Rich Hill had his first good start as a Pirate, but he got no support and the Bucs lost, 7-0, giving Houston a 2-1 series win. The Pirates will now take the road with a 7-5 record.
Hill didn’t dominate, but nobody really expected that from him. Over six innings, he gave up five hits and two walks, with no strikeouts. Houston got a run in the third on a two-out, RBI double by Jose Abreu, and another in the fourth on a solo shot by Corey Julks. After the home run, Hill retired seven straight and allowed only one more runner until he departed, having thrown 95 pitches.
The offense was a no-show, as Houston starter Jose Urquidy and three relievers allowed just three hits. Along with six walks, a double by Carlos Santana, and singles by Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski, were all the home team got.
The Pirates had only four at-bats with runners in scoring position. Possibly their best chance came with runners at the corners, two out, and Suwinski up in the fourth. They TOOTBLANed that one away when Connor Joe, not exactly a big base-stealing threat, got caught stealing at second.
The bullpen let the game get out of hand after Hill left. Dauri Moreta ran short of magic at least for one day. He let two runners reach base with one out in the seventh, then threw a 2-0 fastball to Alex Bregman right down the middle. That turned out just like you’d expect.
The struggling Chase De Jong had another bad outing. He finished out the seventh for Moreta, but got hit around for two runs in the eighth.
Jose Hernandez bounced back from a rough outing with a scoreless ninth, allowing one hit.
The Pirates visit St. Louis for four, starting tomorrow.
