Bell homers twice to lead Pirates past Diamondbacks 6-2
Be JOSE M. ROMERO Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — Josh Bell is on the best hitting streak of his career, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are along for the ride.
Bell homered twice and Joe Musgrove allowed one hit through seven strong innings as the Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-2 Tuesday night.
Phoenix native Cole Tucker hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to cap off the victory. The 22-year-old rookie gleefully circled the bases in front of a large gathering of family and friends, and received a hearty welcome from his teammates in the dugout.
The Pirates snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Diamondbacks that dated to last season. Pittsburgh has won four of its last five.
Bell is on a career-best 14-game hitting streak, and is batting .421 over that span with seven doubles, six home runs and 21 runs batted in, including the four he picked up Tuesday.
“Just trying to sync up fastballs, get on a starter’s fastball and understanding how guys are going to attack me and sell out to an approach and just go from there,” Bell said. “It feels like I’m living in a dream a little bit.”
Carson Kelly homered with two outs in the eighth and Adam Jones drove in David Peralta in the ninth to account for the Diamondbacks’ runs.
Starling Marte scored the game’s first run in the top of the third, hustling home from third base on Bell’s fielder’s choice. Bell’s fourth-inning homer to straightaway center off Arizona starter Luke Weaver came with two out and Gregory Polanco on base.
The only hit Musgrove (2-4) allowed was a fourth-inning single to Eduardo Escobar. He struck out five and walked two after allowing 13 total earned runs in his previous two starts.
“We’ve lost a lot of games to these guys consecutively, so it feels good to be the guy to come in and put a stop to that,” Musgrove said. “The bounce-back outings are really important.”
Bell had his second multi-home run game in 10 days. His second homer landed high up in the seats in right field and came on the first pitch of the eighth inning by Diamondbacks reliever Zack Godley.
Bell raised his season home run total to a team-best 12.
Tucker’s second home run of the season was a two-run shot off Godley that just cleared the fence in right field. In between innings, the Pirates’ position players stayed in the dugout briefly to let Tucker run out to shortstop by himself while the crowd behind the Pittsburgh dugout cheered.
Melky Cabrera had three hits for the Pirates, and is 28 for 63 with a.444 average in 15 career games at Chase Field. Marte added a pair of doubles.
“Just a fun night for the Buccos,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Bell is just mauling the ball.”
Diamondbacks starter Luke Weaver (3-2) allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings. Arizona has lost four of five.
“We couldn’t get anything going offensively,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “Their starting pitcher was effective with early count pitches and kind of beating us to the spot.”
TUCKER’S TIME
Tucker was still giddy in the visiting clubhouse after the game about his home run at the ballpark he grew up going to for Diamondbacks games.
“It was nuts, man. I couldn’t even play it cool. I tried to, but the 12-year-old in me came out and I was just smiling and cheesing and laughing,” Tucker said. “Literally audibly laughing. I couldn’t have drawn it up any better.”
Tucker homered in his major-league debut earlier this season, and his second homer came in his hometown. He was incredulous to hear that Diamondbacks legend and Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson was at the game in the broadcast booth, and said that to hit a home run at Chase Field “means the world to me.”
“I always dreamed about winning baseball games in this stadium,” he said. “It was really fun to do that tonight.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: OF-IF Lonnie Chisenhall (calf strain) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Chris Archer (1-2, 4.33 earned run average) is expected to be reinstated from the 10-day injured list for his sixth start of the season Wednesday afternoon against Arizona. He’s been dealing with thumb pain in his throwing hand.
Diamondbacks: RHP Zack Greinke (5-1, 3.16 ERA) takes the mound against the Pirates needing nine strikeouts to reach 2,500 in his career.
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Bell has 5 RBIs, Pirates take 3rd straight from Cards, 10-6
By STEVE OVERBEY Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Josh Bell put on a show for his mom on Mother’s Day.
With his mother Myrtle in the stands at Busch Stadium, Bell homered and drove in a career-high five runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-6 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
Adam Frazier added a two-run, tiebreaking pinch-hit double as the Pirates scored five times in the seventh inning and twice in the eighth to rally from a 6-3 deficit.
