After an 8-1 blowout defeat on Friday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates took the field on Saturday looking for a strong performance from their starting pitcher…and that is exactly what they got. Jose Quintana pitched seven shutout innings as the Bucs beat the Miami Marlins 1-0 at PNC Park.
Quintana was magnificent on the mound, giving up four hits and no walks while striking out four batters. He improved to 3-5 while lowering his ERA to 3.70 for the season. The Marlins pitched by committee on Saturday, using a total of six arms on the bump. Tanner Scott suffered the loss (4-4), giving up the only run of the game.
The two teams combined for 14 hits but neither club was able to push a run across the plate until the sixth inning. Yoshi Tsutsugo singled to center field in the bottom of the sixth, scoring Ben Gamel to make it 1-0. That would be all the Bucs would need on this night.
Wil Crowe pitched a scoreless eighth inning, giving up one hit while tallying his 14th hold of the year. David Bednar came in for then ninth, walking a batter and striking out two while notching his 17th save of his All Star season.
This was a nice response from the Pirates after a difficult loss on Friday. Quintana was great on Saturday. The only question now is just how much longer will be he in a Pirates’ uniform.
The Marlins and Bucs will take the field on Sunday in the rubber match of this series. Sandy Alcantara will take the mound for Miami against Mitch Keller for Pittsburgh.
Record vs. Marlins: 3-3
Record vs. N.L. East: 7-10
Record at Home: 21-24
Overall Record: 40-55
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
