North Shore Nine

They are words that every Pirates fans dread to hear: “Rowdy Tellez enters the game at first base.” Fortunately, as Greg Brown announced the substitution in the bottom of the eighth inning, the Pirates were already well on the way to a 8-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Mitch Keller had a solid outing yet again, throwing 106 pitches over six innings and giving up only one run. Keller allowed five hits and a walk while striking out eight. Luis L. Ortiz followed with three near-perfect innings, striking out three; the lone baserunner was Daniel Vogelbach, who knocked a one-out single up the middle.

Ortiz was the beneficiary of a web gem in the seventh, with a great moving throw from Nick Gonzales (who played at shortstop) to Connor Joe for a tag play at first. Ke’Bryan Hayes also caught a line drive for an out in the ninth inning.

The Pirates got off to a hot start at the plate, scoring three runs in the first inning on an Edward Olivares sacrifice fly and a Ke’Bryan Hayes two-run homer. The bats remained quiet until the fifth inning; Andrew McCutchen picked up an RBI after driving in Jared Triolo, and Connor Joe picked up an RBI of his own after driving in McCutchen.

The Pirates’ sixth run arrived in the sixth inning. Hayes and Nick Gonzales hit back-to-back singles and Yasmani Grandal used a sacrifice bunt to advance them. With the infield in, Jared Triolo chopped one to Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, but a poor throw home from Bichette allowed Hayes to score.

Two more runs scored in the eighth inning thanks to a two-run homer from Brian Reynolds. Andrew McCutchen reached first on a fielders choice thanks to some smart baserunning by Jared Triolo, who helped to prevent a double play.

The Pirates seek a series win tomorrow in The Six before returning to Pittsburgh for a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.