Pirates rally to beat Rockies, win 1st series since early April
Share this post:
If the last few weeks have served as any guide, the three-run hole the Pittsburgh Pirates found themselves in early Sunday afternoon should have been more than enough to sink them and lead to yet another loss.
After all, the Pirates have managed three or more runs only twice in their last 11 games.
But against the woeful Colorado Rockies, the Pirates hung in and rallied for a 5-3 victory at PNC Park in front of 12,912 fans.
Oneil Cruz was 2 for 4 with a two-run homer and double, powering the Pirates to a key four-run sixth inning that gave them a lead they never relinquished.
“I was really proud of our group because I think over the last week or so, we get down and I think you can feel it a little bit,” manager Derek Shelton said. “Today we got down, and it was like, ‘All right, we’re going to continue to grind out at-bats. We’re going to continue to have good at-bats.’ We created opportunities.”
The victory gave the Pirates (16-19) their first series win since April 5-7 vs. Baltimore. Sunday’s victory followed a 1-0 defeat of Colorado (8-26) on Saturday night on Jack Suwinski’s ninth-inning walk-off.
The Pirates’ five runs were their most since April 25, and their nine hits marked their most since April 27.
Bailey Falter started for the Pirates and gave up three runs in the second inning: a two-run homer to former Pirate Jacob Stallings and another homer to Sean Bouchard.
Falter settled down and pitched scoreless third, fourth and fifth innings before his afternoon ended with one out in the sixth.
After he departed, Luis Ortiz (2-1, 2.89 ERA) pitched 1 ⅔ innings in relief and picked up the victory, followed by scoreless outings by Aroldis Chapman in the eighth and David Bednar in the ninth.
Bednar allowed a two-out double to Bouchard but struck out Jake Cave looking to earn his sixth save of the year.
“You just kind of lock it in a little bit more. You give up a few runs early in the game, and you’re like, ‘All right, you got to do whatever it takes to put up zeroes and try to go deep in the game for the bullpen,’” Falter said.
“I tried my hardest, and the bullpen came in after me and closed the door really well.”
Falter took a no-decision, allowing three runs on six hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts in 5 ⅓ innings.
Ortiz stranded two men in the top of the sixth that were Falter’s responsibility.
“I owe him a couple of beers after saving those two runs for me,” Falter said. “He’s been doing well.”
Trailing 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Pirates got on the board thanks to an RBI groundout by Rowdy Tellez, scoring Ke’Bryan Hayes, who singled.
Hayes had advanced to third when Cruz ripped a double off the Clemente Wall.
The Pirates busted the game open in the sixth.
Connor Joe led off with a single and moved to third on a Bryan Reynolds double. Hayes plated Joe with another RBI groundout to make it 3-2.
“We just kept playing,” Reynolds said. “Earlier in the year, that’s what we were doing. Good start for us to get it going today and build off of it and do what we were doing earlier in the year.”
After Cruz’s fifth home run of the year put the Pirates in front 4-3, Tellez hit a double and scored on a single by Suwinski, capping the four-run inning.
Chapman had a nice play in the eighth, recovering from a leadoff walk issued to Ryan McMahon by catching McMahon stealing via a nifty throw over to Tellez at first.
The Pirates welcome the Los Angeles Angels to PNC Park on Monday for the second of three straight series at home.