Bryan, Starling, Corey & Pen Fuel 8-7 Comeback By Bucs

Not a great welcome back for Willy; JaCoby Jones bopped his second pitch for a stretched double.  Corey D had him dead to rights at second, but Fraze, who is having a rough week in the dirt, botched the tag. And, of course, a pitch later, a single brought the run in. That was followed by a seeing-eye knock and two outs later, another rap made it 2-0. Jordan Zimmermann spun an easy first frame. Trevo K’ed the side (8-9-1) in the second. J-Bell was bopped and Colin singled to start the Bucs off. An out later, Eli dropped a single into right to jam the sacks. Fraze struck out on three pitches, but Willy helped himself with a knock to plate Josh. K-Man fanned after a 10-pitch contest, on a curve in the dirt. An infield single opened the third for El Tigres, followed by a double off Redbeard’s glove; infield D has not been very much on display so far. It cost when a 1-2 fastball was smoked for a two-run two-bagger by Niko Goodrum. Brandon Dixon’s homer off  another fastball made it 6-1. Harold Castro banged the next pitch out of the yard, too, for his first MLB dinger (changeup this time). Then Willy K’ed the bottom of the order on 11 pitches; go figure.

Bryan Reynolds singled to open the Bucco half, then Starling walked. J-Bell popped out on the next pitch. Redbeard’s tapper moved them up with two outs in an at bat where he saw eight pitches, not a one in the strike zone. Corey D fought a nine-pitch battle with more success, doubling a pair of runs home. Both sides calmed down in the fourth frame, and it was a 1-2-3 fifth for Willy. With Nick Ramirez twirling, Bryan led off with a knock and Starling stepped into one, drilling it 419′ to make it 7-5. Redbeard added a single for effect. Ric Rod got called in for the sixth and struck out the side, with a single interspersed, the third time Buc pitchers have turned that trick. Fraze singled, and an out later was doubled to third by K-Man. It got better; Bryan took one 421′ over the left center fence and improbably, the Pirates had the lead. That brought Victor Alcantara to the hill and he doused the flames. Frankie Liriano was waved in for the seventh. With one gone, Nick Castellanos singled; he was cut down at second by Marte, with Fraze making double-dog sure of the tag this time around. That was followed by a walk but no more damage done. Blaine Hardy tossed a three up, three down frame.

Frankie opened the eighth and sat down the Tigers without a growl. Hardy didn’t miss a beat either with another clean frame. Felipe Vazquez climbed the bump, and 13 pitches later, the win was in the books. Raise the Roger.

Great comeback, but still the same ol’ holes in the ship. But it was entertaining and slowly but surely the Bucco bodies are returning to action; some decent pitching would go a long way to glossing over those cracks. Hopefully, today was just a knock-the-rust off outing for Willy. The guys should enjoy their day off before San Diego rolls into town.

Notes:

• Bryan Reynolds had three hits, scored three times and chased home three runs. Colin Moran had two raps while Starling Marte and Corey Dickerson each drove in a pair of runs. Starling also scored twice.
• The Bucs haven’t won a game when trailing by six runs since July 12th, 2008, against the  Cardinals, per Joe Block. That was a rally – the Pirates scored four times in the ninth, keyed by a three-run blast by Nate McLouth, and then fell behind in the 10th only to come back again on Jason Michael’s two-run dinger to win 12-11. 
• Clint pinch hit for Corey D in the fifth inning; looked like some major bummed out vibes from Corey on the bench.
• 18,088 was the announced crowd for tonight.
• The Wednesday injury report of guys nearing a return: Jordan Lyles will throw a rehab game Sunday. Eric Gonzalez is on schedule to begin a rehab assignment next week. Rookie Davis is making a second rehab start. Also, Cervy has been symptom-free for the past week, is doing light baseball activities, and will see a neurologist on Tuesday to see if he’s out of the woods. Keone Kela is playing catch on flat ground from 90′. None of the other wounded are on the return radar yet.
• 11th round prep pick OF Jase Bowen has signed with the Pirates, passing on his plans to play football and baseball for Michigan State. No bonus amount was mentioned; his slot value is $125,000.