The Pittsburgh Pirates did something on Sunday that had only been done six times in Major League Baseball since 1901. They won a baseball game without tallying a hit.
Despite being no-hit this afternoon at PNC Park, the Pirates scored a run in the bottom of the eighth inning and beat the Cincinnati Reds by a 1-0 score.
This game was a pitchers’ duel to its score, as both teams couldn’t muster any offense against their opposing starters. Jose Quintana gave up three hits and one walk in seven innings of work. Chris Stratton earned the victory (2-1) by pitching a scoreless eighth, and David Bednar tallied his seventh save of the season.
But the real head scratching performance was from Reds’ pitcher Hunter Greene, who suffered the loss (1-6) despite throwing 7.1 innings of no-hit baseball. What did happen to him, though, was control issues. He threw 118 pitches on Sunday, striking out nine batters but also walking five. Two of those walks came in the bottom of the eighth, which turned out to be the difference in the game.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Rodolfo Castro drew a walk, and Michael Perez was also walked, putting runners at first and second. That would spell the end of the day for Greene, who was pulled from the game without giving up a hit. His replacement, Art Warren, walked Ben Gamel to load the bases with just one out.
The game-winning play for Pittsburgh came off the bat of Ke’Bryan Hayes, who smacked a ground ball to second base. Gamel was thrown out at second, but the Reds couldn’t turn the double play, as Hayes beat out the throw to first base. Castro scored the game’s only run, and the Bednar shut things down in the ninth to secure the victory.
This was an incredibly rare outcome from a historical standpoint for Pittsburgh. The Bucs found a way to win this game without tallying a single hit! After losing the first two games of this series, this team responded for two straight victories, salvaging a weekend that could have been absolutely terrible.
Pittsburgh will hit the road to kick off their road trip on Monday when they take the field for the first of three games against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Record vs. Reds: 3-4
Record vs. N.L. Central: 8-14
Record at Home: 9-10
Overall Record: 15-19
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