Pittsburgh has won six of eight, including the final three of its four-game series at St. Louis.
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle had warned Bell that he’d better come through.
“Jokingly, before the game, I said, ‘You need to do something special for Myrtle,'” Hurdle said. “He said, ‘Yeah, I’ve got this.'”
Bell went 4-for-4, extending his hitting streak to a major league-best 12 games. He reached base five times, including an intentional walk, and is 20-for-49 (.408) during the streak with four homers and 16 RBIs.
“It was awesome,” Bell said. “It’s one of those scenarios where I know my mom would be just as excited to watch me play if I go 0-for-4. To be able to celebrate the win with (her) watching, it’s unbelievable.”
Myrtle lives in Louisiana and travels to see her son play at least once a month.
“His work ethic is one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Pittsburgh infielder Kevin Newman said. “He’s in the cage all the time. He works his tail off on defense. I couldn’t be any happier for him.”
Bell’s three-run homer off John Brebbia (1-2) in the seventh tied the game at 6-6. Francisco Cervelli, who had three hits, followed with a double, Melky Cabrera drew a walk and then Frazier smacked a two-run double to right.
Paul Goldschmidt and José Martínez homered for the Cardinals, who have lost five of six and nine of 11.
Chris Stratton (1-2), acquired from the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, worked a scoreless sixth for the win.
Brebbia (1-2) gave up three runs on three hits in one inning.
“When you make bad pitches to guys who are taking good swings, it’s not going to be good,” Brebbia said.
Colin Moran added two-run double in the eighth to conclude the scoring.
After the Pirates scored three times in the first, Goldschmidt hit a two-run homer off Steven Brault in the bottom half to start a four-run outburst.
Martínez, who went 3-for-5, had a two-run homer in the third. Bryan Reynolds made a leaping catch in the ninth to rob him of a possible second homer.
St. Louis starter Dakota Hudson gave up three runs on nine hits over six innings.
Brault, making his second start of the season, lasted 3 2/3 innings. He gave up six runs on nine hits.
Goldschmidt, who was 9-for-17 in the series, snapped an 18-game streak without a home run.
“We obviously haven’t won as many games as we’ve wanted to the last 10 or 11 games,” Goldschmidt said. “The focus is just to go out there and win the next one.”
FULL HOUSE
The crowd was announced at 48,555, the largest in the history of the new Busch Stadium, which opened in 2006. It was St. Louis’ fourth sellout of the season.
ON THE WAY BACK
Cardinals right-hander Carlos Martínez threw a scoreless inning on Friday for Triple-A Memphis. He has not given up a run in three rehab appearances covering three innings. Martínez has not pitched in the majors this season because of a right shoulder cuff strain.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Nick Burdi was transferred to the 60-day injured list. He has pain in his right biceps.
Cardinals: INF Matt Carpenter was held out of the starting lineup for a day of rest. He walked as pinch-hitter in the eighth.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Nick Kingham (1-0, 5.94 ERA) will start in the opener of a three-game series at Arizona on Monday night. Kingham, who has nine appearances as a reliever and one as a starter this season, is 5-7 in 16 lifetime starts.
Cardinals: RHP Jack Flaherty (3-3, 4.32) will face Atlanta RHP Mike Foltynewicz (0-2, 5.94) as the teams begin a three-game series Tuesday. The Cardinals were shut out in each of Flaherty’s last two starts.
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Ozuna, Fowler lead Cardinals in 17-4 rout of Pirates
By STEVE OVERBEY Associated Press
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Dexter Fowler came up with a novel idea to help the Cardinals break out of their hitting slump.
The St. Louis outfielder took several players and their wives to a karaoke bar following a season-low, three-hit performance in a shutout loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday. Turns out, Fowler’s plan apparently hit all the right notes.
He drove in three runs, Marcell Ozuna had four RBIs and the Cardinals cruised to a 17-4 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.
“Everybody was good,” Fowler said of the singing performances by the group that included Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright and Luke Gregersen — who was surprisingly the best of the bunch, according to the outfielder.
“We’ll have to do it again,” Fowler said. “Round 2.”
St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said he had never sung karaoke, but might give it a try next time, especially if the team keeps hitting like it did after the players’ latest outing.
