PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - The Pittsburgh Pirates had an 6-2 lead heading into the 8th inning, but that all changed after Michael Feliz walked the bases loaded and Hunter Pence came off the bench and hit the first pitch he saw off the top of the left field foul pole to tie the game for the Rangers.
The Rangers took the lead in the top of the 9th on an RBI Double from Isiah Kiner-Felefa and added on when Roughned Odor sent one into the right field seats for a 2-run home run to give the Rangers the 9-6 lead and that would be the final score as the Pirates were retired 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th to end the game.
The Pirates bullpen was already shorthanded with Steven Brault and Nick Kingham now in the starting rotation due to injuries and Keone Kela was unavailable. After the game, the Pirates announced that Kela was placed on the 10-day IL (retroactive to May 6) with right shoulder inflammation with a corresponding roster move to be announced Thursday in St. Louis.
"We had Vazquez for a save only based on his workload, if you followed it, he threw 3 of the last 4 games. Crick was unavailable and Keone's not available," said Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle.
What were the options when Feliz got into trouble in the 8th if they decided to take him out before Pence came to the plate.
After struggling at the plate last season, Bell is continuing to gain confidence early on this season with his 9 home runs and 27 runs batted in.
"I feel like I'm in a good place right now, I'm just trying to focus on barreling the ball. I'm not trying to do anyting more than that and if I put my swing on it the ball will go," said Bell. "I feel like timing's there, confidence is there and I'm not fouling as many ball's off. (If) The ball's in my sweet spot there going in fair ground, there being driven in the outfield."
The Pirates head out on a big road trip beginning with a 4-game series to St. Louis this weekend and a chance to make some moves inside the NL Central.