Pittsburgh Pirates Lose Wild Extra Innings Game In Series Finale vs Arizona

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks played a wild affair on Wednesday afternoon

Wednesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks played a wild game. This game featured extra innings, monsoon conditions, a rain delay, and 3 ties. In the end, the Pittsburgh Pirates came up short in the rubber match of their 3 game series.

The loss on Wednesday caps off a disappointing homestand that saw the Pirates go 2-4. Additionally, with the loss, the Pirates are now 24-30 this season.

Arizona started the scoring in the 3^rd inning. After walks by Gregor Blanco and Paul Goldschmidt, Jake Lamb ripped a 2-out triple to give the Diamondbacks a 2-0 lead. These were 2 of the 3 walks issued by Chad Kuhl on Wednesday, and they both hurt immensely.

The Pittsburgh Pirates fell behind early on Wednesday, rallied to tie the game, and made it interesting in the 9^th inning. However, it was not enough to earn a victory. With the loss, the Bucs now find themselves with a record of 24-30 this season.

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Andrew McCutchen and Jose Osuna hit back-to-back doubles to start the bottom of the 5^th inning, cutting the Diamondback lead to 2-1. After Jordy Mercer grounded out to move Osuna to third base, pinch-hitter Gregory Polanco singled to tie the game at 2.

Polanco pinch-hitting ended Chad Kuhl’s day after 5 innings of work. He allowed 2 runs on 3 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts in his 5 innings of work.

Adam Frazier then hit into one of his two double plays on the day to end the inning with the game tied. However, the tie would not last long.

Daniel Hudson took over for the Pirates in the top of the 6^th inning. Entering this outing, Hudson had hurled 6 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings. But to start the 6^th inning, Paul Goldschmidt hit a solo home run to center field to make it 3-2 Diamondbacks.

Jake Lamb would follow the Goldschmidt home run with a double. Hudson would retire the next 3 batters he faced, however, Lamb was able to score on a ground out to make it 4-2 Arizona after 6 innings of play.

After this, the Pirate bullpen strung together some great innings. Wade LeBlanc, Juan Nicasio, and Felipe Rivero combined to strike out 4 batters while allowing just 4 hits and not issuing a walk in 3 scoreless innings of work. This gave the Bucs a chance to rally in the bottom of the 9^th.

In the bottom of the 9^th inning, the Pittsburgh Pirates would rally. Arizona closer Fernando Rodney issued back-to-back walks to Francisco Cervelli and Andrew McCutchen to start the inning. Then, Gift Ngoepe was called on to bunt.

Ngoepe got a bunt down, which first baseman Paul Goldschmidt booted. This error loaded the bases with no one out. This brought Jordy Mercer to the plate.

Mercer grounded out to second base Chris Owings. Owings made a very good play to turn a double play, however, this double play allowed pinch-runner Alen Hanson to score and tie the game at 4. Josh Bell then struck out to send the game to extra innings.

After Tony Watson pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 10^th inning, the Pirates attempted to mount a 2-out rally in the bottom half of the inning. John Jaso hit a 2-out double off Jorge De La Rosa who had only allowed 1 hit against left-handed hitters all season. David Freese was then intentionally walked, but Elias Diaz would ground out to shortstop to end the inning.

Johnny Barbato pitched the top of the 11^th for the Pirates. After retiring the first 2 batters of the inning, Barbato allowed a go-ahead home run to Nick Ahmed. This gave the Diamondbacks a 5-4 lead. Arizona then loaded the bases, but Barbato got Paul Goldschmidt to fly out to deep center field to end the inning.

J.J. Hoover took over for the Diamondbacks in the bottom of the 11^th. After he struck out Andrew McCutchen and pinch-hitter Gerrit Cole to start the inning, things looked bleak. The rain was pouring down, the wind was gusting, and the Pittsburgh Pirates appeared to be on their way to a loss.

However, Jordy Mercer stepped to the plate with 2-outs and continued his clutch hitting. He launched a solo home run into the Pirate bullpen to tie the game at 5. This adds to the clutch season Mercer is having, as he also leads the team in batting average with runners in scoring position.

After this, the umpires finally put the tarp on the field to delay the game.

When the game resumed, Jhan Marinez was pitching for the Pirates. With the help of 2 strikeouts, he worked around a leadoff Jake Lamb double in the top of the 12th inning. He then retired the Diamondbacks in order in the top of the 13th.

The Pirates got burnt by the National League not having a designated hitter in the bottom of the 14th inning. Andrew McCutchen came to the plate with 2 outs, Jhan Marinez on deck, and no one left on the Pirate bench. This allowed the Diamondbacks to intentionally walk McCutchen bringing up Marinez, who struck out.

In the top of the 14th, the Diamondbacks broke through against Marinez. David Peralta singled to start the inning, and then Jake Lamb was intentionally walked with 1 out. After this, Chris Owings hit a RBI single to make it 6-5 Arizona.

On Owings’ hit, the base runners were able to move to second and third due to a bobble by John Jaso in right field. After striking out Chris Iannetta, he would induce a ground out to end the inning.

Jhan Marinez pitched a career-high 3 innings in relief on Wednesday and allowed the 1 run on 3 hits. The lone walk he issued was intentional and he struck out 4 batters.

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Wednesday’s loss was a tough one to swallow. The Pirates rallied more than once to tie the game, but they were never able to take a lead. And, let’s be honest, 14 inning losses are never an easy pill to swallow.

After an off-day on Thursday, the Pirates will travel to the Big Apple to play the New York Mets. Game 1 of their 3 game series is scheduled to start at 7:10 PM on Friday night. Gerrit Cole is scheduled to start for the Pirates, while the Mets plan to go with Matt Harvey.