4/30/23- By Michael Castrignano – @412DoublePlay on Twitter
Some days, you drop 16 on a team and some days, you just flounder. Today, the team was a bit on the fishy side. Following a 2 ½ hour rain delay, Pirates were sluggish out of the gates, dropping the final game of the series 7-2 and only mustering 6 hits in the game.
Starter Johan Oviedo was missing spots with his fastball, hanging off-speed pitches and getting hit hard across the board. Nine batted balls off him had an exit velocity of 90+ MPH. His final line: 2.1 innings pitched, 9 hits, 7 earned runs, 2 walks and just a single strikeout.
On the other side, Nationals’ starter Josiah Gray fared much better, lasting 6 innings and only surrendering one run off 3 hits, 3 walks and 6 strikeouts. He also generated 13 swings and misses on the day.
News & Notes
- Despite Oviedo’s rough outing, the bullpen was shutdown behind him:
- Dauri Moreta – 1.2 innings, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
- Jose Hernandez – 2 innings, 2 hits, no walks, 2 strikeouts
- Yohan Ramirez – 1 inning, 2 hits, no walks, 1 strikeout
- Duane Underwood Jr – 1 inning, 1 hit, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts
- Austin Hedges narrowly missed hitting his first Pirates home run in the 3rd inning but was confirmed foul after a crew chief review
- Bryan Reynolds had two hits on the game, driving in the team’s first run. It was his sixth straight game with an RBI.
- Tucupita Marcano had two hits on the day, moving his batting average to .273 on the season thus far.
- The team is still surging with steals as Carlos Santana netted his third and Ji-hwan Bae swiped his 11th on the season, tied for 2nd in the National League
- It was announced earlier in the day that catcher Tyler Heineman – who had been designated for assignment last week – was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for utility man Vinny Capra. Capra was assigned to Indianapolis.
- The Pirates have the day off tomorrow before they travel to St. Pete and face the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. First pitch is at 6:40pm. Let’s Go Bucs!
Inside The Bucs Basement 