Ten Run Thing of Beauty for Pittsburgh Pirates

Now this is how Pittsburgh Pirates games should get started.

Alex Presley lead off the game with a sharply hit ball for a double.  Jose Tabata walked.  Andrew McCutchen crushed a bill down the left field line for a double.

Garrett Jones came to the plate with nobody out and runners on second and third.  He couldn’t get it done and struckout.   Casey McGehee drove a pitch from Terry Doyle and belted it into right field which gave the Pirates a 2-0 lead.    McGehee was mixed up and thrown out, it appeared he thought Yamaico Navarro had a full count and he was caught off the bag.

The fun was just about to get rolling for the Bucs.  The Pirates started scoring runs with two-outs like a boss.

On the real full count Navarro hit a single up the middle to plate McCutchen raising his spring average to .368 and giving the Buccos a 3-0 Bucco lead.   Matt Hague kept the train rolling with a line drive to left field.

Josh Harrison stayed white hot with a line drive single to center that allowed Navarro to score.  Eric Fryer was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Presley.  The speedy Presley beat Twins first baseman Aaron Bates to the bag.  Bates then dropped the ball.  Of course the play happened with two outs, so the Pirates runners were moving and two more Bucco runs would score.

The wind assisted Tabata against new Twins pitcher Anthony Swarzak.  The Pirates right fielder got a wind blown double that brought out the boo birds in full force.

McCutchen showed good patience and earned a walk to load the bases for GFJ.  Thirty minutes into the first inning, Jones ripped the pitch from the Minnesota right hander for a two-out, two-run single to put the Bucs ahead 9-0.

McGehee ripped a double into the left field corner to score McCutchen.  Bob Walk called it an “absolute laser, a rocket….”    What an onslaught for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Navarro popped out to end the inning as the sold out crowd in Fort Myers gave the Twins a standing ovation.

10 runs, 10 hits, 15 hitters came to the plate, 34 minutes from start to beautiful finish.