PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates promised roster changes after the trade deadline.
That meant younger blood coming in, more opportunities for the prospects fans are clamoring to see bring some successful baseball to Pittsburgh. Those young players showed up Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
In an 8-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, the Pirates’ second-straight win, utility man Tucupita Marcano had set himself up to be the hero. That would have been appropriate. Marcano represented Wednesday’s first move toward youth, as he was called up prior to the game to replace the scuffling Yoshi Tsutsugo, who was designated for assignment.
Trailing by four, Marcano singled in the third, then crossed home on an RBI single from third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Center fielder Bryan Reynolds also scored on the play.
In the fourth, Marcano tripled with two outs but was stranded on third. In the sixth, he came through with his own RBI, this time plating Michael Chavis to tie the game at four. 3-for-3 with the game-tying RBI in your first game back on the big club should probably earn some headlines.
Then, along came Oneil Cruz. For the second night in a row, he got a pitch he could drive in the seventh, and he certainly drove it. He launched the first pitch he saw from lefty reliever Brent Suter 434 feet to right-center, parking it on top of the new outfield bar beyond the seats out there.
The Brewers tied it back up with three runs in the eighth, putting the youth movement’s arrival on ice for a moment. Then Reynolds reminded everyone why he’s a building block too. Leading off the bottom of the ninth, he took a 2-0 pitch and demolished it to right-center, taking his time to watch it fly, a walk-off solo shot.
With the way the game started, it didn’t seem like one the Pirates could win. Manager Derek Shelton’s hands were tied with regards to his starting pitcher. In the past month or so, the Pirates decided to reset right-hander Roansy Contreras’ season, giving him some time down to avoid any risk of injury that could come from overuse. Then, Monday, they traded left-hander José Quintana to the St. Louis Cardinals.
That left the Pirates with an open rotation spot, with Contreras still building up his innings in Triple-A Indianapolis. The other possible options in Indianapolis would have been Cody Bolton, who is just returning from injury, Michael Burrows, who is still just getting his first taste of Triple-A ball and Miguel Yajure, who has struggled mightily of late. So the Pirates went with a bullpen game instead.
As it turned out, that put them in a bit of a bind. Right-hander Tyler Beede struggled out of the gate, lasting just 1 1/3 innings and allowing three earned runs before having to come out of the game. Left-hander Dillon Peters allowed another to score but was pretty reliable overall, getting through 2 2/3 innings without allowing another run.
Things began to unwind later on. In the eighth, right-hander Yerry De Los Santos entered pitching without a day’s rest. He got two quick outs but allowed two singles, a walk and two more singles to tie the game. Right-hander Wil Crowe came in to finish things off, pitching on the second night in a row himself. He slammed the door in the eighth, then pitched a scoreless, 1-2-3 ninth.
That set the stage for Reynolds. There were twists and turns along the way. In the end, it was Reynolds, Hayes, Cruz and Marcano’s night. That’s something Pirates fans will hope to get used to.
