Pirates Wild Series in Miami
Photo Courtesy of: David Santiago Miami Herald
The Pirates split their four-game series with the Miami Marlins down in South Florida, but the series seemed a lot longer than just four games. The Pirates were able to take the first two games without losing the lead and led each game at one point but were unable to hold on for a pair of wins to close out the Fish.
In game one, the Pirates' bats got to work right out of the gate. Kevin Newman and Ke’Bryan Hayes got Pittsburgh on the board early, and the Pirates never looked back. Mitch Keller had the best career start on Monday night, posting five strikeouts (K), zero walks (BB) and allowed only five hits and one earned run (ER) in seven innings pitched (IP). His curveball was his weakest pitch, which is how the Marlins scored their lone run. The bullpen was barely used after Keller’s departure, with Chase DeJong and Yerry De Los Santos finishing the final two innings.
Game two was not as easy of a victory as Monday’s win. The Pirates jumped to another quick lead; however, that was short-lived as both the Bucs and Marlins scored in the third inning. Jake Marisnick made a huge impact in his return from the Injured List, hitting two home runs in as many days and making five straight putouts early on. The Pirates turned to their bullpen to pitch the entire game. Chris Stratton got the start and set the tone early for the Bucs, followed by Dillion Peters (credited with the win), Tyler Beede, Will Crowe, and All-Star David Bednar, who earned his 16th save.
Game three was about as weird as it could be. The Pirates had not recorded a hit going into the fifth inning but were able to score a run and do so on just one hit. Later in the game, the Pirates' bullpen struggled as the Marlins took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. But in the ninth, the Pirates weren’t done as Michael Chavis hit a line drive to left field to score Daniel Vogelbach from third and tie the game. After that, the Pirates held the Marlins scoreless in the bottom half to send the game to extras. In the 10th, the Pirates scored twice to take a 4-2 lead, but the Marlins won the game on a swing-and-miss wild pitch that allowed Jesus Aguilar to score with the bases loaded. J.T. Brubaker had the best start of his career, posting nine strikeouts, three hits, two walks, and zero earned runs in seven innings.
In the series finale, the Marlins scored for the first time in the fifth inning, but the Pirates were able to tie in the eighth thanks to a fielding error. In the 11th inning, the Pirates were able to take the lead, but that would be it for the Bucs as the Marlins bench came up clutch with a couple of big hits in the bottom of the 11th to walk off the Pirates for the second straight game. The starting pitching was superb for the Bucs, and so was the bullpen for the first two games. However, it was the last two games where the bullpen struggled to keep the lead late, as well as some miscues and bad baserunning cost the Pirates runs and a sweep.
The Pirates are currently in Colorado before the All-Star break.
