The Pittsburgh Pirates offense was barely visible today in their finale with the Minnesota Twins. For the second day in a row they were no hit thru six innings, but unlike yesterday they were never able to get things going. Minnesota would use two runs to earn a 2-0 win and series victory on Sunday afternoon.
Edouard Julien was the man with all the offense today. In the fourth inning he would hit a sac fly to bring in Donovan Solano. That would be enough to win the game, but he would bring in Solano again in the sixth, this time on a double to left center. Pittsburgh picked up two hits on the day, both from Bryan Reynolds.
It was a bullpen day for the Pirates and Ryan Boruycki would work the first two innings. He would strike out three batters during that time. Osvaldo Bido was tagged with the loss after allowing two runs on four hits over 3.1 innings. He would also strike out six during that time. Jose Hernanadez allowed a hit and picked up a strikeout while collecting the last two outs of the sixth. The seventh inning belonged to Dauri Moreta and he would strikeout three and walk one. Colin Shelby worked a scoreless eighth, striking out the side.
Dallas Keuchel earned his first win of the year pitching for the Twins. He struck out three and allowed just one hit over 6.1 innings. Griffin Jax finished off the seventh with two strikeouts before Caleb Theilbar worked the eighth, walking one. Jhoan Duran picked up his 23rd save of the year after striking out two and giving up one hit in the ninth.
Today’s loss falls squarely on the offense of Pittsburgh. The pitching only gave up two runs on five hits, which should be good enough to win on the majority of nights. The Pirates will return to PNC Park on Monday night to begin a seven game homestand. The first three of those games will be against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Record vs. Twins: 1-2
Record vs. American League: 15-25
Record on the Road: 26-37
Overall Record: 55-69
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
