After a one-hour rain delay, the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees took the field at PNC Park for the second and final game of their series. Pittsburgh looked to sweep New York, but the Yankees showed why they currently have the best record in baseball. They used an excellent start from Luis Severino, along with six home runs to pick up a series split with a 16-0 victory.
Mitch Keller made the start for the Pirates tonight and worked six innings on the mound. During that time, he allowed four runs on ten hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. A pair of those runs crossed the plate in the fifth inning on a DJ LeMahieu single to right center. Josh Donaldson and Joey Gallo solo home runs in the sixth pushed New York’s lead to four.
Severino threw six innings tonight for the Yankees. During that time, he struck out three and allowed just four hits. New York added another run in the seventh when Kyle Higashioka hit a solo homer to center. That would come off relief pitcher Tyler Beede. Beede would also walk and strikeout two batters during his inning of work.
More damage would occur in the eighth inning. The biggest blow is when Aaron Judge crushed a 420 ft. grand slam to left. They would get one more run on a Josh Donaldson sac fly to center. All five of those runs were charged to Manny Banuelos who only lasted .1 of an inning. Chris Stratton got the other two outs, but walked two batters during that time.
The onslaught would continue in the ninth as Josh VanMeter was summoned to pitch. Aaron Hicks cranked a grand slam to left center, Giancarlo Stanton hit a solo shot to right center, and Higashioka hit an RBI single to center.
This loss was definitely a downer after a nice win on Tuesday night. This is the fourth time that Pittsburgh has been blown out mightily this season, and yet again we need to tell ourselves that it is just one loss. Hopefully Major League Baseball does something in the offseason about position players pitching, because it is an embarrassment to the game. The Pirates will now hit the road for a double header against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.
Record vs. Yankees: 1-1
Record vs. American League: 2-7
Record at Home: 20-23
Overall Record: 33-48
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
