The Pittsburgh Pirates rallied from four runs down to beat the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday afternoon at PNC Park. The victory ended the Bucs’ five-game losing streak and avoided their second consecutive series sweep at home.
After trailing 4-0 heading to the bottom of the fifth, Pittsburgh scored a pair in the bottom half of that inning and put up a five-spot in the seventh to end their skid and avoid their third straight loss to the Guardians.
Rich Hill started for the Bucs, giving up four runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings. Ryan Borucki earned his first victory of the year, while David Bednar tallied his 18th save of the season.
The Indians broke the scoreless tie the fourth inning with a run, and then added three more in the top of the fifth. A two-run double by Amed Rosario was followed by a RBI single from Josh Bell, making it 4-0.
The Pirates cut the lead in half with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by a RBI single by Nick Gonzales and a RBI double from Jack Suwinski.
The clutch hitting continued in the seventh for Pittsburgh, which ultimately ended up being the difference in the game. Bryan Reynolds beat out a ground ball to avoid a double play with the bases loaded, allowing Gonzales to score to make it a 4-3 game. Later in the inning, Ji Man Choi delivered a huge two-run single to right field, making it 5-4. After a long battle at the plate, Jared Triolo singled home a pair of runs to make it 7-4. Bell hit a solo homerun in the top of the eighth to cut the Pirates’ lead to 7-5, but that would be as close as Cleveland would get.
This was a much-needed victory for this Pirates’ team that had been outscored 21-1 in the first two games of this series. After falling behind by four runs in this game, it was difficult not to feel as though the same thing could happen again today. But the Bucs responded and came through with some hits in key situations.
After a day off on Thursday, the Pirates will be on the west coast, beginning with a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night. Johan Oviedo is scheduled to start for Pittsburgh. First pitch is scheduled for 9:38pm.
Record vs. Guardians: 1-2
Record vs. American League: 12-20
Record at Home: 23-26
Overall Record: 42-54
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
