The Pittsburgh Pirates finally get back in the win column, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3.
Welcome to Takeaways & Throwaways. Shortly after every Pittsburgh Pirates game, come to Pirates Breakdown to see our flash recap format. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about the game, without making you read the same boring recap you can see anywhere else.
FINAL: Pittsburgh Pirates 4, Arizona Diamondbacks 3
Takeaways
- Trevor Williams was pitching at a noticeably faster pace tonight as opposed to his last disastrous start against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was ready to pitch within seconds of getting the ball back from Francisco Cervelli. Also, his fast ball seemed to have more sink on it tonight, creating seven ground ball outs. He was lifted in the top of the 6th for pinch hitter John Jaso but he is the one who put the Pirates in position to win this game.
- Josh Harrison hit a double in the top of the 5th and when Arizona center fielder Gregor Blanco made a poor throw to the relay man, Harrison took advantage and scrambled to third. Andrew McCutchen then drove him in with a double of his own. Harrison was 2-for-4 on the night and is hitting .297 on the season.
- After so many bad breaks over their six game losing streak, the Pirates finally had a few go their way tonight. Gregory Polanco led off the fourth inning with a dribbler down the third base line that rolled to a stop in the infield. Then David Freese hit a hard ground ball up the middle. right at the shifted D’Backs shortstop. The ball would have likely been a double play had it not caromed off pitcher Taijuan Walker‘s leg. Instead of bases empty, two outs it was first and third, no outs. After a Josh Bell walk, Fransisco Cervelli hit into a double play, scoring Polanco. Then Trevor Williams hit an easy grounder to second baseman Brandon Drury, who mishandled it, allowing Freese to score. All in all, the Pirates plated two runs in the inning when they should have got zero.
Throwaways
- David Freese had a single in the fourth inning, but struck out in his other three at-bats. Before he went on the DL, Freese was doing a good job of limiting his strikeouts. He only had 8 Ks in the entire month of April, yet he’s had 5 in his last two games alone. Hopefully he will round back into form with a few more games under his belt.
- Tony Watson gave up a ninth inning home run to Nick Ahmed. It was Ahmed’s second dinger of the night. Luckily the Pirates were up by two and still came away with the win.
Line Of the Night
Trevor Williams: 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 Ks and a walk
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The Pirates get back in the Win Column. Who was your Player of the Game?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) May 14, 2017
Up Next
The Pirates and the Diamondbacks play the fourth and final game of their series Sunday afternoon. Ivan Nova leads the charge for the Pittsburgh Pirates while left-hander Robbie Ray throws for Arizona. Nova’s ERA is 2.23 and almost 2 full runs better than Ray’s at 4.14. Right-handed hitters Jordy Mercer, Josh Harrison, David Freese and Andrew McCutchen are a combined 8-for-18 against Ray.
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