Takeaways and Throwaways – Pirates Drop Second at Camden Yards

 In the most depressing walk off home-run win of the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates drop the second of two to Baltimore, both at the hands of Tony Watson

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: Baltimore Orioles 9, Pittsburgh Pirates 6

W – Mychal Givens (5-0) L – Wade LeBlanc (3-2)  

Takeaways

• Teamwork – David Freese said it a few days ago, the Pirates’ mindset is that the next big play is up to the next guy up to bat or the guy who gets the ball. And tonight, that shone through in spades. Max Moroff, playing second, had a big double in the second, bringing Andrew McCutchen and Elias Diaz home. Diaz doubled in the third, allowing Jose Osuna and McCutchen to score. Josh Bell turned over a brilliant play on a flaming grounder by third baseman Ruben Tejada. Then Osuna hit a homer in the top of the 7th. These are not just the veterans making things happen.
• Chad Kuhl, perhaps feeling the pressure of the pending decision as to who to send back to the bullpen when Jameson Taillon returns to the rotation or perhaps just settling in, had a steady showing. In 5 innings, he threw 90 pitches, gave up 4 hits (singles), 1 run, walked and struck out 4. His ERA stands at 5.63. Yes, the Pirates need starters who can go further into games, but for Kuhl, this is a great start.

Throwaways

• TONY WATSON
• After taking a nasty blow to the face mask last night, one that would have knocked him on his bottom were it not for the umpire catching him under the arms, Francisco Cervelli was put on the 7-day concussion DL today. Cervy is batting .252 with 3 homers (that’s two more than all of last season), 20 RBIs in 47 games. He was definitely contributing. Fortunately, Diaz stepped up in a big way.
• Josh Bell is trying hard, working well in the field, but still isn’t producing at the plate. In three at-bats, he walked once and struck out twice. His current batting average is .218. Hurdle had Adam Frazier pinch ran for him in the 7th with Osuna taking over at first.

Line of the Night

When the season started, many people wondered why Jose Osuna was left to wither in Indy. He certainly delivered for the Bucs tonight – in a major way. In 5 at-bats, he had 2 runs, 2 hits and 2 RBIs.

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Deja Vu all over again as the Pirates lose another frustrating one to the Orioles 9-6. Who is your player of the game?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) June 8, 2017

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