PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was looking like a bleak four run loss entering the ninth as the Pirates opened up a series with the Giants on Tuesday, but down to their last two outs, the Pirates started a rally that tied it before Nick Gonzales won it with a single in the bottom of the 10th. Pirates beat San Francisco 7-6.
“The guys just fought,” Gonzales said. “Everyone fought, one through nine. Some really good ABs. Triolo had a great walk, Bae with a base hit, Oneil obviously with a base hit. Everyone was doing their job.”
Bucs trailed 6-2 and after Gonzales led off the ninth inning with a groundout, then they went to work. A Jack Suwinski walk, Yasmani Grandal double, Jared Triolo walk loaded the bases. In his first MLB game of the season, Ji Hwan Bae singled in a run followed by an Andrew McCutchen ground ball to short. It probably should have been a game-ending double play, but the Giants Marco Luciano bobbled it, all were safe. McCutchen gets fielders’ choice RBI. A Bryan Reynolds ground out scored Triolo and then with two outs, Oneil Cruz doubled into the corner to tie it.
"They just battled throughout the whole thing,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton. “We're talking about one of the elite closers in the game, and we just had quality at-bat after quality at-bat.”
“I think the biggest thing is you put pressure when you put the ball in play. You put the ball in play and you run hard. We cause an error, he got a tough hop, but we continue to run. We beat out a double-play ball and just continue to roll through the lineup.”
“Very proud of them. That's a situation where you can get down. Like Doval comes in the game, and it's like, 'alright.' We grinded through every at-bat. Very proud of them."
It was Cruz’s first three-hit game of the month and jumped his average up 10 points. It was also the shortstop’s first RBI in six games and two of his hits were over 120 miles an hour. It all happened after his dropped pop-up in the first allowed the first two runs to score.
“I think it had to do with the first fly ball that I missed at short,” Cruz said. “I was really pissed off when I went to hit, and I think that’s part of why I hit it so hard.”
With Michael A. Taylor pinch-running for Connor Joe in the 10th, Gonzales lined the first pitch up the middle and Taylor came around to score.
“I think I’m a fairly aggressive hitter,” Gonzales said. “Looking at a certain spot and able to capitalize.”
David Bednar gets the win with a perfect tenth inning as he was waiting to see how the ninth progressed as to whether he would warm up or not.
“It was awesome to get that win,” Bednar said. “That was a big one for us.”
It’s Gonzales ninth RBI in 11 games after starting the year in AAA.
“Obviously in spring training some of the stuff I was working on was showing up,” Gonzales said. “Flat through the zone, that stuff was showing. But I just needed some more reps and obviously still do.
"I think it's extremely rewarding,” Shelton said. “Here's a guy that we sat down at the end of Spring Training and told him he wasn't going to make the club, and his first comment was, 'what do I need to do? How do I need to do it?'
“He kind of knew the answer because he'd been working on it all spring, but to be able to ask that question in a send-down meeting in Bradenton and then take it, go to Indy and do that, I think that's something that stands out about the character of the kid."
Perez ok
While Martin Perez was able to reach the fifth inning, it was a third straight start where he gave up at least four runs.
Perez threw a Pirates-high 98 pitches, only 56 for strikes as he walked three and gave up five hits. Now only half of the runs against the left-handed starter was earned with the Cruz error.
“It was hard for us to score in the first couple of innings, but we were able to get the win,” Perez said. “That means something. We never gave up. We can talk about me too. In the first inning, with that error, and then I got through the fourth and into the fifth. That doesn't work. I know as a starter, sometimes that will happen.”
“The bullpen came in and had my back. The most important thing I think is that we won the game and we're going to continue to do that."
Up Next
The two most dynamic arms in the Pirates organization and maybe the most exciting pair of rookie pitchers in MLB pitch back-to-back. On Wednesday night, with the North Shore Tavern Leadoff Show with Dan Zangrilli at 5:45p on 937 The Fan, is Jared Jones (3-4. 2.89 ERA) against left-handed Blake Snell (0-3, 11.57 ERA) and on Thursday afternoon Paul Skenes starts at 12:35 with the North Shore Tavern Leadoff Show at 11:35 on 100.1 FM and AM 1020, KDKA.