Paul Goldschmidt reached base four times and had three hits and two RBIs for the Cardinals, who managed just one run in their previous 21 innings but bounced back with 16 hits and recorded a season high in runs.
St. Louis, which won for just the second time in eight games, sent nine or more batters to the plate three times over the first six innings.
The 17-run output is the most for the Cardinals since an 18-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on July 20, 2018.
“Just consistent, good at-bats throughout the game,” Goldschmidt said. “Getting to the postseason, you’re going to have to do it consistently well every night. Tonight’s good, but it’s just one win.”
Gregory Polanco homered and drove in three runs for the Pirates, who lost their second in a row after winning five of six.
Fowler broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run, ground-rule double that highlighted a four-run, second-inning surge for the Cardinals.
“We’ve been taking some good at-bats, but our luck wasn’t there the last few days,” Fowler said. “(Tonight) everybody was swinging the bat well. You just try and keep that train moving.”
St. Louis sent 10 to the plate in a five-run fourth inning that pushed its lead to 11-2. Jose Martinez drew a bases-loaded walk, Molina hit an RBI single and Kolten Wong had a run-scoring double. Pirates first baseman Josh Bell also had a fielding error that allowed two runs to score in the inning.
Shildt was impressed that his team was able to get the job done without a home run — just 10 singles and six doubles.
“It was good to see everybody in the lineup taking good approaches,” Shildt said. “We’re at our best when we’re doing damage in a lot of different ways.”
Michael Wacha (3-0) allowed four runs and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings to pick up his first win in three starts for the Cardinals.
Joe Musgrove (1-4) lasted just three innings for Pirates, giving up eight runs and six hits.
“Those guys were really aggressive early in the count. Not punching out a lot, not trying to get themselves in hole,” Musgrove said.
Pittsburgh took a short-lived 1-0 lead on a solo homer by Polanco in the first.
The Pirates’ Melky Cabrera had a 12-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-4 performance.
WALKING WOUNDED
The Pirates have had a league-high 18 players placed on the disabled list so far this season. The New York Yankees are second with 16, followed by Washington (12) and San Diego (12).
MARTINEZ ON THE WAY
St. Louis right-hander Carlos Martinez tossed a solid inning at Triple-A Memphis on Wednesday and could return to the major league roster in, 10 to 14 days, according to Shildt.
“We have a plan in place,” Shildt said. “He’s pitching well and recovering well.”
Martinez, who has yet to pitch in the majors this season due to right shoulder soreness, did not allow a run in a one-inning, 23-pitch stint against Iowa. He walked two and struck out one.
Shildt said Martinez will remain at Memphis for the time being and is likely to make several more appearances.
TRAINER’S ROOM:
Pirates: RHP Keone Kela was placed on the 10-day injury list with right shoulder inflammation. The move was retroactive to Monday.
UP NEXT
St. Louis RHP Adam Wainwright (3-3, 4.71) will face RHP Trevor Williams (1-1, 3.74) in the second of the four-game series Friday. Wainwright is 13-7 with a 4.45 ERA in 32 lifetime starts against the Pirates. Williams has pitched at least six innings in all seven of his starts this season.
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Pence pinch-hit slam, Rangers rally past Pirates 9-6
By ALAN SAUNDERS Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Hunter Pence connected for a pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning and Isiah Kiner-Falefa drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth as the Texas Rangers rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-6 on Wednesday.
The Rangers trailed 6-2 before three walks by reliever Michael Feliz loaded the bases for Pence. He sent the first pitch off the foul pole in left field to the tie it.
Kiner-Falefa doubled off Tyler Lyons (1-1) and an offline relay throw allowed Nomar Mazara to score. Rougned Odor followed with a two-run homer.
Ariel Jurado (1-1) worked the eighth and got the ball to Chris Martin, who earned his first save of the season and first since 2015.
Joey Gallo gave Texas the early lead with a two-run shot that bounced off the concourse beyond the right-center field wall and landed in the Allegheny River. The estimated 443-foot blast was Gallo’s 100th career home run in his 377th game, making him the fastest player to 100 homers in American League history.
