‘Young Bucs’ Show Glimpse of Hopeful Future (+)
PITTSBURGH — If Saturday night’s win over the Philadelphia Phillies was any indication of what the Pittsburgh Pirates have on their hands moving forward, they should be thrilled.
Several of the Pirates’ top rookies played key roles in the Pirates’ 7-6 comeback win over the Phillies at PNC Park.
The Pirates’ lineup featured five rookies and rookie right-hander Quinn Priester was the starting pitcher.
Priester, despite a less-than-stellar pitching line, earned the win in his second-straight start after completing five-plus innings and allowing five runs. He struck out a career-best seven batters.
“I think the breaking balls were just coming out good,” Priester said. “I thought early I was locating the fastball well and then the breaking balls could just really play off that.”
The real contributions came from a couple of the Pirates’ position players who were instrumental in sparking the Pirates’ comeback efforts.
Liover Peguero and Endy Rodriguez combined to go 5 for 8 and collectively drove in six of the seven Pirates’ runs.
Peguero got the Pirates’ on the scoreboard with a 412-foot solo home run in the bottom of the third inning. He later added two singles and finished the night 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
In the field, Peguero turned a couple of nice double plays, including the game-ender, and made a fantastic diving play to rob Trea Turner of a base hit.
“I’m always trying to anticipate plays and be ready for everything,” he said on the web-gem. “That’s what got me in that rhythm right there and I was able to catch it.”
Rodriguez, meanwhile, finished the game 2 for 4 with a double, a triple, four RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
His bases-clearing triple on a ball that got passed Phillies center fielder Brandon Marsh put the Pirates out in front 6-4 in the fifth inning.
“[Hitting with the bases loaded is] the best part of the game because that’s where you get paid,” Rodriguez joked.
The trio of some of the Pirates’ top prospects weren’t the only ones who played their part in the win.
After recently getting called up from Triple-A Indianapolis, Alika Williams collected his first career hit and RBI on a base hit in the fifth.
Williams’ RBI-single turned out to be a big one as it was the Pirates’ seventh run of the game. It ended up being the difference-maker in the Pirates’ one-run victory.
“I guess that run ended up meaning something at the end of the game, so it does feel really good to come out on top tonight,” he said.
It’s only one game, sure. Baseball is a long season and one game is hardly anything to scoff at.
It’s also extremely early in the careers of these Pirates’ prospects who are all still finding their footing at the big league level.
But for at least one night, anyway, the young core of the Pittsburgh Pirates may have provided a glimmer of hope as they search for their first playoff appearance since 2015.
It won’t come this season, it may not even come next year. Who knows? But if Saturday night was any indication, maybe this is the core that can put Pirates’ baseball back on the map.