Jose Quintana, Bucs Bats Lift Pirates to 5-2 Win Over the Yankees

Jose Quintana delivered a strong start, and the Pirates bats backed him as Pittsburgh defeated the Yankees 5-2 at PNC Park on Tuesday night.

In front of the first sellout crowd of the season, Quintana tossed five innings and limited a strong Yankees lineup to just a lone run. The veteran lefty scattered six hits, struck out seven and didn’t issue a single free pass.

The only issue for Quintana in this one was efficiency, as some deep counts prevented him from working further into the night. He threw 96 pitches in the game, 60 were strikes. Nonetheless, the Pirates and Quintana both had to be very pleased with his outing against New York.

Daniel Vogelbach’s second-inning homer was the first run of the game. He turned on a 3-2 pitch and hit it high over the Clemente Wall in right field.

Return of the Bach pic.twitter.com/hAxdVVr70h

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 5, 2022

Jack Suwinski followed a Bryan Reynolds double with a two-run shot to centerfield to tack on two more runs for the Bucs, who now held a 3-0 lead.

Let's go baby!! pic.twitter.com/Mus3oo1pIF

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 6, 2022

The Pirates added another run in the inning when Ben Gamel, fresh off the injured list, doubled home Oneil Cruz with two outs.

Cruz recorded a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth inning, extending the Pirates lead to 5-1.

Aaron Judge and Matt Carpenter delivered RBI-singles for the Yankees two runs in the game.

Reynolds saved a pair of runs in the top of the third inning when he made a diving catch in center on a ball hit by Giancarlo Stanton.

Bryan Reynolds keeps some runs off the board. pic.twitter.com/CoPRkyY66J

— MLB (@MLB) July 6, 2022

The Yankees came into the game with the best record in baseball, sitting at 58-22 before the loss against the Bucs.

The second game of this quick two-game series is Wednesday night. Mitch Keller (2-5, 5.14 ERA0 will be on the hill for the Pirates. Luis Severino (4-3, 3.35 ERA) gets the start for the Yankees.

Takeaways

• More Of The Same From Jose: Quintana did essentially what he has done throughout the entire season in this start against the Yankees. He worked around some base hits and was able to limit a very good Yankees lineup to just a single run in five frames. Quintana has exceeded the expectations of many after signing a one-year deal with the Pirates this winter, and that was again on display against New York.
• Make It Eight For Vogey: Thanks to his solo homerun in his first at-bat of the game, Vogelbach extended his hitting streak to a season-high eight games. Over that stretch, Vogelbach is hitting .417 (10 for 24) with a double, three homers, five RBIs and seven walks. Additionally, Vogelbach has reached base safely in nine straight contests dating back to June 25. The Pirates designated hitter has a combined six hits and has been on base seven times in four games played so far in the month of July. 
• Back With An Impact: The Pirates received strong contributions from a pair of players who were activated off the injured list prior to the start of the game. Gamel stroked a run-scoring to pad the Bucs lead as part of a two-hit performance, and Yoshi Tsutsugo recorded a pair of base hits in the win. Tsutsugo was on fire with Indianapolis during his rehab assignment, and that carried over into Tuesday’s game.
• Complete Win: In order for the Pirates to win against a team as good as the Yankees, they would need to play a near-perfect game. Pittsburgh did just that in all the different facets. They received a strong start from Quintana and the bullpen was able to preserve the victory. Offensively, the Pirates had a balanced approach with solid at-bats, power, timely hits and small ball success. The Bucs played solid defense behind their pitches, especially in the outfield.