Pirates first baseman Josh Bell’s estimated 472-foot drive tied the game in the fourth inning and is the fourth ever to reach the river on a fly. It was his ninth home run of the season after hitting 12 in 2018.
Gregory Polanco drove two with a single in the sixth. Kevin Newman stole second and scored on two errors ahead of Colin Moran’s pinch-hit home run in the seventh.
Texas starter Shelby Miller struck out six over his four innings, and allowed only the Bell homer.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rangers: 1B Ronald Guzmán (right hamstring strain) is expected to come off the injured list on Thursday. He’s been out since April 7.
Pirates: The Pittsburgh Pirates put RHP Keone Kela on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 6, with right shoulder inflammation. … RHP Nick Burdi was diagnosed with a nerve injury after leaving the game in obvious pain on April 22. He’ll be re-assessed after six weeks of rest. . RHP Chris Archer (right thumb irritation) is scheduled to throw a simulated game on Friday.
UP NEXT
Rangers: LHP Mike Minor (3-2, 2.40 ERA) will start a four-game series at Houston. He threw seven scoreless against the Astros on April 3.
Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove (1-3, 2.63) will start a season-long 11-game road trip in St. Louis on Friday. He made his shortest start of the season on May 3, when he allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings against Oakland.
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Vázquez gets revenge on Gallo, Pirates nip Rangers 5-4
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Felipe Vázquez doesn’t let his failures linger. That wouldn’t help the Pittsburgh Pirates closer be any good at his job. Still, he wanted another shot at Texas slugger Joey Gallo. Getting touched for a 467-foot home run will do that.
So when setup man Kyle Crick hit a batter with two outs in the eighth on Tuesday night and the Pirates nursing a one-run lead, Vázquez knew if everything went right, he’d see Gallo as the last man up.
The outcome this time was different. Far different. Three pitches. Three strikes. The last two both clocked at 101 mph, followed by a fist pump, a smile and the obligatory jab to catcher Francisco Cervelli’s chest in celebration after the Pirates escaped with a 5-4 win.
“My turn,” Vázquez said after picking up his 10th save. “He got me once. He’s not going to get me twice. I knew as soon as Crick hit that guy, I was like, ‘Yeah.’ I wanted him to be up for sure. I wanted to get a little revenge in here.”
Gallo’s moon shot in the 11th last Tuesday didn’t spoil Pittsburgh’s 6-4 win, and the hard-throwing All-Star tried to play it off in the aftermath, tweeting he thought it might go “500 feet.”
“You’ve got to have fun,” Vázquez said. “You cannot get frustrated. At least me. I’m a closer. I can’t get frustrated. I cannot carry all that to my next start.”
Vázquez’s emphatic strikeout ended the only perfect inning for Pittsburgh’s bullpen. The Pirates relied on spot starter Steven Brault and six relievers to win for the fifth time in six games. Brault lasted four innings while filling in for injured Chris Archer. Michael Feliz (1-0) pitched a scoreless fifth and the Pirates survived to improve to 16-5 in their last 21 interleague games.
“It’s a night we were tough enough,” Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle said. “We had enough pitches.”
POLANCO PRODUCES
Pittsburgh right fielder Gregory Polanco sent a two-run shot to the first row of seats in right-center off Adrian Sampson (0-2) in the fifth, his first since dislocating his left shoulder in an awkward slide last September.
Polanco underwent surgery shortly after mangling his shoulder on Sept. 4. He returned a bit earlier than expected and is still working to rediscover the power that led him to hit a career-high 23 home runs in 2018. He entered Tuesday hitting .250 with one RBI in 10 games and spent the pregame focusing on using his lower body more to compensate for a left shoulder he admitted is still “weak.”
Polanco singled in his first at-bat — before getting caught stealing at second, though his slide was just fine — and lined out to right in the third. In the fifth, he turned on a pitch from Sampson to put Pittsburgh ahead 5-2.
“I knew it wasn’t going to be like right away because obviously this is not 100 percent,” Polanco said while touching his shoulder. “This is still weak. But, you know, it’s getting there. It’s getting there.”
