The Boston Red Sox got things going with a RBI groundout in the first inning. From there, it was a combination of Bryan Reynolds and the young players taking things over.
Down a run and a runner on first with two outs, Ji-Hwan Bae connected on a fastball for his first career home run. In the next inning, Reynolds took a curveball to right field for his third consecutive game with a home run, and his fourth in those three games.
From there, Roansy Contreras handled the Red Sox offense with relative ease. He leaned heavily on his slider, throwing it for 38 of his 78 pitches (49%). Contreras would only strike out two batters on the evening to one walk, but he induced nine groundballs to one flyout.
Contreras was a batter away from finishing six innings and induced a groundball to short. Unfortunately, Oneil Cruz tried to uncork one of his patented harder than necessary throws, and spiked it well in front of Carlos Santana who couldn’t handle the bounce.
Contreras would leave the game having pitched 5.2 innings and a 3-1 lead. On came the very passionate Dauri Moreta who is becoming a fan favorite for his energy. With runners on the corners, Moreta went to a full count on Adam Duvall, and then struck him out looking with another animated walk off the mound.
With a jolt of energy, the offense padded their lead in the sixth. With one out, known speedster Tyler Heineman singled and then stole second base. Then with two outs, Reynolds came to the plate already 2-for-3 with his home run and a double, and singled in Heineman for a 4-1 lead.
Moreta and Rule 5 selection Jose Hernandez handled the seventh, with Hernandez coming on to face a lefty with two outs and striking the hitter out on four pitches.
In the eighth inning, Bae stamped his name on the game again with a miraculous catch in center field. Just having moved to center field after Rodolfo Castro entered the game, he tracked back to the green monster on a long Rafael Devers flyball, and perfectly timed a jump to catch the ball while falling into the wall.
JI HWAN BAE WITH THE PLAY OF THE DAY! pic.twitter.com/YBk1GNt3zv
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 5, 2023
It was quick work from there, with David Bednar handling the Red Sox while working around an error to start the inning for his third save on the short season.
