The Pittsburgh Pirates won clinched their third straight series victory on Sunday afternoon after beating the Minnesota Twins by a 6-2 score. The Bucs are now 11-11 on the season, and after a dreadful 1-6 start to begin the season, they have now gone 10-5 with completed a 6-3 road trip.
Wil Crowe started for Pittsburgh today, giving up one run on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts in his four innings on the mound. The bullpen took it from there, pitching the final five innings of the game. Chris Stratton struggled again, giving up a run on three hits in his two innings, while Clay Holmes earned the victory.
The Bucs jumped out in front early with two runs in the first inning. Bryan Reynolds’ double scored Adam Frazier to put them in front 1-0, and their second run came on a sacrifice fly by Colin Moran.
Byron Buxton’s RBI single in the bottom of the first inning cut the Pirates’ lead in half, and it remained a one-run game until the seventh inning, when the game was broken open.
Kevin Newman singled home Gregory Polanco to make it 3-1 Pittsburgh, followed by a single from Frazier and a double from Reynolds made it 5-1. Polanco added some insurance with a solo homerun in the eighth. Nelson Cruz homered for Minnesota in the bottom of the eighth, but it was far too little, far too late for the Twins. The Pirates went on to win the game handily.
This was yet another impressive victory for this Pirates team. After a terrible start to the year, they have played good baseball. With today’s win, they pull even at 11-11 on the year, and are just a game under the .500 mark on the road.
After a day off on Monday, the Bucs will return home to PNC Park to kick off a quick two game series against the Kansas City Royals. Jakob Junis will take the mound for the Royals against Tyler Anderson for Pittsburgh.
Record vs. Twins: 2-1
Record vs. American League: 4-2
Record on the Road: 7-8
Overall Record: 11-11
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
