Albie, Bravos Start Fast And Add On In 6-1 Victory

Today’s Game: The Bucs collected a pair of infield knocks against Bryse Wilson, but the two balls they squared up on didn’t find grass and they put up a zero. Ronald Acuna led off with a homer on Mitch Keller’s first offering; a single, stolen base and another rap made it 2-0. A leadoff walk to Will Craig in the second was erased on a 4-6-3 DP; another roller made it a 1-2-3 frame. The Bravo’s eighth hitter singled and Kells then bopped the pitcher in the hand before a two-out knock made it 3-0. Michael Perez got the run back with a dinger to RC on the second pitch of the third. Mitch tossed a clean frame. The Pirates again banged a couple of balls on the nose with no success in the fourth. The Bravo pitcher had a two-out rap but no damage done. 

The bottom of the Bucco order went down without a peep in the fifth. A leadoff walk and Ozzie Albie bomb, again off the first pitch, built the Braves’ lead to 5-1. Nada from Pittsburgh in the sixth. Chris Stratton climbed the slope and fired a quiet frame. The Pirates alternated two hits between two outs, bringing on AJ Minter, who put a quick end to the seventh. Sam Howard walked the first batter, coaxed a DP ball, and then served up Albies’ second homer as the beat went on. Tyler Matzek, who worked through a walk and knock, spun a goose egg eighth. Luis Oviedo got the call and issued a free pass, followed by a pair of K in a nice inning of work. Luke Jackson scaled the bump to deliver the final rites, and he stranded a pair to finish up the 6-1 win.

Touching them all beats a base-at-a-time, we’re learning. As for Kell, five runs and six K in five frames are the story of his season.

Notes:

• Bryan Reynolds and Wilmer Difo each had a pair of hits; Will Craig had a knock and drew a pair of walks.
• C Michael Perez is 0-for-9 while behind the dish in the caught stealing department. On the plus side, his homer broke an 0-for-26 streak at bat.
• Adam Frazier entered today ranked first in the NL in hits (59) and third in batting (.339). Bryan Reynolds also led all NL-CF’s in slugging percentage (.511) and OPS (.980).
• Carson Fulmer, who the Bucs lost when they picked up Duane Underwood, was DFA’ed by the Reds.
• Fallout from Friday night:  The Pirates let in 20 runs in a game for the first time since being blanked 20-0 by the Brewers on April 22nd, 2010, at PNC Park while the seven home runs surrendered were the most since allowing seven on July 8th, 1956, in the opener of a double dip at the New York Giants (the club record is eight from August 30th, 1953, in the lidlifter of a twin bill vs. the Milwaukee Braves). Last night also marked the second time since 1900 that the Pirates allowed two grand slams in the same game. The other time it happened was on July 29th, 1955, at Cincinnati. (S/O to the Elias Sports Bureau and the Pirates PR department.)

Tomorrow’s Game: The closing game starts at 1:20 and will be on AT&T SportsNet & 93.7 The Fan. JT Brubaker takes on Max Fried in the finale.