PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It wasn't a perfect game, but a perfect result as the Pirates win their season opener 5-3 at Wrigley Field.
Pressure this season to be the face of Pirates baseball, Ke'Bryan Hayes hammered a home run into the left field seats during his first at bat and an early 2-0 Pirates lead they would never relinquish.
"That ball was a bomb," said manager Derek Shelton. "That wind was howling in. The ball that Ke hit was absolutely crushed."
Hayes said his father and other family members were able to attend. He said to homer on Opening Day was pretty cool. As for the attention on him.
"I don't really think about it," Hayes said. "I'm thankful for the support of the fans. Games are won as a team. One individual isn't going to be able to do everything. I just try to go out there and have good at bats for my team, make every play on defense."
Adam Frazier battled leadoff for the fourth time in the last five Opening Days, went 2 for 4 with a pair of RBI and was on base four times. Both of his RBIs were with two outs.
Jacob Stallings drove in a run with a double off the wall, as one of two hits. Kevin Newman had a pair of hits. Colin Moran walked three times and scored. Anthony Alford walked twice and scored as Cubs pitchers walked 11 on the day.
Relief fire
Due to Chad Kuhl missing a turn in the rotation during Grapefruit League play because of the birth of their child, the Pirates knew they would be relying on their bullpen in the Opener. The numbers were outstanding, combining for six innings, one hit, one walk, one run, 11 strikeouts.
-Duane Underwood-one inning, no hits or walks, 3 strikeouts
-Clay Holmes-one inning, no hits or walks, strikeout
-Sam Howard-one inning, no hits or walks, 3 strikeouts
-David Bednar-one inning, no hits or walks, 2 strikeouts
-Chris Stratton-one inning, 1 run, 1 hit
-Richard Rodriguez-one inning, one walk, 2 strikeouts
"Bullpen was outstanding, obviously came in and did a really nice job," Shelton said. "Controlled a really good offense, it was fun to watch."
"Today was a typical Chicago day," said former Cubs reliever Duane Underwood. "I wanted to get a good vibe, good tempo, compete. Go out there and do exactly what I wanted to do and execute. I think I accomplished that."
"It was exciting to go up against those guys. Those are great hitters. That's a great team. To do what we did today. I think that was a real testament to how spring went for a lot of guys."
Kuhl battles
Kuhl threw 32 pitches in the first inning, but only allowed one run. Overall, Kuhl threw 63 pitches (33 strikes) in 3 innings with 3 walks, a pair of runs, one hit and 2 strikeouts.
"He rebounded really well, to control the damage and give up just one run with this offense was really good," Shelton said. "The third inning it looked like he found his stuff."
"It was definitely cold, that first inning I think me and Hendricks were trying to figure it out," Kuhl said. "You're coming from warm weather climates, the bullpens are climate controlled (at Wrigley Field) just an adjustment that both of us had to account for."
Up Next
Tyler Anderson makes his first Pirates start against Jake Arrieta at 2:20 on Saturday with Bucs pregame just after 1p on 93.7 The Fan.
