Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – 10th Avenue Freese Out

In a back and forth affair that went into extras in Cincinnati, the Pittsburgh Pirates take one tonight against the Cincinnati Reds 9 – 7 in 10 innings.

The first of four games between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds could have been easier for the battling Bucs, but these guys are in their element when they’re grinding out wins. And win they did, with singles by Jordy Mercer and David Freese in the 10th.

Takeaways

• Productive First Inning – Andrew McCutchen, the two-homer hero from last night got things started with a double that scored Josh Bell. Gregory Polanco followed that with his first homer since August 29 to bring the score to 3-0 for Ryan Vogelsong to first take the mound.
• Kang stays hot! After a brief respite last night, the Korean third baseman Jung Ho Kang knocked a two-run homer out of the park in the seventh, tying the game for the Bucs at 6-6. His stint on the DL must have been some sort of vision quest given the difference in his game since returning.
• BONUS – The Bullpen, which took over with one out left in the 4th did its job for the Buccos tonight – shutting down the Reds (save that homer in the 10th on Watson) and bringing the team a much-needed W.

Throwaways

• The Fifth Inning – An error by Vogelsong (see above) and a “misplay” by McCutchen in the outfield on a Scott Schebler triple gave the Reds two runs on the Bucs, bringing the score to 6-4.
• Umpire reviews in the 10th – The Reds burnt their challenge in the first and still got to “request” reviews on Francisco Cervelli at first and Sean Rodriguez’s slide home. Why even have the challenges if you can do this?

W – Antonio Bastardo (3-0)
L – Tony Cingrani (2-5)
S – Tony Watson 13

Line of the Night
In the quiet fashion he’s observed all season, Gregory Polanco worked tonight against the Reds. In 5 at-bats, he scored 2 runs, had 2 hits and 2 RBIs. If he’s still maturing, there’s some good baseball ahead for the Bucs.

Player of the Game

Hop on over to our twitter feed to cast your vote for tonight’s Player Of The Game!

#RaiseIt The Pirates win in extras 9-7 over the Reds. Who is your player of the game?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) September 17, 2016

Next Up

The Bucs and Reds will face off in an old-fashioned double header tomorrow with the first game slated at 12:10 with Jameson Taillon (3-4) facing the hot Anthony DeSclafani (8-3). Trevor Williams (1-1) minds the mound for the Bucs in the second game, taking on Brandon Finnegan (9-10) at 6:10 p.m.