The Pittsburgh Jedi (Pirates) defeated the Seattle Sith (Mariners) tonight 10-1 on Star Wars Night at PNC Park. Here are the takeaways and throwaways from the contest.
Takeaways
- As Cole as the other side of the pillow- Starting pitcher Gerrit Cole had the Force on his side tonight on the mound for the Pirates at PNC Park. The ace of the staff for the Pirates went the distance allowing one run while striking out _ Mariners. Cole also singled and scored in his first ever complete game as a Pirate. A victim of high pitch counts and inflated walk rates this season, Cole managed to throw only 93 pitches and walked zero.
- Taking advantage of extra-base hits Pirates did- Five of the Pirates’ seven runs came as the result of extra-base hits. Josh Harrison tripled to start the third inning and was plated by a Jordy Mercer double. Andrew McCutchen replaced Mercer at second with a double of his own in the third. In the bottom half of the seventh, Jung Ho Kang doubled in Mercer, McCutchen, and Marte to break the game open for the Buccos. For the cherry on top of the extra-base sundae, McCutchen throttled a David Rollins pitch to dead center field for a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
- The glove of super-utility man S-Rod- Sean Rodriquez played a tricky PNC Park right field with ease Wednesday night for the Pirates. The jack of all trades for the Pirates showed some serious leather with a leaping grab at the warning track in the top of the seventh inning and a diving grab in the gap in the top of the eighth inning.
Throwaways
- Leaving runners on base- The Pirates may have scored ten runs, but they continue to leave runners on-base at record pace. A total of 17 Pirates were left on base with Francisco Cervelli and Kang leading the way with four and three respectively.
- Newest Mariner rocked-Drew Storen, who some thought should be a trade target for the Pirates,was rocked for four earned runs on only three hits in his debut for the Mariners. Storen, acquired by the Mariners from the Toronto Blue Jays, had his ERA balloon from 6.21 to 7.01 Wednesday night.
W – Gerrit Cole (6-6)
L – James Paxton (3-5)
Line of the Night
Tonight we will focus on the left side of the Pirates infield in Jordy Mercer and Jung Ho Kang, who both had spectacular nights.
A combines 4-9 at the plate, Mercer had three hits compared to Kang’s one, yet Kang pitched in four RBIs tying a career high for the second-year third baseman. Mercer scored three runs on his three hits with an RBI for the Pirates. Kang also wound up with a walk on the evening. Mercer’s average climbed to .282 on the season while Kang’s went to .241.
Up Next
The Pirates have Thursday off before heading to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers for a three-game series against their inter-division foe. On the mound for the Brewers will be Ju Guerra who boasts a 6-2 record with a 2.85 ERA. For the Pirates, no starter has been announced for the Friday night match-up.
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