The Pittsburgh Pirates came up short in their bid to earn a two-game series sweep of the Detroit Tigers. After falling behind early, the Bucs couldn’t muster a comeback, falling by a 6-3 score at PNC Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Osvaldo Bido suffered the loss for Pittsburgh, giving up four runs on three hits and a walk in three innings on the mound. Eduardo Rodriguez improved to 7-5 on the season, going six innings while giving up two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Tyler Holton earned his first save of the season for the Tigers after coming in and getting the final out of the game.
Detroit scored the first run of the game in the top of the first inning. Riley Greene’s ninth long ball of the season put the Tigers in front 1-0, but it would only last until the bottom of the frame. Ke’Bryan Hayes’ sacrifice fly scored Bryan Reynolds to make it 1-1.
A single by Javier Baez scored Kerry Carpenter to break the tie in the top of the fourth inning. Zack Short’s two-run single later in the inning, which proved to be the game-winning hit, scored Baez and Matt Vierling to make it a 4-1 score.
Andrew McCutchen’s RBI single in the bottom of the fifth scored Alika Williams to make it 4-2, but Short’s solid day at the plate continued in the sixth inning when he doubled home another run to make it 5-2. A solo homerun by Jake Rogers in the eighth looked as though would make it a comfortable finish to the game for the Tigers.
The Pirates did make things interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning, loading the bases with two outs. Henry Davis drew a walk, pushing the team’s third run across the plate. But Hayes struck out looking to end the game.
This was a frustrating loss for the Pirates. They had some opportunities to score more runs, but left a lot out on the field. They will hop on a plane today and begin a four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers beginning Thursday night. Mitch Keller will look for his 10th victory of the season when he takes the mound for the Bucs against Adrian Houser for Milwaukee.
Record vs. Tigers: 2-2
Record vs. American League: 14-23
Record at Home: 26-28
Overall Record: 48-59
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
