR, 15 RBI, 18 BB, 17 SO) since taking the Atlanta series off.
• The injured guys are wandering home. Jung Ho Kang will play at Indy today and should rejoin the Pirates tomorrow if his shoulder holds up. Gerrit Cole is tentatively scheduled to return to action September 12th.
• The Bucs have no further to look than Milwaukee to explain their bubble position for the wildcard. The Brew Crew is 7-8 against Pittsburgh. The Brewers against the other WC contenders: St. Louis (4-11), San Fran (1-5), LAD (2-5), NY Mets (2-5) and Miami (2-4).
• To add a little fuel to the J-Hay at leadoff debate: in 32 games at the top spot, Josh slashes .308/.329/.388 with 17 runs scored and 14 RBI. In the seven hole, between Fran and Jordy, his line is .307/.349/.412 with 16 runs and 24 men chased home in 43 games. The prob, of course, is that Clint doesn't have anyone who has the combo of speed, discipline and OBP chops of a traditional top-of-the-order guy to plug into the slot.

9/4 TRS-PNC Era: The Kitten Loses His Perfect Game, Lee Takes His Bow, Doe Whiffs From the Bench, Rallies & A Romp

• 1971 - The Bucs mishandled five balls, but still won 7-6 over the Montreal Expos in 11 innings at TRS. The Expos clanked four the same night as six of the 13 runs scored were unearned. Pittsburgh won on an oddball rally. Rennie Stennett singled and went to second when Gene Clines was HBP by Mike Marshall. Marshall picked Stennett off second, and during the same at-bat, had Clines picked off first, but Ron Fairly mishandled the throw. Instead of being out, Clines ended up on second where he scored the winning run on Vic Davalillo’s knock.
• 1976 - The Pirates put up three runs in the ninth, then held off the Expos 5-3 at Parc Jarry for their 10th straight win. The Bucs ninth inning was sparked by a two run hit from Omar Moreno, who later scored on a wild pitch. Kent Tekulve gave up a score in the ninth and faced the tying run in Larry Parrish, but retired the slugger on a fly to center to pick up a save for Dave Giusti’s win. Montreal had 13 hits, but were thwarted by four DP balls.

Omar Moreno 1977 Topps

• 1978 - In his first major league at-bat, Dorian “Doe” Boyland struck out while sitting on the bench. The Pirate rookie was yanked with a 1-2 count after the Mets made a pitching change in the seventh frame, replacing Skip Lockwood with Kip Kobel. Pinch hitter Rennie Stennett took Boyland’s place in the box as Chuck Tanner played the match-up game, and completed the K by watching strike three during the first game of a Bucco 7-4, 7-0 doubleheader sweep at TRS. The victories put the Bucs one game out of first. They would finish the year in second, 1-½ games behind the Philadelphia Phillies.
• 1982 - Lee Tunnell got his first MLB start as a replacement for John Candelaria (his shoulder was tight), and took full advantage. Tunnell outpitched Fernando Valenzuela in a 1-0 win over Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium as Lee Lacy’s first inning homer stood as the game’s only score. Tunnell left in the eighth with a blister; Rod Scurry and Kent Tekulve finished up.
• 1991 - The Bucs won their eighth of nine games by defeating the SF Giants 8-3 at Candlestick Park. John Smiley won his 17th as Steve Buechele and Andy Van Slyke homered while Don Slaught went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles to increase their divisional lead to nine games.

Harvey Haddix 1960 Topps Insert

• 1991 - The MLB Committee For Statistical Accuracy deleted Harvey Haddix’s 12 inning perfect game from the list of perfectos while removing the asterisk from Roger Maris’ 61 homer year. In The Kitten’s case, the committee ruled that a pitcher had to “complete the game,” no matter how many innings, to get credit. Haddix's response, according to Albert Chen of Sports Illustrated, was "It's O.K. I know what I did."

9/4 Expo Park-Forbes Field Era: Bad News Bucs, If At First..., Double-0, Off To the Fair & The Deacon Is Honored

• 1890 - The Pittsburgh Alleghenys snapped a 23 game losing streak and a stretch where the club lost 33-of-34 games with a 6-2 win over the Cleveland Spiders at RecreatIon Park. 2B Sam LaRoque had a pair of knocks and Dave Anderson notched the win. It didn’t do much to turn the season around; they dropped 20 of the last 23 games to finish 23-113. From July 3rd (when they had their final winning streak of the year of three in a row), they were 6-66. Local hurler Billy Gumbert (his brother Ad also pitched later for Pittsburgh) led the staff with four wins.

