Pittsburgh Pirates lose to Joey Votto & Reds 5-4 in extras

Gerrit Cole‘s first start in 2015 was a mixed bag as the Pittsburgh Pirates fell to the Cincinnati Reds 5-4 in 11 innings on the back of a Joey Votto walk-off single off of Radhames Liz.

Cole’s outing was hotly anticipated, and was only his third start in his young career against the Reds.  He labored at times, missing spots as evidenced by Todd Frazier turning on a clear-cut mistake pitch in the early going for his second home run of the year.  Cole seemed to favor the fastball early before incorporating his breaking ball more and more as the game progressed, using it effectively to strike out the side in the fifth frame, his last.  He did well to do so, with the speedy Billy Hamilton on base at the time.  Cole’s final line on the day:  5 IP, 5 hits, 3 ER, 6 K, 2 BB.

The offense seemed to wake up a bit after the lukewarm opener.  Despite an 0-for-5 day from Andrew McCutchen, Francisco Cervelli, Pedro Alvarez, and Neil Walker all collected their first RBIs of the young season.  However, no individual Pirate did better than 1-for-5 at the plate.  The Pirates totaled eight hits on the day.

Over at the villainous side of the diamond, Votto did the most damage against the Bucs, with his two RBI being part of a 2-for-6 day.

What Stood Out

Plenty of Pirates pitchers made their debut today, as Mark Melancon, Arquimedes Caminero, and Rob Scahill each worked a clean appearance.  Scahill in particular impressed, striking out two in his one inning of work.  Antonio Bastardo also debuted for the Bucs, but was charged with the blown save after giving up the tying run on a Votto single.  A wild pitch from Bastardo allowed Billy Hamilton to move into scoring position to setup the game-tying hit.  Speaking of Hamilton, he stole three bases on the day, as his speed was also on display in the outfield.  His closing speed took away several hits from Bucco batters.

Corey Hart saw his first action of the year, coming up as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, hitting for Alvarez, and immediately connected on a single that scored McCutchen, who was on second base due to the old walk-and-a-balk combo from Tony Cingrani.

What’s Next:

The Pirates wrap up the series with the Reds today at 12:35 PM.  The game can be seen on ROOT Sports as well as MLB.tv, as it is the free game of the day.  A.J. Burnett makes his eagerly-anticipated return for the Pirates, and he faces off against RHP Anthony DeSclafani.  It will be interesting to see Clint Hurdle‘s lineup, as there was not much turn around time between last night’s rain-delayed marathon and today’s early-afternoon start.

Next: Pirates vs Reds Series Preview