Does anyone else feel like they just time traveled to 2013?
The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago White Sox 13-9 in front of a sold out crowd dressed in black at PNC Park.
Aside from the blackout, the game saw the return of Andrew McCutchen to Pittsburgh in a Pirates uniform; appearances from Russell Martin and A.J. Burnett; Neil Walker in the booth; and I swore at one point that the Pirates lineup would hit more home runs today as a team than Pedro Alvarez did that entire season.
Rich Hill got the start for the Pirates today, and was hit hard with three home runs allowed in four innings. That led to seven earned runs on the day, and I can’t think of the last Pirates lineup where you felt like the team might still have a chance with that kind of performance from your starter.
Hill was down 5-3 after four innings, with Ji-Hwan Bae due up for the Pirates in the bottom of the fourth.
Bae led off with a bunt single, reaching base on a close slide on a play that was originally called an out, but overturned on replay. He moved to third base on a single to right from Jason Delay.
The Pirates have had a few balls drop in just out of reach of fielders in the last few games. That happened again when Oneil Cruz dropped a single between the shortstop and center fielder, scoring a run. It’s harder to make those plays when you’ve got Bae at third, likely scoring no matter what the outcome of that shallow fly ball was.
The ball wasn’t caught, and that set the table for Bryan Reynolds to launch a three run homer into the cheering home bullpen, putting the Pirates up 7-5, and showing that the offense this year can’t be counted out.
Hill couldn’t hold the lead long. He gave up a leadoff single in the next inning, followed by a two run home run that just cleared the rail over the Clemente Wall, tying the score at 7-7. The Pirates called on Dauri Moreta, who came on to retire the side in order, striking out two.
The fifth inning for the Pirates was a lot like the fourth. With one out, Connor Joe doubled as one of his four hits on the day. Bae singled on a hard hit ball through the left side of the infield. Delay then followed with another ball that was hit perfectly between the third baseman and shortstop, giving the Pirates an 8-7 lead.
Cruz drew a one out walk to load the bases for Reynolds, who came up big with a Little League grand slam. Reynolds lined an 0-1 pitch to the right field corner, moving to third as the throw skipped past him and toward the right field foul ground, allowing him to get up and jog home to give the Pirates a 12-7 lead.
Are you kidding, Bryan Reynolds?!?! pic.twitter.com/iJBTuPeDvl
— MLB (@MLB) April 7, 2023
From there, the Pirates bullpen kept the White Sox off the board. Moreta returned for another inning, working a scoreless sixth as the pitcher of record. Wil Crowe came on in the seventh and worked the final three frames to save the bullpen. The Pirates added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, when Joe hit his third double, which scored Carlos Santana. In a summary of this wild offensive game, Santana homered way back in the second inning to make the score 1-1. Santana’s run in the bottom of the eighth put the Pirates up 13-7.
Crowe gave up two runs in the ninth, causing David Bednar to get up briefly in the bullpen. The Pirates closer wasn’t needed, as Crowe was able to close out the 13-9 game with two strikeouts, giving the Pirates a win and a 5-2 record to start the season.
PIRATES SCOPE
**I’m going to be writing about the bottom of the lineup in my daily column tomorrow. The 7-8-9 trio of Joe, Bae, and Delay was so good this afternoon. They combined to go 10-for-15 with six runs scored and three RBIs. Note that spread: These guys were the table setters for Bryan Reynolds, who knocked in six runs and scored three.
**Dauri Moreta has been great so far. This is the fourth time he’s come into a game and just shut down an offense that was — up until he arrived in the game — threatening to score runs. He’s bailed out four starters now in the fifth inning, leading to a change in momentum that allows the Pirates to either protect their lead, or in today’s case, get a new one.
**Bryan Reynolds is playing like a guy who is trying to force the Pirates to pay him with every swing of the bat. That’s all I’m going to say right now. I might have more about that this weekend.
Live Discussion: Pirates Bring a Winning Record into the Home Opener
