Takeaways And Throwaways – Pittsburgh Pirates win 10-4, take series against Washington

The Pittsburgh Pirates….

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FINAL: Pittsburgh Pirates 10, Washington Nationals 4

W –  Tyler Glasnow (2-3)  L –  Tanner Roark (3-2)

Takeaways

• Josh Bell‘s home run barrage continued in the first inning when he knocked his ninth home run of the season into the right field seats. This was Bell’s fourth home run in his last six games and he is fitting in very nicely in the clean up spot of the order. As a rookie in 2010, Neil Walker hit 12 home runs from both sides of the plate, and with the hot streak Bell is on now, he could match that total by the end of the month.
• Adam Frazier is wasting no time in bringing the offense since he returned from his injury. He collected three hits (two singles and a double) and drove in four runs on the afternoon. At this point Clint Hurdle needs to find a way to get Frazier into the lineup everyday. He is a great option to fill the lead off spot going forward.
• Bryce Harper is one of the hottest hitters on the game right now, but the Pirates were able to shut him down on Thursday. He was hitless and struck out twice against Tyler Glasnow and once against Felipe Rivero.

Throwaways

• Glasnow looked like he was going to be able to get out of the third inning by limiting the damage to just one run, but was unable to do so. With two outs and the Tanner Roark batting, the pitcher hit a weak groundball to Glasnow. Glasnow’s throw was wide to first, and while Bell was able to apply the tag to the helmet of Roark, the ball came out of Bell’s glove. Two runs scored to tie the game but fortunately he was able to get the next hitter to fly out to right field.

Line of the Afternoon:

Even though he did not register a quality start, today’s outing was a good game for Glasnow. He allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits. However, the 87 pitches that he needed to complete five innings is one of the reasons he was lifted. He also walked three, so his control issues still popped up throughout the game but were usually contained to an at-bat here and there. This is evident in that he did throw 57 strikes out of the 87 total pitches. He did a great job getting ahead of the hitters, as he threw first pitch strikes to the majority of the hitters he faced. Glasnow’s next start is scheduled for Tuesday in Atlanta.

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The #Pirates beat the Nationals 10-4 and secure a series victory. Who is your player of the game?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) May 18, 2017

Up next

The cross state rival Philadephia Phillies (14-23) come to PNC Park to start a three game weekend series on Friday at 7:05pm. The Pirates will send Trevor Williams (2-2, 6.41) to the mound while the Phillies will counter with Jeremy Hellickson (4-1, 3.71). Williams bounced back in Arizona after a disastrous outing in Los Angeles, limiting the Diamondbacks to one run on four hits and a walk over five innings. He also struck out four and should continue to starting opportunities if he can improve on his most recent start. Hellickson has not pitched six innings since April 27th and has only struck out eight hitters in his last 19 innings over four starts.