Bucs Trip Over Selves In 7-0 Loss To Redbirds

Bryan Reynolds got an end-of-the-bat infield knock with an out off Miles Mikolas; Starling rolled into a 6-4-3 DP; they’ve been doing that a lot lately. Big Joe had consecutive 11 & nine pitch at bats. The second resulted in a two-out walk and a run when Corey D misplayed a fly (he pointed to the lights afterward), allowing a score on his two-base error. That was followed by another nine-pitch at bat; Musgrove threw 36 pitches in the opening frame – to just five hitters. He did strike out the side, but… Pittsburgh went quietly in the second; the Cards eight-hitter drew a five pitch walk to turn the order over. Three grounders, three outs for the Bucs in the third. Pirate defense…ugh. An infield single off J-Bell’s glove (and it took a review even with that) scored when a fly ball to the track in left was dropped by Dickerson (ruled a double even though it hit Corey in the glove; home cookin’ yum). They got another infield knock when Joe deflected a ball that he should have let go; even instincts are awry tonight. A sac fly made it 3-0.

The clinic continued in the fourth. Bryan Reynolds doubled with an out, just beating the tag in real life and replay. Dexter Fowler then made a sweet grab of Starling’s laser, banging off the wall, and doubled Reynolds off second; not sure if he or Joey Cora was more asleep at the wheel. The Cards went down in order. With two away in the fifth, Dickerson and Newman singled and moved up on a balk call, but weren’t cashed in. Matt Carpenter got bopped with a pitch; Jake added insult to injury by back picking him off first. A singled followed, and with two gone, Tyler O’Neill cracked a first-pitch heater into the batters eye on Big Joe’s 99th pitch. After a walk, Michael Feliz & Eli were double-switched into the game; Feliz got the third out. In the sixth, Fraze and Bryan singled to put Bucs on the corners; Starling ground into another DP. Michael fanned a pair in the Card half. Redbeard doubled in the seventh to no avail, and Kyle Crick was waved on.

He gave up a walk with two outs, and is either being inexplicably squeezed by plate ump Gary Cederstrom or Eli is carrying his slider outside the zone; we opt for Eli. It cost when O’Neill drilled his second homer of the day. After a single (on Crick’s 24th pitch), Luis Escobar answered the phone and plunked the next batter before a comebacker shut the gate. JHK opened the eighth with a rap and went to second when the ball was bobbled. He did make it to third, but no further. Escobar gave up a one-out single to Mikolas, but a liner to short was turned into a DP to bring it to the ninth.

Sad little game. Bad fielding & running, DP’s, no walks, and 0-for-8 w/RISP. The Bucco mojo better return pretty quickly if they’d like to remain relevant.

Notes:

• Bryan Reynolds had three hits; the Pirates had eight in all.
• J-Bell is 6-of-35 in his last 10 games with 11K in his last 22 AB’s.
• Starling had RISP three times (he led off in his final at bat) and ended all three innings with DP’s – two garden variety grounders and the other when his drive was tracked down at the wall and caught Reynolds too far gone off second.
• In 20 starts, the only team that has drawn more than two walks in a game off Joe Musgrove are the Cards; they did it both times they’ve faced him.
• Miles Mikolas came within a pitch of a Maddux, shutting out the Bucs on exactly 100 tosses.
• Tyler O’Neill had one one homer going into the AS break; he’s hit three in three games since.
• Keone Kela isn’t, by the looks of it, gonna jump right back into action. He faced four batters rehabbing at Indy and gave up a walk, double and homer.