BUCS CONQUER KLUBER, RAIN TO WIN 10TH STRAIGHT
Neither persistent rain nor the reigning American League Cy
Young Award winner could stop the Pirates' winning streak on Monday night.
Pittsburgh put up seven runs in four innings against Indians
ace Corey Kluber,
an early offensive onslaught slowed only by the night's three rain delays. With
right-hander Trevor
Williams shutting down Cleveland's high-powered offense,
the Bucs cruised to a 7-0, rain-shortened six-inning win at Progressive Field.
The Pirates have won 10 games in a row, the club's longest winning streak since
a 10-game run in 2004.
That's all the Pirates have done lately. They have won 12 of
their last 13 games, pulling to three games above .500 and into the National
League Wild Card race with a week to go before the non-waiver Trade Deadline.
All but officially written off two weeks ago, the Bucs are four games out of
the second Wild Card spot and now third in the NL Central, seven games behind
the division-leading Cubs.
What's led to their recent surge? The Pirates showed the
formula again on Monday night: Starting pitching, contributions from everyone
in the lineup and an outfield that ranks among the Majors' best.
It started with Williams. The Indians entered the night
leading the Majors with 118 runs in July. But Williams silenced a lineup laden
with lefties with a mix of fastballs and changeups, allowing only four hits and
two walks. He found trouble only in his final inning, but he left the bases
loaded by striking out Yonder Alonso and
inducing an inning-ending groundout from Melky Cabrera.
Williams ended the night with his first professional
complete game -- even if he joked he was "not counting it" because it
was only six innings. The Pirates have pitched 11 shutouts this season, tied
with the Cubs for the most in the Majors, and Williams has started five of
them. Over the past 13 games, Pittsburgh's starters have posted a 2.46 ERA.
Back in the lineup after sitting out all weekend with a sore
left hamstring, Harrison immediately made an impact. He was hitting just .174
with a .457 OPS in July, but after a couple of Cleveland miscues in the field,
Harrison crushed a three-run homer to left off Kluber in the second inning to
put the Pirates on the board.
Harrison was the first of four Pirates in a row to reach
safely against Kluber, who allowed a season-high nine hits. Jordy Mercer hit
a double to left, Corey
Dickerson walked, and Starling Marte extended
his hitting streak to 16 games by slicing an RBI single to right field.
Harrison, Mercer and Pittsburgh's outfielders were in the
middle of the Bucs' three-run fourth inning, too. Harrison started it with a
one-out single, then Mercer smacked a single to right. Dickerson hit a grounder
that left the Pirates with two outs and runners on the corners. Marte drove in
Harrison with a single to center, and Polanco laced a two-run triple to
left-center field.
The Pirates' outfield trio finished 4-for-9 with four RBIs,
a walk and no strikeouts on the night. As a group, Pittsburgh's outfield
entered Monday's series opener with the NL's highest OPS (.836) and slugging
percentage (.500) while ranking second in average (.282) and home runs (53).
Led by their outfielders atop the order, the Pirates have outscored opponents
64-20 during their winning streak.
"I'm thankful that we're swinging the bat really well
right now. I don't want to face the Pirates," Williams said. "I don't
want to face us right now. Our bats were at home against the Brewers, and our
bats were in Cincinnati. I'm glad they showed up in Cleveland as well."
MOMENTS THAT
MATTERED
MAXIMIZING MISTAKES: Cleveland had a chance to stop Pittsburgh's
second-inning rally before it started. With one out and Colin Moran on
first base, Josh Bell hit
a grounder that second baseman Jason Kipniscouldn't
cleanly field to turn a double play. Bell reached first safely, bringing
up David Freese with
two outs. Freese hit a high pop-up over the mound, but Alonso couldn't reel it
in.
Up came Harrison with runners on the corners. Kluber got
ahead of him in the count, 0-2, but Harrison felt the two swings he took helped
him to "knock off the cobwebs." Harrison hammered Kluber's fourth
pitch deep into the left-field stands for his first homer since June 16.
SOUND SMART
The Pirates' current winning streak is tied for the second-longest stretch in
the Majors this season. The Red Sox won 10 consecutive games earlier this
month, and the Astros won 12 in a row in June. Only two NL teams won at least
10 straight games last season: the D-backs (13) and the Dodgers (who had
winning streaks of 10 and 11 games).
The Pirates have homered in a season-high eight consecutive
games, launching 19 round-trippers during that streak.
ROSTER MOVES
The Pirates selected the contract of right-hander Casey
Sadler from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned infielder Max Moroff to the same
club. Left-hander Josh Smoker was designated for assignment.
TRAINER’S ROOM
PIRATES: C
Francisco Cervelli (concussion) worked out before the game — blocking balls,
catching popups and throwing to bases — but he hasn’t been cleared to return.
INDIANS: Designated
hitter Edwin Encarnacion was out for the second straight game because of a bone
bruise on his right hand. He was hit by a pitch in the final game before the
All-Star break. … LHP Andrew Miller (right knee inflammation) will continue his
minor league rehab assignment Tuesday at Double-A Akron. He will pitch every
other day this week and then pitch on back-to-back days this weekend.
UP NEXT
PIRATES RHP Joe Musgrove (3-4, 4.08 ERA) takes on Indians
RHP Shane Bieber (5-1, 3.53 ERA) in the second game of the series. Bieber will
be recalled from Triple-A Columbus.
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