The Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 in 12-innings last night at PNC Park. James McCann hit a 12th-inning single to lift the “D-Backs”, it was one of four hits the Arizona catcher had in the game. The Pirates had battled back from a six-run deficit with three runs each in the eighth and ninth innings of the game.
Pirates starting pitcher Bubba Chandler managed just four innings, allowing eight hits and five runs, four of those earned. Bryan Reynolds and Brandon Lowe hit home runs for the Pirates in their failed comeback.
The Pirates did see the return of rookie slugger Esmerlyn Valdez Tuesday after he was hit by a pitch in the wrist Monday night. He had a single in six at-bats last night with two strikeouts.
The takeaway from both teams could be considered crafty pitching to get out of jams. The Bucs left 13 men on base in the game, but Arizona stranded 15. They went 3-for-27 with runners in scoring position. The Pirates were 5-for-19. Their pitchers struck out 11. While the Bucs struck out 10 times in the game.
The Pirates are now 1-and-44 this season when trailing after eight innings.
The series-deciding game will be played today at 12:35pm. WISR pre-game begins at 12:10pm. Jared Jones will start for the Bucs. Jones is 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA this season. He has allowed just three earned runs over his last four starts.
Left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez will start for Arizona. He is 9-3 this season with a 2.64 ERA.
The Pirates will either end the day tied for the final N.L. Wild Card, or will fall to two games behind Arizona.
The Pirates face an eight-game road trip to close July and open August after today’s game. They will travel to Cincinnati for four games beginning tomorrow night, before heading to Milwaukee for another four games beginning Monday.
The Bucs will be back home briefly for a three-game series with the New York Mets Friday, August 7th when they honor the retiring Josh Harrison, before heading to Miami for three games.
The return of Pirates first baseman Spencer Horwitz has been halted. Horwitz was hit in the head by a pitch in a Bradenton rehab start, and suffered a concussion.