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The Pirates bounced back nicely Wednesday night after Tuesday tough loss with a 6-2 win against visiting Tampa.
The Bucs jumped all over Rays’ starter Blake Snell scoring four runs in the first inning and although Pirates starter Ivan Nova didn’t have his best stuff for the second consecutive outing, he battled enough to make the early lead stand up.
The story of the game though was the performance of the Pirates rookies, most notably Josh Bell, Elias Diaz and Jose Osuna.
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Bell clubbed his team-leading 15th homer. He tied a Pirates rookie record by reaching 15 home runs before the All-Star break. That hasn’t been accomplished since Ralph Kiner did so in 1946.
Diaz added a pair of hits and two RBI and Osuna doubled twice and drove in two as the three youngsters powered the Pirates offense.
Who knows if all three guys will be in the lineup when the series resumes tonight. It’s doubtful, but for one night at least we got a look at what all three youngsters can do in the lineup together.
Speaking of tonight, runs could be at a premium with a great pitchers duel on tap.
Jameson Taillon (3-2, 3.33) gets the nod for the Bucs. He will be opposed by Rays’ ace Chris Archer (6-4, 3.88 ERA), who will attempt to win his third consecutive game.
Bullpen comes through
This shouldn’t be newsworthy, but given the Pirates bullpen struggles this season it is.
With Nova only going five innings, the Pirates bullpen needed to throw up some zeroes and for one night everything worked out.
The combination of Tony Watson, Daniel Hudson, Juan Nicasio and Felipe Rivero tossed four shutout innings, allowing just three combibed hits while walking one.
Sadly though Clint Hurdle once again had to use Rivero in a non-save situation, but the Pirates were able to come away with the win.
Umpire saves life
In a story that is making national news, last night’s home plate umpire John Tumpane was able to stop a woman from attempting to jump off the Clemente Bridge.
If you haven’t read the story yet, check out the coverage from Stephen Nesbitt and Steph Chambers of the Post-Gazette.
Tumpane turned out to be the real MVP of Wednesday night.
Baseball Talk on the Web
- Cubs’ Kris Bryant injures ankle
- Is Wilson Ramos enough to keep the Rays in contention?
- Who should make the All-Star teams according to the stats?
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