In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
With the playoffs out of reach it would be nice to see this Pirates team finish with a winning record.
The Bucs took another step towards that Wednesday night with their second consecutive walk-off win, this time a 2-1 victory in 11 innings.
Just like Monday night when third-string catcher Jacob Stallings delivered a walk-off hit, Tuesday it was another backup catcher coming through in the clutch.
Fourth-string catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who was getting just his second MLB at bat of the season, came through with the game winning pinch-hit single in the 11th to score Starling Marte.
The big story was Jameson Taillon again, who went seven shutout innings, striking out a career-high 11 batters. It marked the 20th consecutive start that Taillon has allowed three or fewer runs.
It looked like Taillon would get the win after Colin Moran homered in the bottom of the seventh to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead.
However Felipe Vazquez coughed up the lead in the ninth when pinch hitter Hunter Dozier tied the game with a double.
Vazquez had not blown a save since May 31, a string of 24 consecutive saves converted.
Kyle Crick pitched a scoreless 11th to earn the win.
With the win the Bucs improved to two games over .500 at 76-74. They’ve now won 10 of their past 13.
Gunned down at the plate
The win was made possible by the Pirates throwing out a pair of runners at the plate.
It looked like the Royals would get to Taillon in the seventh, but the inning ended when Pablo Reyes, starting in right field, threw out Ryan O’Hearn at the plate.
Reyes’ throw was up the line, but Francisco Cervelli made a great diving tag to get the Bucs out of the inning.
Then in the ninth, on Dozier’s game-tying double, Jordan Luplow made a solid relay throw to Jordy Mercer, who gunned down Salvador Perez trying to score from first.
Another Marte blunder
The Pirates had a chance to win in the ninth with Marte on third and Josh Bell on second with Adam Frazier coming up to pinch hit.
Frazier grounded back to the pitcher and for some reason Marte jogged home. The ball was in KC pitcher Tim Hill‘s glove before Marte started to move.
The contact play wasn’t on and Marte didn’t bother to get in a rundown.
It’s just another inexcusable mental error that nearly cost the Pirates a game.
Up Next
The Pirates will go for the three-game sweep today as they look for something positive from starter Chris Archer (4-8, 4.66 ERA).
He will be opposed by Kansas City’s Heath Fillmyer (3-1, 4.76 ERA), who has allowed 10 runs over his past two outings.
Baseball Talk on the Web
- Tampa’s Blake Snell has milestone night
- Dodgers Chris Taylor‘s walk-off HR pads LA’s division lead
- Cubs closer Brandon Morrow out for the season
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