HOT HUNTER
Hunter Pence drove in all four runs for Texas, doubling twice and adding his fourth home run. The rest of the Rangers went 2 for 27. Texas stranded eight runners and went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Manager Chris Woodward could start giving Pence more opportunities going forward. The 36-year-old is now hitting .333 with 17 RBIs while serving as part of an outfield rotation.
“We definitely need to find a way to get him in there more often,” Woodward said. “He deserves playing time. He really does. Obviously, I think everybody is taking notice.”
LECLERC BOUNCES BACK
The Rangers took José Leclerc out of the closer’s role last week after he blew a save against the Pirates. He threw a shutout inning of relief in Toronto over the weekend and allowed just one baserunner in two innings of work on Tuesday.
“To see José get two scoreless, it’s really cool to see him having success,” Woodward said. “I feel pretty confident that not too long from now, he’s going to be back in his role that he had.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: RHP Archer (right thumb inflammation) did some flat-ground work on Tuesday but remains out indefinitely. … RHP Keone Kela sat out his second straight game with right shoulder soreness.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Shelby Miller (1-2, 7.99 ERA) has allowed four runs in each of his last five starts heading into Wednesday’s series finale. He took the loss against Pittsburgh last week, surrendering four runs in 3 1/3 innings.
Pirates: Nick Kingham (1-0, 6.39) makes his first start of the season, filling in for Archer. Kingham went 5-7 with a 5.32 ERA in 15 starts as a rookie in 2018.
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Marte hits 3-run homer in 13th, Pirates rally past A’s 5-3
By CHRIS MUELLER Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Starling Marte hit a game-ending three-run homer in the 13th inning, rallying the Pittsburgh Pirates past Oakland 5-3 on Sunday after the Athletics scored twice in the top of the inning.
Cole Tucker started Pittsburgh’s comeback with a one-out single off Fernando Rodney (0-2). Jung Ho Kang walked and Adam Frazier drove in Tucker with a single before Marte drilled a ball out to center.
Tyler Lyons (1-0) got the win despite struggling in his Pirates debut. After pitching a 1-2-3 12th, he walked the first two batters in the 13th and allowed an RBI single to Kendrys Morales and a run-scoring double to Stephen Piscotty before getting pitcher Yusmeiro Petit to hit into an inning-ending double play.
A’s slugger Khris Davis, last year’s major league home run leader, left in the second inning with a left hip bruise after crashing into the left field wall chasing a popup.
The Pirates improved to 6-2 in extra-inning games and 6-1 in interleague play. They are above .500 at 16-15 for the first time since April 25.
Pittsburgh starter Jordan Lyles gave up one run and five hits over 6 2/3 innings. Lyles looked more like the pitcher that began the season tossing 11 scoreless innings in his first two home starts and less like the one holding a 6.00 ERA over his previous two outings.
The teams were tied 1-1 going into extras. Pittsburgh got on the board in the second when Josh Bell doubled and scored on Colin Moran’s sacrifice fly. A’s pinch-hitter Robbie Grossman tied it in the seventh with a single.
Lyles faced a jam in the fifth after he walked three consecutive batters with two outs but forced Ramon Laureano to ground into a forceout at second.
The Pirates had a golden opportunity with runners on first and third with zero outs in the sixth but couldn’t capitalize as Gregory Polanco flied out, Bell struck out and Melky Cabrera lined out to end the inning.
Oakland starter Frankie Montas allowed a run and five hits over six innings. He struck out five while lowering his ERA to 2.75.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: Keone Kela was not available to pitch after exiting Saturday’s game with right shoulder tightness. General manager Neal Huntington said Kela will be evaluated Monday.
UP NEXT
Athletics: The A’s return home for a three-game series against Cincinnati on Tuesday, where Mike Fiers (2-3, 6.81) will take the mound coming off a solid seven-inning outing against Toronto on April 26.
Pirates: Steven Brault will get the start Tuesday against Texas in place of Jameson Taillion, who was ruled out for a month Saturday with an elbow flexor tendon strain. This season, Brault has an 8.31 ERA with 11 strikeouts over 8 2/3 innings of work out of the bullpen.
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Newman’s go-ahead triple rallies Pirates by A’s 6-4
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Kevin Newman expected to be part of a platoon at shortstop with Erik Gonzalez when he made the Pittsburgh Pirates out of spring training. A cut to the middle finger of his right hand a month ago sent Newman to the injured list instead.
