Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways-In A Gada DeSclafani

The Pittsburgh Pirates return to PNC and win-it walk-off style.

The Buccos returned to PNC Park with their collective tails between their legs after a royal spanking on their 1 – 5 road trip to Milwaukee and Atlanta earlier this week. They got things off to a better start tonight with a 3-2 walk-off win over the Reds.

Takeaways

• Good Old-Fashioned Baseball – From two outrageous plays by Josh Harrison in the 2nd and 3rd innings to a perfectly executed suicide squeeze by Jordy Mercer and John Jaso, the Pirates got back to playing old school baseball tonight – and it was good.
• Cutch on Base – Andrew McCutchen was back in the line-up tonight, batting third. While he didn’t get a lot moving bat-wise, he did get on base via walks a couple of times. It’s a positive sign, especially against Anthony DeSclafani – at least he’s not striking out.
• Honorable Mention: Sean Rodriguez with the game-winning, walk-off home run. Wow did he have what the Pirates needed when they needed it.

Throwaways

• This is not the time for Matt Joyce to go into a slump. He struck out twice in 3 at bats. The Pirates need his bat hot to make this run.
• Cancer – I could write about quiet bats again, or runners left in scoring position, Watson’s allowing the tying run to score, or a multitude of other issues we saw in this game. But tonight was Stand Up To Cancer night at PNC Park and between the top and the bottom of the 7th, everyone was encouraged to hold up a sign identifying someone in their lives who has been affected by cancer. It was a powerful moment as the signs were raised in the 30,000+ seats, and players for both the Pirates and Reds came out of the dugouts and bullpens to hold up their signs. Let that serve as a reminder that while we all take baseball pretty seriously – there are real people fighting, not for a wildcard spot, but their lives right now.

W – Tony Watson (2-3)
L – Ross Ohlendorf (5-6)

Line of The Night
Jameson Taillon went 6 innings, giving up 6 hits, 1 run, 1 walk (a rarity for him) and had 6 strikeouts. I swear if this team could just get him some runs, he’d be so set.

Next Up
Pirates fans get their first look at trade acquisition Ivan Nova (7-6) as the Bucs take on the Reds in the second of this three-game series at 7:05 p.m. Homer Bailey (1-0) gets the start for the Reds.