Boston rallies in 8th for win
Marte. It was the key blow in the Pirates’ 4-3 loss to the flu-plagued Red Sox Thursday afternoon at Fenway Park. Ramirez scored the winning run later in the inning on a hit by Xander Bogaerts.
“We were one out of eight first-pitch strikes [in the eighth], which you’d like to get ahead of hitters,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “We weren’t able to get things done in that we needed to and they have very good offensive club. We’ve got to pitch to spots, as [starting pitcher] Chad [Kuhl] did throughout the entire game. He was able to make pitches, change speeds, be effective.”
The Pirates bullpen has surrendered 23 runs in 33⅓ innings this season.
Kuhl, 24, showed much-improved command in his second start of the season. He attacked Red Sox hitters early in the count with his fastball, which topped at 95 mph, and hurled 6⅓ innings of one-run ball without issuing a walk.
“It’s a lot of work that goes on in between,” Kuhl said of his improved command. “But when you’re out there, it’s executing pitches in the zone. It was big to be efficient today.”
Kuhl also worked at a quicker pace against Boston and his lone blemish came in the second inning when he gave up two doubles and a run.
Andrew McCutchen sparked the offense early; he launched a no-doubt two-run home run over the Green Monster in left on the first pitch he saw from Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez.
“He gave me a good pitch,” McCutchen said. “First pitch, heater. I’m assuming it was middlemiddle. If you’re a big leaguer, that’s what you’re supposed to do.
“I wouldn’t say there was a monkey on my back. McCutchen was on my back,” he added, in reference to the home run. “That’s about it. It was game No. 9. There’s a lot of people who don’t have a home run yet. Those are gonna come. I’ve got like 30 at-bats so far. You’ve just got to play, and you’ll hit your homers.”
It was McCutchen’s first homer of the year, first home run in 73 atbats (dating to the 2016 season) and the 176th of his career, which put him in a fourth-place tie with baseball home run king Barry Bonds on the Pirates all-time home run list. Sometimes, a blast that early can rattle a pitcher, but the Pirates finished the inning with back-to-back strikeouts with a runner in scoring position.
The struggling Pirates lineup could not muster anything significant until they drove Rodriguez’s pitch count up. Gregory Polanco doubled and David Freese walked in the sixth which led Boston to opt for middle reliever Heath Hembree. With Josh Harrison atbat, the Pirates added an insurance run on a successful double-steal try; Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez slung the ball into left field on his throw, so Polanco took home and made it 3-1.
The Pirates have lost four in a row and their upcoming schedule will not be easier. Two of their next four series are against the Chicago Cubs, including this weekend in Chicago. To start next week, they will face the St. Louis Cardinals.