Pittsburgh Pirates: Kevin Newman’s Walk-Off Snaps 7-Game Skid

Raise it! The Pittsburgh Pirates rallied on Thursday afternoon to beat the Minnesota Twins in walk-off fashion by a score of 6-5.

After losing 7 straight games, the Pittsburgh Pirates were finally able to hang one up in the win column with a ninth-inning rally capped off by a Kevin Newman walk-off single. Let’s break down the W!

Young Guys on the Bump

The Pirates called to JT Brubaker to fill in for Mitch Keller while he spends his time on the IL, and he made his debut as a starter at PNC Park on Thursday afternoon. After a bloop single from Jorge Polanco and a walk to Eddie Rosario, Brubaker gave up a two-out three-run homer to Miguel Sano that allowed the Twins to get out to a comfortable lead right off the bat. Brubaker was able to follow up with two scoreless innings to keep the Pirates in the game.

Cody Ponce would replace Brubaker to start the 4th inning. Ponce gave up solo homers off the bats of Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario in consecutive innings. He walked one and struck out three over the course of three complete innings.

Chris Stratton looked good once again in relief, as he put up another scoreless outing over 1 2/3 innings. He gave up two hits and struck out one. Stratton seems to have a chance to be a very successful bullpen arm for the Pirates as his career continues. He has been one of the best early season surprises for the Bucs.

Speaking of future successful bullpen arms, Sam Howard was efficient in his third outing as a Pirate. He allowed one hit and struck out one over an inning and a third. Howard’s outing earned himself the win on Thursday afternoon.

Look Out Allegheny River!

Gregory Polanco came into the finale against Minnesota with a batting average of just .053. However, he had a chance to deliver for the Bucs in the bottom half of the 2nd with two men on and nobody out. He was able to do just that. With the Pittsburgh Pirates trailing 3-0, Polanco attacked the first pitch he saw and sent it out of PNC Park and into the Allegheny River on a bounce. The homer had an estimated distance of over 445 feet.

Hopefully, that is the homer that gets Polanco going at the plate. He lined out to the center field wall later in the game, and has been hitting the ball with authority the past few games. So, it does appear that he is close to turning his early season struggles around.

Walk It Off!

The Pittsburgh Pirates entered the bottom half of the 8th inning trailing by a 5-3 score. Jarrod Dyson would start the rally with a lead-off walk and two stolen bases. With one out, Phillip Evans scored Dyson on a ground out to make it a 5-4 game.

The 5-4 score held as the Pirates came to bat in their half of the 9th. Colin Moran led off with an opposite field single off of the lefty Taylor Rogers. Cole Tucker would enter the game as a runner for Moran in order to get some speed on the base path. Bryan Reynolds would follow up Moran’s hit with a knock of his own, as he doubled down the left field line to put the tying and winning runs in scoring position with nobody out.

Polanco struck out for the first out and Newman entered the game to pinch-hit for the lefty JT Riddle. Newman, who was referred to as “Mr. Walk-Off” for the Pirates last season, was in familiar territory. With the infield in and two strikes on him, Newman was able to bounce a ball over the head of Rogers and into shallow center field to win it for the Buccos.

The team did their best to celebrate in a socially distance fashion, but you could see how excited the guys were to get back in the win column.

What’s Next?

The home stand continues for the Pittsburgh Pirates as the Detroit Tigers come to town on Friday night. Chad Kuhl (1.80 ERA, 2.78 FIP) will be making his first start for the Bucs since 2017 and his counterpart will be Matthew Boyd (7.20 ERA, 3.88 FIP) for the Tigers. First pitch is set for 7:05 PM.