In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pittsburgh Pirates got on a bit of a hot streak over the weekend winning three straight games and their first series in over a month.
That all came to an end on Sunday in an 8-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park.
Pirates starter Joe Musgrove wasn’t sharp after the second inning as he lost his command for the first time in a Pirates uniform and his velocity dipped a bit. Hopefully it’s nothing to worry about and it was just the heat that played a factor.
Musgrove was charged with six runs in 4.1 innings with a walk and six strikeouts.
Cincinnati scored two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth and that was all they really needed.
Eugenio Suarez homered in the second straight game and Joey Votto drove in a pair of runs.Scott Schebler added three RBI for Cincinnati.
Colin Moran homered again for the Bucs to make it 1-0, but they quickly found themselves down 6-1.
Gregory Polanco homered for the first time in ages to make it 6-2 in the fifth.
The Pirates added a pair in the seventh on RBI singles by David Freese and Josh Harrison and pulled within a run on a Polanco double in the eight, but the tying run in Josh Bell was thrown out at home plate.
Schebler homered off of Edgar Santana in the ninth to give the Reds some insurance runs.
Pirate Killer is back
Traditional Pirates killer Billy Hamilton got back to his old ways and made a huge impact on Sunday.
Hamilton went 3-for-4, stole two bases, scored three times and made a pair of huge defensive plays.
He robbed Francisco Cervelli of extra bases early in the game with a diving catch and made a strong relay throw which ended up gunning Bell down at home plate in the eighth.
The Bucs have had plenty of success against the Reds this season and Sunday was the first game that Hamilton made any sort of impact, so that’s a positive.
Polanco coming around?
Similar to Hamilton, the struggling Polanco started to come out of his funk.
Polanco went 3-for-3 with a homer and double, raising his average to .211.
It will be worth paying attention to him to see if he can develop some consistency at the plate.
Up Next
The Bucs continue their 10-game homestand with a three-game set against the division leading Milwaukee Brewers for the first time this season.
The struggling Trevor Williams (5-4, 4.38 ERA) gets the ball for the Pirates. He will be opposed by Milwaukee’s Jhoulys Chacin (6-1, 3.32) in the opener.
The Bucs are back to a game under .500 and trail the division-leading Brewers by seven games in the standings.
#Bucsin280
Back under .500 as the #Pirates lose 8-6 to the #Reds. Musgrove was ineffective, giving up 6 over 4.1. Santana gave up 2 more to seal the team’s fate. Moran and Polanco homered. Polanco was on base all 4 times. A Father’s Day comeback was brewing but was not to be. #BUCSin280
— Pirates Breakdown (@piratebreakdown) June 17, 2018
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