Billy Gumbert led the Alleghenys with four wins in 1890 (photo via Out of the Park Development)

• 1908 - With two outs and the Pirates-Cubs in a scoreless 10th inning tie at Exposition Park, Chief Wilson singled to center with the bases juiced, scoring Fred Clarke with the winning run. Warren Gill, on first base, saw Clarke score, and jogged to the dugout before touching second. The Cubs' Johnny Evers tagged second base, and claimed a run preventing force out on Gill. The lone umpire, Hank O'Day, had already left the field and the Cubs protested the game to no avail. Three weeks later on September 23rd, Evers did get a force call in roughly the same situation against the NY Giants’ Fred Merkle, and that play became forever known as “Merkle’s Boner.” Ironically, O’Day was the ump for that game, too.
• 1916 - The Pirates swept the Cards at Forbes Field behind some stellar pitching. Frank Miller threw a four hit whitewash in the opener, winning 7-0 as the Redbirds shot themselves in the foot, with four errors leading to three unearned runs. Wilbur Cooper followed with his own four hit shutout, taking a 2-0 decision. Carson Bigbee went 3-for-4 day with an RBI, double and stolen base while Cooper drove in the other run.

Carson Bigbee (photo via the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame)

• 1948 - With an off date during a Labor Day week home stand, the Pirates added to the Allegheny County Fair festivities by playing an exhibition against the Second Army club at the South Park Fairgrounds. Both papers reported a Bucco victory, but neither gave a score.
• 1965 - Vernon Law was featured on the cover of The Sporting News. He won the NL Comeback Player of the Year award that season with a 17-9/2.15 slash in 29 games.

Bucs Can't Find The Answer; Brew Crew Takes 7-4 Victory

Keon Broxton opened the game with a bouncer up the middle. Despite a lot of attention, he swiped second with two gone, but Ivan Nova was equal to the challenge. J-Hay started with a knock off Jimmy Nelson and Josh Bell walked. A roller moved them up a station and a sac fly made it 1-0. Nova served up a tapper and two whiffs in the second. Fran walked with an out and Jordy reached on a boot. They were bunted up, and the sacks should have been loaded - Nova jogged up the line (prob due to his recent hammy issue, but still...), allowing the catcher to drop the ball and pick it up again to get the out at first, drawing boos from the crowd. Nelson's bacon was saved by SS Orlando Arcia, who stole a J-Hay ball ticketed for center and a pair of runs, turning it instead into a 6-3.

Broxton walked with two gone in the third and stole second, where he died again. Bell opened with a knock and was erased on Cutch's around-the-horn DP. Gregory walked and Starling legged out a hit and were left aboard; the Pirates have stranded five already. The Brew Crew got a two-out knock in the fourth and that was it. Cervy took a leadoff walk. A force, missed bunt try and whiff led to another frustrating frame.

Ivan gave the Bucs a third straight solid start. (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

In the fifth, Starling misplayed a fly into a triple; no biggie. Ivan fielded a squibbler and flipped the ball home with his glove to cut down the run and the inning played out quietly after that. Cutch walked with an out; El Coffee's DP brought the action to a quick end. The Brewers finally caught up to Nova in the sixth. Scooter Gennett doubled and with two away, Chris Carter went yard to left to make it 2-1 Biermeisters. Starling singled and swiped second, followed an out later by another Fran free pass. That was it for Nelson as Jhan Marinez took the ball. He got a force out and a forced hand with Nova due up; Ivan sat and Matt Joyce grabbed a stick. Lefty Brent Suter was waved in and won the matchup with a grounder to short. The Pirates have had 11 runners reach over six frames and one run to show for it.

Jared Hughes was greeted with a leg double to open the seventh; Starling had Arcia dead to rights, but he turned the tables on Harrison and eluded his tag with a slippery slide. A sac and walk put Brewers on the corners; a Broxton bunt loaded the sacks when no one covered first. Hughes fell behind Gennett 3-0, but came back to get him to roll over and bounce into an inning-ending (and maybe game saving) 4-6-3 DP. Carlos Torres climbed the hill and gave up an opening knock to J-Hay. It was Bell's turn to bang into a DP, on a hanging curve. Cutch took some of the sting away by drilling a ball 394' over the RC wall to tie the match.

