From the first crack of the bat to Detroit Tigers fans booing reliever Joba Chamberlain for allowing three home runs in two-thirds of an inning, it was a long night for the home faithful.
The Pittsburgh Pirates offense cranked out 21 hits and won 9-3 securing its 13th series victory in the process. A.J. Burnett earned his seventh victory of the season and of the 28 batters he faced 24 saw first-pitch strikes.
“He navigated through a very tough lineup,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “He made quality pitches and pitched in and out. He saved his best breaking ball for the last pitch to Kinsler. He was very acute and focused with his pitches.”
This afternoon, Francisco Liriano will face Kyle Ryan.
Liriano is 5-10 with a 5.59 ERA in 26 games [19 starts] against the Tigers. He had a no-decision in his last start against the Atlanta Braves allowing two runs on six hits in seven innings. He has a 2.27 ERA in his last seven outings.
Ryan has never faced the Pirates and in his last appearance allowed two runs on two hits in two-thirds of an inning against the Cleveland Indians.
Guerra finds his place: After spending nine seasons chasing the big league dream, Deolis Guerra was able to call Pittsburgh home recently.
“We were coming off of a long road trip and went back in the morning to Indianapolis and the manager Dean Treanor told me I was coming up,” Guerra said of his call-up. “It was kind of a surprise, I wasn’t expecting it.”
Guerra cited the bullpen’s success as a reason why he was surprised he was called up.
Bullpen coach Euclides Rojas is a familiar face to Guerra, as the two met in Winter League in Venezuela. Rojas was serving as the pitching coach for the Magallanes team.
“He was one of the top prospects for Minnesota and he’s a guy with really good stuff,” Rojas recalled. “He a real good fastball with a downhill plane, good curveball and a very good changeup. His makeup is off the chart so those are the things that let him get the call up to the majors.”
Guerra’s experience and trust in Rojas and pitching coach Ray Searage were a key reason why he signed with the Pirates organization.
“When knew they were interested in me in Winter League I was happy because I know Euky Rojas and he was my pitching coach in winter ball and I also know Ray Searage,” said Guerra. “I know they’re two great guys and I learned a lot from them.”
Tuesday Guerra earned his first victory in the major leagues and threw three innings in the process.
Rojas believes Guerra has matured and reflected on his change up which received recognition from Baseball America on three separate occasions when he was with the Twins organization.
“His changeup is thrown at the same arm speed as his fastball and he has good faith and decision in it,” Rojas said.
Guerra is expected to fill Rob Scahill’s role as the latter recovers from injury, now he hopes to make the most of his opportunity.
“I’ve been waiting for so long and for it to finally come is such a great feeling,” said Guerra.
Seventh inning stretch: Neil Walker may very well be Mr. July and further strengthened his case for this. He has a career .334 average in July and had his first multi-homer game since Apr. 14, 2014.
“He’s had some history here and had some history in July,” Hurdle said. “He gives another dimension to our offense when he gets it working.”
Top of the ninth: Gregory Polanco gets a rare start against a left-handed starting pitcher.
“We’re going to find out, that’s why he’s playing,” said Hurdle. “I like the way he’s swinging the bat and we’ll run him out there and see.”
Brad Ausmus had this to say to reporters following last night’s game.
“Today was a tough pill to swallow because we got our butts kicked,” Ausmus said.
The Pirates 31-17 record since May 9 is a major league best…. since the Pirates were no-hit by Max Scherzer they lead the majors with a .360 on-base percentage… The Pirates will conclude its first half of the season with a 10-game home stand which will end with a Sunday Night Baseball contest against the Reds
Photo courtesy: Leon Halip Getty Images
