Bucs' bats come alive with 4 HRs, 15 hits
Adam Berry
@adamdberryPITTSBURGH -- After building up an eight-run lead, it looked like the Pirates were set to cruise to a nice, easy win. These Bucs don¡¯t really do nice and easy, but Thursday is about as close as they¡¯ll get.
After seeing their lead cut to two runs in the sixth inning, the Pirates stormed back to score six more on three homers in the seventh and avoided a three-game series sweep by beating the Rockies, 14-6, at PNC Park. In doing so, they once again showed their resiliency. The Bucs have been dealt their share of lopsided losses this season, including Wednesday¡¯s 9-3 defeat, but they are three games above .500 heading into a weekend series against the Dodgers.
¡°I think that¡¯s what they¡¯ve really grasped: We need to play better. The ability to bounce back just shows, for me, that that¡¯s what they¡¯re doing,¡± manager Clint Hurdle said. ¡°They¡¯re focusing on what¡¯s next. There¡¯s no rear-view mirrors in there, because we¡¯re not planning on going backwards. We¡¯re focused forward.¡±
The Pirates are 5-3 this season immediately after a ¡°wipeout¡± loss, as Hurdle has called them -- games that they dropped by at least six runs. What¡¯s their secret to bouncing back?
¡°I guess just the understanding that a loss is a loss,¡± Josh Bell said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you lose by 20 or you lose by one. It just goes down as one loss.¡±
Unsurprisingly, Bell played a huge part as the Pirates put together their highest-scoring game and largest margin of victory this season. The switch-hitting slugger finished 3-for-4 with his 16th homer of the season, a double, a walk and two RBIs, bringing his total to 47 in 47 games.
Bell is earning those ¡°M-V-P¡± chants he received from the Thursday afternoon crowd of 15,490. Nearly two months into the season, he¡¯s hitting .339/.408/.718 and proving to be one of the most imposing hitters in baseball. When asked where his first baseman¡¯s performance ranks among the things he¡¯s seen, Hurdle mentioned Larry Walker, Dante Bichette, Todd Helton and MVP-season Josh Hamilton.
¡°This is probably as good as I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Hurdle said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some pretty special things. This would go right in that category. ... It¡¯s been fantastically fun to watch.¡±
It was Bell who kickstarted Pittsburgh¡¯s six-run seventh inning, clubbing a solo shot into the Rockies¡¯ bullpen off reliever Carlos Estévez. Bryan Reynolds followed with a three-run drive to center field -- his first career pinch-hit homer -- and Starling Marte punctuated the big inning with a two-run homer to left.
¡°It¡¯s a good day to hit,¡± Reynolds said. ¡°Everybody up and down was crushing the ball.¡±
That rally eased some of the tension that built at PNC Park when the Rockies quickly ruined what was shaping up to be another terrific start for right-hander Jordan Lyles. They were happy to be on the other end of one of those ¡°wipeout¡± games.
¡°It was awesome,¡± Bell said. ¡°In situations like that, to bounce back, to let them know that we¡¯re still right here, it goes a long way and allows our bullpen to shut the door.¡±
Lyles breezed through five innings on 65 pitches, at one point retiring 14 straight hitters. But Colorado struck back the third time through the order, racking up five hits and a walk against Lyles before he was relieved by rookie Geoff Hartlieb. Lyles walked off the mound with five strong innings under his belt and a sour taste in his mouth.
Hartlieb walked Chris Iannetta, and then he served up a two-run single to pinch-hitter Daniel Murphy, which shrank Pittsburgh¡¯s lead to two, before getting out of the inning.
¡°I had a chance to give the boys some rest out in the bullpen,¡± said Lyles, who still owns a 2.81 ERA after nine starts, eight of which the Pirates have won. ¡°That one stings.¡±
The Pirates got to Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela early, putting up four runs in the first. Gregory Polanco launched his fifth home run, a two-run shot, to center field. Melky Cabrera doubled in a run and scored on the first of Colin Moran¡¯s two RBI singles.
Lyles helped his own cause in the third, knocking a two-run single down the right-field line against Senzatela. But it was Bell who chased Senzatela in the fourth after banging a 3-0 fastball into right field for an RBI single.
¡°The offense was really good. You can¡¯t say enough about what JB¡¯s doing right now, Melky coming up with timely hits and Bryan coming off the bench and kind of putting the game away for a second time,¡± Lyles said. ¡°That was huge. It was good to have a game offensively for us to get things back on track, for sure.¡±