PNC Park — On a day that Pirate fans were voicing their opinion about Pedro Alvarez being snubbed out of the Home Run Derby, Pedro hit one that count, but it wasn’t enough as that was the only offense in a 2 – 1 A’s victory on Tuesday night.
Gerrit Cole took the mound for the Bucs and threw his best ball of the year as he would go seven innings while only allowing two runs and striking out four. The two runs came in the fourth with two out. John Jaso would knock one past the shifting Pirate infielders for a double. Starling Marte had a chance to throw Jaso out, but his throw was wide of second.
Former Pirate, Brandon Moss would then come up and deposit a Cole changeup into the Clemente seats for the 2 – 1 lead. “He hung a changeup, he gave up two runs,” said manager, Clint Hurdle. “It was a very, very good outing, but I think he’s going to continue to grow and figure things out.”
After the Alvarez homer in the second, The Pirates had only two men reach second. Marte with two out in the second and Pedro with one out in the seventh. Both would not go any farther. Hurdle doesn’t see the team “change lanes” offensively; “We’re doing all of the work, we’re not getting the results. The challenges that the season brings — this is what one of them is.”
Final Score: Athletics 2, Pirates 1.
Worth Noting
— Pirate pitching has only given up eight hits in the two games against the A’s while only allowing four runs. They are 0 – 2 in those games. The offense is in a slump — that can be fixed.
Starters Lines:
Cole (L, 4 – 2): 7 IN, 5 H, 2 R, 2ER, 2 BB, 4 K’s, 1 HR. 90 Pitches (55 Strikes)
Straily (W, 6 – 2): 6 1/3 IN, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K’s, 1 HR. 89 Pitches (57 Strikes)
Pirates will look to avoid the sweep on national TV tomorrow at 7:05. ESPN will carry the game for the national viewers while it will be on ROOT in the Pittsburgh market.
Tomorrow’s Starters:
(LHP) Francisco Liriano: 8 – 3, 2.20 ERA (PIT)
(LHP) Tommy Milone: 8 – 7, 4.11 ERA (OAK)
Follow Travis for Pirates news and in-game updates on Twitter @TBerardi_OVA or @ovathletics
(Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar)
