Bucs Keep Rollin' With 9-4 Victory

With an out, B-Rey had a bingle stolen from him on a nice grab by Sam Hilliard; Starling and J-Bell followed with knocks. Colin kept the wheel spinning by dropping a RBI quail into center to draw first blood off Antonio Senzatela. The lead lasted three pitches before Trevor Story banged a 2-0 sinker for a long fly off Dario Agrazal. He left two more base hits on the pond. Fraze doubled in the second, moved up on a grounder and plated on Dario’s sac fly. A K-Man knock and Reynold’s two-bagger were stranded. The Rox left a runner on first in their half. Melky got aboard on a boot in the third for all the Bucco ado. Colorado left another runner on; lots of hits but not many runs so far. K-Man singled with two down in the fourth and galloped home following B-Rey’s double; Reynolds didn’t gallop quite as well and was caught trying to get to third on a textbook relay. It was a clean inning for Agrazal after a brief lightning delay. Starling opened the fifth with a rap and J-Bell walked. An out later, Melky dropped a 433′ bomb to make it 6-1. A one-away Story two-bagger followed by a single got a run back for the Rockies.

Bryan Shaw tossed a quiet sixth. Another double/single combo opened the Rox half, chasing home a run and bringing in Ric Rod. He closed it out with a pair of K; it would have been three if Eli could figure out how to frame a pitch on the corner. Carlos Estevez got the seventh. Starling started it off with a double and J-Bell’s knock sent Marte home. Two more singles followed to load the bases, but Fraze tapped into a 1-2-3 DP. Eli singled after that to chase home another run, but was thrown out trying to get to second as the Bucs turned a potential huge inning into just a good one while upping the lead to 8-3. Keone Kela answered the bell and tossed a strong frame with two more whiffs. Wade Davis toed the slab in the eighth and twirled a 1-2-3 inning. Frankie Liriano spun next and gave up a homer and walk. Jairo Diaz climbed the hill in the ninth and bopped Starling. A wayward pickoff try and J-Bell single tallied Marte. Geoff Hartlieb was sent out to finish the job, and holy moly, did he – he struck out the side. Raise the Roger.

Give Dario and the bullpen lots of love tonight. The Pirates did what they were supposed to against Senzatela and added on deeper into the game. Very nice team W.

Notes:

• The top six were en fuego – Starling (with four runs scored) and J-Bell had three rips, while K-Man, B-Rey, Colin & Melky (with three RBI) added a pair of knocks each. Every position player had a hit, and Dario even added an RBI with a sac fly.
• Seven of the Pirates first eight hits came after two were out and the bases empty. Still, they lit up the RISP board again, going 6-for-12.
• In the last six games, the Buc bullpen has given up 10 homers, with at least one every game during that span.