Tucker homers in debut, Pirates top Giants 3-1 in 5 innings
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cole Tucker’s day began with him frantically packing up what he could in his Indianapolis apartment in the middle of the night, grabbing a 5 a.m. flight to Pittsburgh with fellow Pirates call-up Bryan Reynolds and trying not to be overwhelmed by the prospect of his major league debut.
It ended with a 431-foot homer into shrubs beyond the center field fence at PNC Park, an unlikely curtain call, a series of selfies in a downpour, 510 unread text messages (and counting) and a rain-shortened 3-1 Pirates victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday that left the 22-year-old both elated and exhausted.
Tucker admitted he didn’t sleep one bit after getting the call around 1 a.m. telling him he was headed to the big leagues after Pittsburgh lost starting shortstop Erik Gonzalez to a broken collarbone following a collision with center fielder Starling Marte on Friday night.
Funny, the rookie didn’t look a bit tired when he turned on a 91 mph sinker from Derek Holland (1-3) and deposited it between the “T” and the “E” in the “Pirates” bush for a two-run shot in the fifth that put Pittsburgh ahead to stay.
The team’s first-round pick in the 2014 draft kept it together until rounding second, when he saw his teammates celebrating in the dugout and the crowd on its feet. He made the “I Love You” sign to his family in the stands and — after some prodding — stepped back onto the field for a curtain call.
Not bad for a self-proclaimed “skinny, not home-run-hitter guy.”
“It was loud man, people were screaming,” Tucker said. “It was really, really cool. I might never do that again in my life. But to say that I did that and for my family to be here to see that and to introduce myself to this city and this club in that fashion is like, storybook.”
An arrival that gave the Pirates a welcome jolt after losing Gonzalez for at least two months and Marte for 10 days and possibly more after they smacked into each other at full speed while trying to track down a fly ball to center field. Marte is dealing with bruises to both his abdomen and right leg, while Gonzalez will have his left arm in a sling indefinitely.
For a day anyway, the NL Central-leading Pirates overcame their absences thanks in part to the kid with the shaggy hair and the palpable joy, the one who became the first Pittsburgh player to homer in his first big league game since Marte did it on July 26, 2012, against Houston.
“I didn’t show up thinking, oh, I’m stressed thinking Marte got hurt or Erik got hurt or what have you,'” Tucker said. “But it definitely felt like we needed a pick-me-up today, losing two of our boys. So it was sweet to go out and do that.”
Reynolds, acquired from the Giants in a January 2018 trade that sent Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco, laced a single off Holland in the fourth for first major league hit. Jung Ho Kang added his third home run and Jameson Taillon (1-2) allowed one run on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts to win for the first time in five starts this season for the Pirates, who have won five straight.
Steven Duggar laced an RBI single off Taillon in the fifth to tie it, but Tucker’s shot off Holland in the bottom of the inning — one pitch after Tucker stepped out of the box because he was startled by a lightning bolt that flashed over the city skyline — was quickly followed by a delay of 3 hours, 8 minutes, before the game was called. The Giants have dropped four straight and five of six.
“If it wasn’t for bad luck, right now we wouldn’t have any,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said. “That’s how things have been going.”
Holland struck out seven in five innings but Pittsburgh punished his mistakes. Kang crushed a 79 mph breaking ball and sent it well into the seats in left field leading off the fourth. Pablo Reyes started the bottom of the fifth with a walk, moved to second on Taillon’s sacrifice and trotted home on Tucker’s memorable swing.
Asked if he had a problem with Tucker coming out for a curtain call — one Tucker made while Holland was in the middle of striking out Kang — Holland shrugged.
“The kid is living in the moment,” Holland said. “It’s a major league debut and he hit a homer. Good for him. It’s not what I wanted. That’s for sure.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: Held 2B Adam Frazier out of the lineup with back spasms. … RHP Jordan Lyles played catch and should be ready for his next start. Lyles took a line drive off his pitching hand against the Giants on Friday.
UP NEXT
The weekend series concludes Sunday when Chris Archer (1-0, 2.00 ERA) faces San Francisco’s Dereck Rodriguez (3-3, 3.63).
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Lyles, Marte, González injured in Pirates’ win over Giants
By ALAN SAUNDERS Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pirates right-hander Jordan Lyles expects to make his next start after an injury scare Friday night.
It’s not so certain if center fielder Starling Marte and shortstop Erik González will be so lucky.
Lyles cruised through six innings before taking a line drive off his pitching hand, Marte and González were pulled after a collision in the field, and short-handed Pittsburgh beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1.
Lyles (2-0) continued his hot start, striking out six and allowing four hits in a scoreless outing that dropped his ERA to a major league-best 0.53. His hand was bruised by Joe Panik’s line drive, which González snagged for an inning-ending double play.
Lyles believes he was able to escape without serious damage.
“I got clipped on a couple fingers,” he said. “In between innings, it just started to swell up a little bit. I felt like we might’ve been better off with another guy out there. I just lost a little feeling, but we’re good to go. We did some tests and we’re good to go. I’ll be ready for my next start.”
In the eighth, Marte charged from center on a softly hit ball by Yangervis Solarte and slammed into González. González walked off, with trainers attending to his left shoulder, which took the brunt of the collision. Marte took longer to get to his feet and was driven off the field on a cart. The team did not provide an update on the status of either player.
Manger Clint Hurdle was not clear as to what caused the collision.
“The last thing I’m going to do is assess blame,” he said. “Sometimes, when you get in those situations, both guys could be calling for the ball simultaneously.”
The Pirates have eight players already on the injured list but haven’t exactly been hampered. They hold the best winning percentage in the NL with an 11-6 record.
Pittsburgh got all of its runs against Madison Bumgarner (1-3) in the first inning. Francisco Cervelli had a two-run double, and Pablo Reyes and JB Shuck added RBI singles.
Bumgarner allowed just two more hits over his final five innings. He struck out seven. He pointed to a two-out walk issued to Jung Ho Kang as the big issue in the first.
“I don’t want to give them a free baserunner out there,” he said. “That’s what we did, and he scored.”
Manager Bruce Bochy thought his team could have done more to pick up its ace. The only San Francisco run came when Buster Posey singled home Solarte in the eighth.
“He bounced back very well,” Bochy said. “He gave us five needed innings after that because we’ve used the ‘pen quite a bit. Hey, he gave us a chance. We’ve got to get these bats going. One run today, not scoring early again is making every game an uphill climb for us.”
The Giants’ next-best scoring opportunity was snuffed out in the second when Brandon Crawford tried to score on a flyball to right, but Melky Cabrera’s throw beat him easily.
Felipe Vázquez struck out the side in the ninth for his sixth save.
NEW LOOK
Cervelli’s two-out double ended an 0-for-24 skid. Cervelli grew a goatee to help change things up in the slump. It took an eight-pitch battle with Bumgarner before he finally broke through.
“I’ve got to keep it now,” he said with a smile.
TRAINER’S ROOM
?Pirates: INF Adam Frazier did not play due to back spasms. … OF Lonnie Chisenhall (broken finger) began his rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis, going 0 for 3. Hurdle said he’s expected to work in left field, right field, at first base and possibly at third base.
UP NEXT
Giants: LHP Derek Holland (1-2, 4.09 ERA) is scheduled to start on Saturday. He’s averaged 11 strikeouts per nine innings through four starts.
Pirates: RHP Jameson Taillon (0-2, 2.43) will make his fifth start of the season. He’s 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in three career starts against San Francisco.
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