The Buccos continued their hot stretch over the weekend, taking two out of three from the Guardians in their first series out of the All-Star break. With the series win, they move into a tie for a Wild Card spot in the NL, and look to be in strong position to be buyers at the trade deadline.
Game one was supposed to take place on Friday, but for the second series in a row, it was moved to Saturday as part of a doubleheader. Jared Jones took the mound against the Guardians’ ace Gavin Williams in a duel of strikeout artists. Jones looked to continue his masterful streak that included nine straight perfect innings, and he succeeded. Still on a pitch limit, Jones went five innings and gave up a singular run, striking out nine Guardians while allowing just four baserunners. His fastball was electric again, using it time and time again at the top of the zone to induce whiffs. After a rough few outings to begin his return to the mound, he looks to be an absolute weapon as the Bucs continue to push for a playoff spot. To back him up, the Bucco bats continued their stretch as the best offense in baseball, posting seven runs. Williams managed to strike out eleven Pirates, but between the strikeouts were bursts of pop. Jacob Gonzalez homered in his first at bat as a Pirates starter, Esmerlyn Valdez smacked another homer to the opposite field, and Nick Gonzales lifted his fifth homer. Carmen Mlodzinski was fantastic out of the pen again, tossing three scoreless innings before passing the ball to Isaac Mattson to close out a 7-1 victory. Bryan Reynolds and Brandon Lowe both tallied two hits on top of the aforementioned homers to extend the Bucs’ lead, and it was a comfortable win for the best offense in baseball.
Game two started off good. Mason Montgomery was tasked with opener duty, and he tossed a scoreless frame to pass the rock to Khristian Curtis for his MLB debut. Curtis was basically as good as he could have been, holding Cleveland scoreless over five innings while allowing just four men to reach base. Brandon Lowe and Esmerlyn were driving forces for the offense again, giving Curtis a 3-0 lead and putting him in line for the win. Sadly, the Bucs then ran into a familiar problem. Brandon Eisert struggled mightily, giving up three runs and the lead. The Bucs were able to hold on in the bottom of the eighth after that, even through Gregory Soto let Eisert’s baserunners come around to score for his fifth blown save of the year. The bottom of the ninth was very eventful, as Bryan Reynolds gunned Patrick Bailey down at the late to keep the game tied. However, just two pitches later, Dennis Santana gave up a walk off two run homer to rookie Travis Bazzana, and the Guardians were able to miraculously split the doubleheader. While Logan Allen struggled in his start for Cleveland, their bullpen shut the Pirates out for the remainer of the game, spearheaded by familiar face Colin Holdermann, who is enjoying a career year. No Pirate had more than one hit, and the offense struggled to take advantage in spots with multiple runners on base multiple times throughout the game.
After the disappointment of game two, the Bucs rallied in game three about as good as possible. Paul Skenes continued his stretch of great starts after being trampled by the media over the past month, giving the Pirates seven innings of one run ball while striking out eight. His fastball velocity was still down, but his command was exquisite, placing the ball exactly where he wanted with his entire repertoire. Giving him a lead to work with was the newly minted “law firm” of Gonzales and Gonzalez, as Nick and Jacob combined for three doubles. And, who else but Esmerlyn Valdez smoked a two run homer in the ninth inning to salt the game away. The Bucs trotted out an odd lineup to say the least in this one, with Billy Cook in centerfield and Jared Triolo hitting second. And yet, it worked out. Triolo tallied two hits and two walks, and Cook was even better. The “vibes guy” had three hits including a triple, threw a man out at home, and even swiped a bag. The biggest reason the Pirates have scored the most runs in the MLB is because of contributions up and down the roster, and Sunday’s game was a perfect example. Mason Montgomery and Isaac Mattson were both perfect in their relief outings, and the Pirates were able to take the rubber match in the series 7-1.
This was a much needed series coming out of the break. It put the Pirates in a tie for the Wild Card spot, and pushed them to 7-3 over their last ten games. They won with big offensive performances and dominant pitching outings in every game, and while the bullpen blew game two, it absolutely destroyed the Guardians in games one and three.
Guess who? Esmerlyn Valdez is once again your series MVP. Yes, Paul Skenes and Jared Jones both delivered masterclasses on the mound. However, until The Magician stops hitting homers, the series MVP crown is his to lose.
The Bucs travel to New York tomorrow to start a series against the AL favorite Yankees, as Braxton Ashcraft will get the ball against lefty Ryan Weathers in game one. Let’s go Bucs!
