The Pittsburgh Pirates were unable to win their first game at the new home of the Atlanta Braves, losing 5-2 on a rainy Monday evening.
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FINAL: Atlanta Braves 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 2
W – Mike Foltynewicz (3-4) L – Gerrit Cole (2-5) S – Jim Johnson (9)
Takeaways
- In the third inning, the Braves seem to pitch around Adam Frazier with Jordy Mercer on second after Gerrit Cole laid down a successful sacrifice bunt. Josh Harrison chopped the ball to Dansby Swanson, who made a bad throw to first. Mercer scored, Frazier and Harrison advanced to third and second. Even though Josh Bell grounded out to end the inning with two men in scoring position, at least the Pirates were able plate on run on the poor decision by the Braves.
- In the bottom of the fourth, Cole was able to work out of a bases loaded jam by striking out Dansby Swanson and getting Mike Foltynewicz to ground out to end the inning. This was an example of the type of pitcher Cole can be when he needs to turn it out and get out of a tough situation. In the at-bat against Swanson, Cole even dialed his fastball up to 99 MPH.
- Jhan Marinez, who was recently claimed off waiver from the Milwaukee Brewers, had a decent, if unspectacular, debut with his new club. He pitched two and two thirds innings and didn’t allow a run on two hits and two walks. He threw 24 of his 38 pitches for strikes but did not record a strikeout.
Throwaways
- Cole had a rough first inning and was visibly frustrated as the inning wore on. He needed 31 pitches to get out of the inning and was very fortunate that he did not give up any runs. This led to an elevated pitch count as he needed 100 pitches and wasn’t able to complete five innings.
- Cole’s night in general was not very good. He allowed two home runs, including an absolute no doubter to Matt Adams. He allowed five runs on ten hits and a walk to go along with just two strikeouts. All in all, an off night for Cole that he’ll look to put behind him in his next start which is scheduled for Saturday against the New York Mets.
- Phil Cuzzi’s strike zone was certainly an issue in Monday’s game. He was pretty inconsistent all night, particularly that he was calling strikes on pitches well off the bottom far side of the plate against right handed hitters. Freese got tossed for arguing his strikeout on a bad call and Hurdle quickly followed as he defended his player. To Folynewicz’s credit, he was smart enough to keep pitching to that area, getting the calls and frustrating the Pittsburgh hitters.
Line of the Night
Tonight’s line of the Night goes to a player on the opposing team, Ender Inciarte. Inciarte had his first five hit night, collecting singles in all of his at-bats on Monday. While none of the hits went for extra bases, Inciarte barreled up on the ball in the majority of his at-bats, so these were not cheap singles to get on base. Hopefully the Pirates can contain him as the series continues.
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The #Pirates drop game one of their series to the Braves by a score of 5-2. Who is your player of the game?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) May 23, 2017
Up next
The three game series in Atlanta continues on Tuesday at 7:35pm when Tyler Glasnow (2-3, 7.34) faces off against R.A. Dickey (3-3, 4.13). Glasnow’s last start was good compared to some of his earlier outings this year, earning the win against Washington while limiting them to four runs (two earned) over five innings. He has coughed up five home runs in his last four starts, so he’ll look to keep the ball in the park on Tuesday. His opponent, the knuckleballer Dickey, has also been plagued by the long ball. He has served up 10 in his eight starts this season, giving the Pirates a good opportunity to hopefully go deep.
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