Ryan Lavarnway's Turn To Walk It Off In 2-1 Win Over KC In 11 Innings

Alex Gordon stayed on fire, doubling off Jamo with two gone in the opening frame, but he made the only noise. Starling legged out a one-out softie to third but was quickly picked off, breaking for second a step too soon on Eric Skoglund, tho he did almost beat the tag. Pity, as J-Bell followed with a two-bagger (thanks to a sweet Houdini slide) and was left aboard. The Royals took a two down walk in the second. The Bucs went in order, with J-Low and J-Hay smoking liners into outfield gloves. Jamo tossed a clean third and lookin’ sharp with his K total up to five. Jordy lasered a ball to short to open; the last three Pirates outs have been 100, 99 & 101 MPH off the bat. Mercer drew the fans’ wrath when his ball popped out of the mitt, but he was doggin’ it up the line and was easy pickings. With two gone, Pablo singled and Starling lined out; those balls were clocked at 99 & 101 MPH. Bad ball luck and bad running have bitten the Bucs early. JT’s dealing, striking out the side in the fourth; Pittsburgh put three garden-variety balls in the air. Brian Goodwin broke the spell with a one-out single in the fifth, but no ado followed. There wasn’t a peep from the Pirates in their half; Skoglund is working in his off speed stuff and slowing down the bats.

It was 1-2-3 for KC in the sixth. A one-out boot on a hard shot to third allowed Pablo to reach but it didn’t help the cause. Ryan O’Hearn dumped a single into left with one away in the seventh, beating the shift, followed by a double shot up the 3B line. Jamo was visited by Justin Meccage and stayed on the bump. He got a fly to right, and Pablo gunned it home. The throw was up the line, but a great tag was slapped on the Royal by Cervy as O’Hearn tried a step-around move. Brandon Maurer took the ball. With two outs, Red Beard hit for Joey O and dropped a fastball over the RC wall; quite the turn of the worm this inning. Ric Rod got the eighth inning call; Jamo gave up four hits and fanned 11 on 104 pitches in a gem of an outing. After two whiffs, RR lost Whit Merrifield after being up 0-2, then came back to collect his third punch out. Jason Hammel climbed the bump and after two hard outs – Pirates balls in the air seem to be magnetized to Royal mitts tonight – Pablo singled and stole second for a heartbeat; it was overturned on a challenge.

That brought in Felipe Vazquez without much safety net in the ninth. A whiff was followed by an eagle-eye walk and a knock. A punchout was followed by a first-pitch double by Hunter Dozier, hunting and getting a heater, that tied the score 1-1; but a J-Low-to-Jordy-to-Cervy relay cut down the back runner to keep it knotted. Hammel stayed on and Starling singled to start it off. A J-Bell knock moved Marte to second. Cervy bunted them up. Tim Hill was beckoned to the bump, and Fraze grabbed a stick to set up a lefty mano-a-mano. Hill won; Starling was caught at home on a contact play when Fraze tapped back to the hill. Marte ran into the out instead of getting into a run down, leaving J-Bell frozen at second. Eli made his first appearance of the month since getting off the DL and righty Jake Newberry took the ball. Diaz walked to load the sacks. J-Hay was late on a heater and his can of corn to right took it extra innings. Edgar Santana was waved in for the 10th inning and gave up a two-out knock before serving up the third out. Burch Smith was called to the moundand tossed a clean frame.

Kyle Crick jogged in for the 11th and tossed a quiet frame. Starling bounced one off Smith and outpaced the ricochet to first for an infield knock. J-Bell walked, and a two-strike passed ball moved the pair up. Cervy struck out as he tried to hold upon a high heater and looked like he did, except to the ump. Fraze was intentionally passed and Ryan Lavarnway got to swing. He swung it good, too, singling home Marte for the Bucs second straight walk off. RTJR.

Apparently what the Pirates need are more back-up catchers on the roster, lol. It was a pity to waste such a dominating start by Jamo, but the end result worked out. The Pirates were snake-bit early when nothing would drop, but some great tossing – by the pitchers and outfielders – kept it together until they could eke out a couple of runs. Now to go for the sweep tomorrow…

Notes:

• The top three in the order (Pablo, Starling and J-Bell) went 7-for-14 with a walk. The rest of the team had two hits and two walks, with Moran’s tater being the key rap.
• The Nightmare’s streak of 24 straight save opportunities converted was snapped tonight. His last blown save was on May 31st versus the Redbirds.
• Colin Moran’s dinger was his first big league pinch hit homer.
• Jamo’s 11 K is his career high, topping his July 12th against the Brew Crew when he had 10 whiffs. The Buc hurlers fanned 17 Royals, with everyone but Santana notching a K.
• Another slow night at the yard – 11,566 was the paid attendance.
• With the annual funding cycle done, Pirates Charities have distributed 34 “Fields for Kids” matching grants in 2018, with 22 grants between $1,000 and $5,000 being awarded to area nonprofits, 11 grants of between $5,000 and $10,000 distributed, and one $25,000 grant awarded. The money is used for Tri-State youth leagues to improve their facilities. The Kids’ Fields funding is separate from the Miracle Leagues’ support, which takes in eight ML programs.