Pirates jump on Snell in return, top Rays

PITTSBURGH — Jose Osuna doubled twice and drove in two runs and rookie Josh Bell hit his 15th homer of the season as the Pittsburgh Pirates jumped on Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell early in a 6-2 victory on Wednesday night.

Osuna’s ground-rule RBI double sparked a four-run two-out rally in the first off Snell (0-5) in his return to the starting rotation after a stint in Triple-A. Bell led off the fourth with a solo home run and Osuna added another RBI double in the fifth for the Pirates.

Ivan Nova (8-5) struggled with his command and failed to work into the sixth for the first time this season but picked up the win despite allowing seven hits and two walks in five innings.

Corey Dickerson, Evan Longoria, Tim Beckham and Adeiny Hevavarria all had two hits each for the Rays but Tampa Bay went 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base.

Snell began the season as Tampa Bay’s fourth starter but was sent down following a loss to Boston on May 13. He went 5-0 at Triple-A and manager Kevin Cash called Snell’s re-insertion into the rotation as a chance for Snell to hit “reset.”

It didn’t take long for the c o n t r o l i s s u e s t h a t plagued Snell over his

Pirates 6, Rays 2

first eight starts this season to resurface. Snell walked Andrew McCutchen and David Freese with two outs in the first. Osuna followed with a shot down the left field line that onehopped into the stands to give Pittsburgh a 4-1 lead. A wild pitch allowed Freese to score and Elias Dias added a two-run single to put the Pirates up 4-0. Snell retired seven straight before Bell’s shot to the seats on the second pitch of the fourth put Pittsburgh up 5-2.

Snell left five innings, allowing six runs on four hits with five walks and four strikeouts. He has 30 walks in 46 innings this season.

Walks are never an issue for Nova, who came in having issued just 11 in 103 innings. Yet he lacked his usual crispness. He allowed at least one baserunner in each of his five innings but managed to avoid the big mistake, surrendering only Longoria’s RBI double in the first and a sacrifice fly to Wilson Ramos in the third.