The Pittsburgh Pirates evened their weekend series with the Los Angeles Angels with a 3-0 victory on Saturday night.
The Buccos pitched by committee on Saturday, as reliever Ryan Borucki made the start. He went 1.2 innings without giving up a hit or a walk before handing the ball to Osvaldo Bido. He lasted three innings, giving up four hits and striking out three batters while earning the victory (2-1). Pittsburgh used five pitchers total, including David Bednar, who tallied his 19th save of the season despite walking two batters in the ninth to make things interesting.
Reid Detmers took the loss for the Angels, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks while striking out nine batters. On a day after the two teams combined for 13 runs, they totaled 12 hits between them on Saturday.
The Pirates broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with a pair of runs on Detmers. Bryan Reynolds singled to center field, scoring Connor Joe from second base to put the game’s first run on the board. Carlos Santana followed with a RBI double to left field, scoring Reynolds to make it 2-0. Endy Rodriguez hit his first MLB homerun, a solo shot to center field, in the top of the sixth inning, to complete the scoring. The Bucs were able to keep the Angels off the scoreboard for the rest of the game, securing the shutout victory, despite a shaky appearance from Bednar, who loaded the bases with just one out. He was able to induce a ground ball double play to end the game.
This was a nice response by this Pirates’ team. One day after giving up eight runs, they battled their way through this Angels lineup without giving up a single run, which included getting out of some tight jams. The Pirates will look to win this series on Sunday afternoon. They will hand the ball to Mitch Keller, who is coming off his worst performance of the season. Tyler Anderson will be on the mound for Los Angeles. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07pm.
Record vs. Angels: 1-1
Record vs. American League: 13-21
Record on the Road: 20-29
Overall Record: 43-55
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
