After dropping game one of today’s doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned a game that was close throughout and broke it open in the latter innings, beating the Tigers by a 7-2 score to earn the series split.
Ben Gamel led all Buccos with three hits, while Daniel Vogelbach had three RBIs. Jose Quintana started for Pittsburgh on the mound, and despite not earning the victory, he gave up two runs on four hits in five innings. Zach Thompson tallied his first victory of the season (1-3), while David Bednar earned his third save of the year.
The Pirates scored the game’s first run in the third inning when Bryan Reynolds’ groundball double play allowed Jake Marisnick to score. Roberto Perez’s solo homerun in the fourth gave them a 2-0 advantage.
Detroit tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. A single by Eric Haase scored a run and cut the Bucs’ lead in half, and then Robbie Grossman’s double tied things up, 2-2.
Pittsburgh scored a pair of runs in the seventh inning – one on a wild pitch and one off a sacrifice fly by Vogelbach. They broke things open in the ninth with three runs. Gamel’s single scored Marisnick to make it 5-2, and then the icing on the cake came off Vogelbach’s two run homerun to right center.
This was a nice response by the Bucs following their loss earlier in the day. After earning the series split, the Pirates will continue their road trip on Friday with the start of a three game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Despite their poor record, the Reds have been a thorn in the side of the Bucs over the years, especially in Cincinnati.
Record vs. Tigers: 1-1
Record vs. American League: 1-1
Record on the Road: 5-7
Overall Record: 10-14
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
