The Pittsburgh Pirates spoiled Jameson Taillon’s return to PNC Park on Tuesday night, beating the former Bucco and the New York Yankees by a 5-2 score.
Taillon entered Tuesday’s game boasting a 9-1 record, but had been struggling as of late. That trend continued at PNC Park against his former club, as he suffered his second loss of the season while giving up five runs on six hits in 5.1 innings.
Jose Quintana started for Pittsburgh, giving up one run on six hits with seven strikeouts in five innings, earning his second victory of the year (2-4). David Bednar earned his 13th save of the season by pitching a scoreless ninth inning to seal the victory.
Daniel Vogelbach’s solo homerun, his 11th of the season, broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second. The Pirates took control of the game with a three run fourth inning. Jack Suwinski continued his impressive rookie campaign with a two-run homerun. The long ball, his 14th of the season, scored Bryan Reynolds to make it 3-0. Ben Gamel’s RBI double later in the inning scored Oneil Cruz to make it a 4-0 lead.
Aaron Judge got the Yankees on the board in the top of the fifth to make it 4-1. A sacrifice fly by Cruz in the bottom of the sixth completed the scoring for Pittsburgh, making it a 5-1 score. Despite an RBI single by Matt Carpenter in the eighth, the Pirates went on for the comfortable three-run victory.
This was a nice victory for the Bucs. Not only did they beat Taillon in his return to Pittsburgh, but they also performed well against the best team in baseball in front of a sellout crowd at PNC Park. They now have an opportunity to sweep the quick two game series against New York, who will send Luis Severino to the mound. The Pirates will send Mitch Keller to the bump on Wednesday.
Record vs. Yankees: 1-0
Record vs. American League: 2-6
Record at Home: 20-22
Overall Record: 33-47
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
