The Pittsburgh Pirates snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 10-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels last night. Rookie Mitch Keller made his return to the major league’s and allowed one run on five hits over five innings. Reliever Chris Stratton followed with three scoreless innings. Josh Bell hit his 30th home run of the season. Rookie Bryan Reynolds hit his 12th of the year. Starling Marte had three hits. Catcher Jacob Stallings drove in three runs. Everyone in the Pirates lineup had a hit, except shortstop Erik Gonzales.
To make room for Keller on the roster, the Pirates placed reliever Richard Rodriguez on the 10-day Injured List. Catcher Francisco Cervelli has begun a rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona.
The Bucs and Angels play again tonight at 10:07pm. Pre-game on WISR is 9:40pm. Trevor Williams will start for the Pirates.
The Pirates schedule for 2020 has been released. The Bucs will open the season against Tampa Bay March 26th. It is the earliest start ever for Major League Baseball and all 30 teams are scheduled to play opening day for the first time since 1968.
The Pirates will play three games against the Rays before heading to Chicago for three games against the Cubs. The home opener at PNC Park will be April 2nd against Cincinnati. The Bucs will face all of the teams from the American League East next year, and also have the traditional four games with the Detroit Tigers.