*Photo from TSN*
The Pittsburgh Pirates offense will not overpower you. They do not have a lot of home run hitters in their lineup. They do, however, produce long at bats, which is their formula to success. It paid off on Thursday. Adam Frazier collected 3 hits, Erik Gonzalez drove in two runs, and the Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers Thursday afternoon with a 4-2 win, to win the series against the Tigers.
Bryan Reynolds gave the Pirates an early lead with an RBI single in the first inning, followed up by another RBI single, this time from Gonzalez, making it 2-0 Pirates after one. In the second, Akil Baddoo continued his hot start to the season with an RBI triple to make it 2-1 Pirates. The Tigers then tied it up at two on a solo homer from JaCoby Jones in the 5th. In the 8th, RBI singles from Gonzalez and Colin Moran made it a 4-2 Pirates lead.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of the win that "We won today because we had two ground balls on the back side. That's the way our offense is built. We’re not going to sit back and bang home runs, but we have to continue to put ourselves in the position to do those things."
Sam Howard got the win for the Pirates, working 2/3 innings of relief. Mitch Keller got the start and a no decision for the Pirates, allowing two runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 hitters in 5 innings pitched. Richard Rodriguez locked down the 9th to pick up the save, and Duane Underwood Jr and Chris Stratton each saw some innings in relief.
Frazier said of the Pirates offensive makeup that "It's just tough at bats. It’s not like we’ve got a bunch of home run hitters or anything like that. Everybody’s fighting and putting together tough at-bats, and eventually you break through."
Jose Cisnero got the loss for the Tigers, working 2/3 innings in relief, allowing the RBI single by Moran that gave the Pirates the lead. Jose Urena started and got the no decision for the Tigers, allowing two runs on 5 hits and one walk over 7 solid innings. Gregory Soto was responsible for the other run scored by the Pirates. Alex Lange and Daniel Norris also pitched for the Tigers.
Tigers manager AJ Hinch said of Baddoo's strong start to the season that "I think we have to let Akil sort of have this one step forward, mini-steps back, a couple steps forward, and he's developing nicely. He's handling the moments pretty well. And yeah, I think he's learning a lot. Everybody's coming at him. I see Niko talking to him all the time. I’ve got my coaching staff all over him. We’ve got the advanced scouting stuff. I mean, he's getting a lot thrown at him. So he's processing it great."
The Tigers open a series against the Kansas City Royals tonight, with Casey Mize starting. The Pirates start a series against the Twins, with JT Brubaker starting for the Pirates.
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