Gonzalez soon joined Newman on the injured list with a broken collarbone and the arrival of top prospect Cole Tucker during their absence forced the Pirates to re-evaluate how they wanted to use Newman when he returned.
When Pittsburgh welcomed Newman back on Friday, manager Clint Hurdle told him to be ready for whatever. Whatever arrived on Saturday, when Newman ripped the go-ahead triple in the seventh inning to lift the Pirates to a 6-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics.
Newman came on in the sixth as a pinch runner during an aggressive sequence in which Hurdle burned three of his four bench players in an effort to erase a one-run deficit. While the moves didn’t work at first — the Pirates left the bases loaded — it set the stage for Newman to step to the plate in the seventh and give the Pirates a welcome win on the day it lost ace Jameson Taillon for a least a month with a strained right (throwing) elbow.
“Obviously, we’ve had a lot of guys go down with injuries, so it’s going to take everybody and everything we all got to win and we know that,” Newman said.
Newman’s first at-bat since April 8 came with runners on the corners and two outs in the seventh against J.B. Wendelken (0-1). Newman fouled off the first pitch and then sent a laser to the right-field corner that rolled around long enough for Bryan Reynolds to score all the way from first to give Pittsburgh the lead.
“It was just unfortunate he got up under it and pushed it on down the line,” Wendelken said. “Not much I can do about it. It was just a good pitch and a good piece of hitting.”
Francisco Cervelli followed with an RBI single to lift the Pirates to their third win in four games.
“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence,” Newman said. “I like to be the guy that comes up in that situation. I want to come through for my teammates.”
Josh Bell homered twice for Pittsburgh, taking Oakland starter Chris Bassitt deep in both the second and third innings for the first two-home run game of the first baseman’s career. Bell already has eight homers on the season, a number he didn’t reach in 2018 until mid-August. Reynolds finished with two hits to extend his hitting streak to 11 games, tying Polanco for the longest by a Pittsburgh player to start their career since 1901.
Michael Feliz (1-0) picked up the win in relief after coming on in the seventh when Keone Kela exited with discomfort in his right shoulder after giving up a leadoff double to Oakland rookie Skye Bolt. Felipe Vazquez worked around a two-out single by Marcus Semien to collect his ninth save.
“There’s going to be more guys going down throughout the year,” said Pittsburgh starter Trevor Williams, who gave up four runs in six innings. “Hopefully not as many as going on right now, but for guys to step up like JB did tonight and Kevin coming off the DL and having a big hit for us, it’s huge.”
OAKLAND ACHES
Kris Davis, Kendry Morales and Matt Chapman all had two hits apiece for the Athletics, but Oakland fell to 1-7 on its current nine-game road trip when Chris Bassitt and three relievers couldn’t hold an early lead.
The A’s, who had a season-high 14 runs Friday night to end a six-game losing streak, jumped on Williams early. Davis and Stephen Piscotty sandwiched RBI singles around a run-scoring triple by Morales to give Oakland a quick 3-0 advantage in the first.
Bassitt, however, gave up home runs to Bell in both the second and third and needed 97 pitches to get through five innings. Wendelken’s bumpy seventh in which he gave up three runs on four hits boosted his ERA to 5.85.
“He’s going through a rough patch,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said of Wendelken. “Still, we have a lot of faith in him.”
ROTATION JUMBLE
With Taillon and Chris Archer both on the injured list, the Pirates will turn to relievers Steven Brault and Nick Kingham to start during a brief two-game interleague series with Texas next week.
TRAINER’S ROOM
A’s: OF Nick Martini (right knee sprain) will run the bases Tuesday and will then go out for a rehab assignment barring a setback. … RHP Sean Manaea (left shoulder surgery) will throw a bullpen session Tuesday. … RHP Jharel Cotton (Tommy John surgery) remains in extended spring training and could work three innings in his next appearance.
UP NEXT
A’s: Wrap up a nine-game road trip Sunday when they send Frankie Montas (4-2, 2.97 ERA) to the hill. Montas allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings in a loss to Boston last Monday.
