Pirates Thumped 9-1

Same ol’ for Pittsburgh in the sixth; 14 of the last 15 Buccos have gone down. Nik Turley toed the slab and answered with a 1-2-3 frame. John Gant took over from Wainwright in the seventh and sat the Pirates down in order. Kyle Crick got into trouble of his own making, giving up two dribbler singles (one later ruled an error) he couldn’t make plays on around a full-count walk to juice the sacks with two outs, and it cost when Paul DeJong singled two more runs across the dish. Rob Erlin gave up a two-run two-bagger to Matt Carpenter on a fly not very well played by Tuck, and the route was on at 7-1. Tyler Webb put up another zippo in the eighth. With two gone, Erlin hit a batter, the Cards got another infield single and Tommy Edelman tripled them both home with a drive that was just a hair from leaving the yard. Tyler Webb, with help from Ponce de Leon, put up yet another zero to close the door.

Judging by the lineups and bullpen usage, Shelty is either baseball’s greatest believer in equal opportunity or more likely, the Pirates brass has already determined that this season will be a 60-game audition for 2021.