The Pirates completed their sweep of Colorado with a 14-3 laugher. Yes, the Rockies are really bad, but this is how it’s supposed to work against bad teams. So, it counts.
The rout got underway quickly. Ke’Bryan Hayes led off the first with a double and Andrew McCutchen doubled with one out. Eventually in the inning, Carlos Santana drove in a run with a single, Connor Joe doubled one in, and Jason Delay singled in two. That made it 5-0.
The Pirates added four in the second to make it officially a blowout, then added three in the sixth and two against a position player in the top of the ninth.
Altogether, the Bucs piled up 18 hits, eight for extra bases. Joe and Delay each had two singles and a double. McCutchen hit his fourth home run of the year in the second and Rodolfo Castro hit his second in the sixth. For the day, Castro drove in four runs. Hayes, Santana and Mark Mathias each had two hits. Oddly, Bryan Reynolds went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. He also got ejected for opining that pitches outside the strike zone aren’t actually strikes.
Johan Oviedo continued doing what he’s been doing. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth, which was also when he gave up his only run. He went six innings in all, throwing 84 pitches and allowing just three hits and three walks. Oviedo fanned six.
Yohan Ramirez and Dauri Moreta each allowed a run. Neither of the two threw an over-abundance of strikes. Ramirez threw the seventh and eighth, and Moreta the ninth.
The Pirates are now 12-7. Five games is the furthest over .500 they’ve been since April 21, 2019.