Pirates: Jordan Lyles (2-1, 2.42) lasted just four innings in his previous start, when he gave up two runs on three hits with four walks and five strikeouts in a no-decision against Texas.
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Phegley drives in 8, A’s rip Pirates 14-1 to end 6-game skid
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Oakland Athletics have been playing baseball for nearly 120 years. No catcher in team history has ever put together a game quite like the one Josh Phegley did in a 14-1 romp over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday.
Five at-bats. Four hits. Two doubles. A single. All capped off by a long solo shot to left field in the ninth that served as the finishing touch on an eight-RBI performance as the A’s emphatically snapped a six-game losing streak.
Phegley’s eight RBIs set a single-game record for an Oakland catcher and marked the first time any A’s player reached eight in a game Eric Chavez did it on Aug. 30, 2001, against Baltimore.
“Really fun baseball,” Phegley said after his season RBI total jumped from 13 to 21. “I feel like you can’t do something like that if the guys in front of you aren’t getting on base. I’ve had games where I’ve had three, four hits but never with that many guys on. The timing was good. We needed a win and everyone pretty much exploded offensively.”
Oakland set season highs in both runs and hits (16) to win for just the fifth time in 18 games away from O.Co Coliseum and nearly match its entire 15-run total during a skid the dropped the A’s to last in the American League West. Even pitcher Brett Anderson (4-2) got in on the act. He singled twice in addition to allowing just one run in six innings to pick up his first victory since April 9.
“Running bases is still terrifying,” Anderson said. “Especially the first one when I had to go to second. I blacked out basically. But I’ll take the two hits.”
The A’s certainly needed them. Oakland came in hitting just .205 over their last 14 games to extend their wildly uneven start before jumping on Pittsburgh’s Joe Musgrove (1-3) early and then continuing to add on against four relievers.
“I feel like everyone was firing and that’s kind of what we’re used to and what we expect out of ourselves,” Phegley said.
Pittsburgh rookie left fielder Bryan Reynolds singled to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, the second-longest by a Pirate to start his career since 1901, trailing only an 11-game streak by Gregory Polanco in 2014. It wasn’t nearly enough on a night the A’s used a rare visit to Pittsburgh to end a seven-game road losing streak.
MUSGROVE MISFIRES
Musgrove hadn’t allowed more than three runs in any of his first five starts — all of which lasted at least six innings — but didn’t make it out of the third. Some sloppy defense behind him didn’t help. Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang had a pair of errors during a four-run outburst in the second highlighted by Phegley’s three-run double. Oakland tacked on two more in the third, with Musgrove exiting after walking in a run that pushed Oakland’s advantage to 7-2.
“We did not play good defense,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “That’s all I got. At the end of the day, we didn’t handle the ball really well.”
Musgrove was charged with five earned runs on six hits over 2 2/3 innings as his ERA jumped from 1.54 to 2.63. Reliever Nick Kingham fared no better, allowing four runs in 2 1/3, three of the runs coming home on a rope to the left-field wall by Phegley in the fourth that pushed his RBI total to seven.
Phegley wasn’t done. He sent Richard Rodriguez’s pitch to the deserted bleachers in left field in the ninth for his fourth home run to become the first Pittsburgh opponent to knock in eight runs against the Pirates since Ken Reitz did it for the St. Louis Cardinals on June 28, 1977.
Asked what could be done to neutralize Phegley, Musgrove shrugged.
“Not much,” Musgrove said. “He hit good pitches. He had a good night tonight. He saw everyone pretty well, swung the bat well. I don’t think there’s anything we need to do different or need to panic.”
SKYE’S ZONE
Oakland outfield prospect Skye Bolt made his major league debut in the seventh when he popped out to first as a pinch hitter. He remained in the game in center field and later struck out in the ninth. The fourth-round pick in the 2015 draft — named by his father Mike because the elder Bolt wanted to give his son a name that “popped” — joined the A’s after hitting .325 with six home runs for Triple-A Las Vegas.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: C Jose Osuna (neck) was recalled from his rehabilitation assignment, reinstated from the 10-day injured list and assigned to Triple-A Indianapolis. …
UP NEXT
A’s: Chris Bassitt (1-0, 0.75 ERA) has allowed one run over 12 innings in his first two starts.
