If you are a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates and were not able to tune in to their game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Wednesday night, you did not miss much. For the second night in a row, they did not put up much of a fight against the team with the best record in the American League. Tonight, did feature the ejection of Derek Shelton and some costly errors by the young middle infield. In the end Tampa Bay would come away with an 8-1 victory.
Pittsburgh did hold the lead early on a solo home run by Andrew McCutchen in the third inning. That lead was quickly erased as the Rays would plate three runs in the bottom half of the inning. A fielding error by Rodolfo Castro allowed Yandy Diaz to score the first run. The next two came around when Brandon Lowe doubled to center.
Two innings later a throwing error by Ji Hwan Bae would allow Francisco Mejia to cross the plate. Tampa Bay got one more run that inning on a Harold Ramirez single to left center. Josh Lowe smacked a solo dinger in the sixth and Wander Franco hit one of his own in the seventh. The final run of the night came on a Luke Raley double to left center.
Mitch Keller did not get much help from his teammates during his five innings on the mound. He would allow five runs, one earned, on five hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. Jose Hernandez was called upon in the sixth and allowed one run on one hit with one walk and two strikeouts. The final two innings were covered by Cody Bolton. Bolton gave up two runs on four hits to go along with three strikeouts.
Shane McClanahan became the first pitcher in the Majors with six wins after allowing one run on five hits over six innings. He would also strikeout nine to go with two walks. Chase Anderson picked up his first save of the year, covering the final three innings and giving up two hits with two strikeouts during that time.
The Pirates’ losing streak has now reached three, and they will need to avoid being swept in the finale tomorrow afternoon if they do not want it to reach four. Set to start in game three of the series is Vince Velazquez for Pittsburgh and Zach Eflin for the Rays. First pitch is set for 1:10pm.
Record vs. Rays: 0-2
Record vs. American League: 6-5
Record on the Road: 11-7
Overall Record: 20-11
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