Cutch happened to knot the score briefly. (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

Neftali Feliz answered the phone for the eighth and Ryan Braun banged an opening knock off him. A force and single put the Brew Crew on the corners. The trainer came out after that knock - not a bad pitch, btw - and Neftali left in some pain, with Felipe Rivero replacing him. A walked left the bases drunk, and Arcia plated a run by poking an 0-2 heater over the outside black into right. An out later, Manny Pina singled home two more. Marte made the play at the dish tight for the second run; another nice slide slipped past a missed tag. It went to review and the safe call was upheld. Kelvin Marte got the call for his first MLB appearance, and gave up his first big league hit to make it 6-2. Then he issued his first walk to load the sacks again, this time for Braun, who became his first strikeout victim.

Corey Knebel took the ball and gave up a 434' Marte bomb into the hedges. After an out, Fran got plunked off the elbow pad. Jordy followed with a rap, and that brought Blaine Boyer to the bump. John Jaso greeted him with a run-scoring single. Alen Hanson ran for JJ, representing the tying run. Clint coulda put in a sumo wrestler; J-Hay hit the first pitch to second for a 4-6-3 DP, the Bucs fourth of the night. Jeff Locke came out for the ninth (no, we don't why either) and gave up an opening triple on a ball that Gregory was slow getting to and then lobbed in. A single brought the run home before Locke-down was achieved. Tyler Thornburg closed the book 1-2-3.

Starling went 3-for-4 with a blast into the batter's eye. (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

The team needs an energy jolt. God knows there are enough young guys hanging around the dugout now that it's September to slip one or two in. And Clint has to take a look at how he uses his pen. You can't fault him for Neftali and Felipe both having bad days on the same day.  But bringing in Jared Hughes in a one-run game and Jeff Locke in the ninth of a two-run game? Loyalty is one thing; reality is another.

• Starling went 3-for-4 with a homer and stolen sack. J-Hay had a pair of hits
• Jordy has a five game hitting streak.
• Josh Bell broke an 0-for-13 streak with his third inning single. 
• Lefty Kelvin Marte was the 11th Pirates rookie to make his MLB debut this season.
• The Bucco have dropped five in row. With tonight's loss, the Pirates are just 34-32 at home, barely better than their 33-34 road record.
• 26,637 showed up for tonight's game.
• Nice 1971 party before the game. Maz threw out the first pitch - to his grandson Billy.

Saturday: Ivan Nova v Jimmy Nelson, Lineup, Notes

Tonight: The first pitch is at 7:05 and will be on Root Sports and 93.7 The Fan. The fans get a free tumbler and a chance to celebrate with the 1971 Pirates during their 45th anniversary in a pre-game ceremony. There's a lot going on with the Rib Fest and Pitt's home opener happening on the North Shore too.

Pitchers: Ivan Nova (11-6, 4.41) faces Jimmy Nelson (7-13, 4.45). Ivan is back in the saddle after a hammy tweak. He's posted two strong games back-to-back, and just in time with Gerrit Cole down. He'll be a key in the stretch run and is making the FO look mighty good so far. The only red flag is that Ivan's prone to streakiness; we can only hope this hot spell lasts into October. In six starts this month, Nelson has gone 1-4 with a 9.00 ERA. Though he was roughed up in his two 2016 games (1-0, w/6.52 ERA) against Pittsburgh, he's traditionally solid against the Bucs, slashing 5-2/3.33 in eight career outings.

Ivan looking to stay on his roll (photo Charles LeClaire/USA Today)

Lineup: Josh Harrison 2B, Josh Bell 1B, Cutch CF, Gregory Polanco RF, Starling Marte LF, David Freese 3B, Fran Cervelli C, Jordy SS. Nova P. If at first you don't succeed...

• Gerrit Cole tossed in the pen today firing 30 heaters, so working off a mound is a good thing. He prob won't have any rehab starts to knock off the rust as the MiLB season is about to finish up.
• John Sickels of Minor League Ball has his profile of Austin Meadows. 
• The Orioles announced that they’ve outrighted Kyle Lobstein to AAA Norfolk. They DFA'ed The Lobster a couple of hours after trading for him. There were no takers on the waiver wires, so he remains their property.
• Po' Wilfredo Boscan didn't make it to September; the Braves outrighted him off their 40 man roster back to the minors.
• It could be worse: The Royals have lost three straight, all by one run (a 10-inning loss, a 13-inning loss and a nine-inning loss in which they had a one-run lead entering the final frame) per ESPN Stats.