Pirates: Trevor Williams (1-1, 3.38) takes the mound Saturday looking to rebound after giving up five in six innings in a no decision against the Dodgers last weekend.
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Reynolds keeps rookie run going as Pirates top Rangers 7-5
By SCHUYLER DIXON AP Sports Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Bryan Reynolds is closing in on teammate Gregory Polanco for a little piece of Pittsburgh Pirates history.
Polanco is enjoying the view.
Reynolds kept up his impressive start, hitting a three-run double as the Pirates completed a two-game sweep in Texas by topping the Rangers 7-5 on Wednesday.
A day after his first career home run put the Pirates ahead in the 11th inning of a 6-4 win that ended an eight-game losing streak, Reynolds extended his career-opening hitting streak to nine games with a liner over left fielder Joey Gallo’s head in the fourth.
A 24-year-old outfielder acquired in the trade that sent Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco before the 2018 season, Reynolds joined Polanco as the only Pirates since 1900 with a hit in each of their first nine games in the big leagues. Polanco debuted with an 11-game streak in 2014.
“It’s fun. It happened to me,” said Polanco, who had an RBI double to help keep the Pirates in front. “It’s humbling. It’s just like playing the game. You don’t think about nothing. You just play the game.”
All four of Reynolds’ RBIs in the majors came in the two games against the Rangers. He’s hitting .414.
“That’s every kid’s dream, to play in the majors, and very few people get that opportunity,” Reynolds said. “I’m lucky enough and blessed enough to have that opportunity, so I’m just trying to enjoy it.”
The Rangers hit three homers, starting with the 11th of the season from Gallo on a 114 mph liner off the fencing of the foul pole in right. On Tuesday, Gallo set a club record with 10 home runs before May 1.
Danny Santana led off the seventh with his third, also off Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon. Shin-Soo Choo pulled the Rangers within 6-5 on a two-run shot against reliever Richard Rodriguez later in the inning. His fourth homer landed just beyond the wall in right over a leaping Melky Cabrera.
After an RBI single from Elias Diaz for a two-run lead, Kyle Crick pitched a perfect eighth and Felipe Vazquez made it 2 for 2 on saves in the series, getting his eighth in eight chances by striking out Choo and pinch-hitter Hunter Pence with the tying run at second in the ninth.
FOR STARTERS
Taillon (2-3) won for the second time in three starts, allowing five hits and four runs — three earned — with five strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings.
Shelby Miller gave up exactly four runs in a fifth straight start after cruising through the first three innings. Five of six hitters reached against the Texas right-hander in the fourth, capped by Reynolds’ one-out double. Miller (1-2) allowed four hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings.
STRUGGLING AND SUBBED OUT
Rougned Odor was 0 for 4 to drop to 2 for 24 since his return from a right knee sprain when manager Chris Woodward decided on a righty-lefty matchup by using Pence against the hard-throwing lefty Vazquez. The lefty-hitting Odor’s average is down to .136.
“It hurts to have to do that because I feel like he’s going to be one of our foundational players,” Woodward said. “And he knows that. I had a good talk with him before the game. It’s not that I’ve lost any trust in him.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli was out of the lineup a day after getting hit by a pitch on his left wrist. The club said there was no fracture, and it appeared unlikely he was headed for the injured list. … RHP Chris Archer hasn’t thrown since experiencing right thumb inflammation that put him on the IL on Monday, a day after his most recent start. The club anticipates him being ready when he’s eligible to return.
Rangers: LHP Drew Smyly (left arm nerve tightness) reported no discomfort after throwing 37 pitches in a simulated game. Barring a setback, he could start Sunday against Toronto. … RHP Owen White, a second-round pick in last year’s draft, was scheduled for Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Pirates: RHP Joe Musgrove (1-2, 2.06 ERA) is set for his seventh appearance and sixth start Friday at home against Oakland. He worked at least six innings in each of his first five starts.
Rangers: LHP Mike Minor (3-2, 2.88) is 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA is his past five starts and ranks fourth among AL pitchers with opponents hitting .179 against him. He is one of three big leaguers with four starts of at least seven innings each.
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