Ninth-inning rally propels Pirates past Twins
The Pittsburgh Pirates got a comeback victory thanks to a pair of minor-league call-ups and a backup.
Zack Kone started a two-out rally in the top of the ninth, the Pirates tied the score on Logan Hill’s RBI single and Colin Moran’s single to center clinched a 6-5 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday in a Grapefruit League game in Fort Myers, Fla.
Joe Musgrove allowed three runs on eight hits over five innings, striking out four with no walks. Musgrove gave up a pair of RBI singles to Willians Astudillo in the second and fourth innings, as well as a run-scoring single by Byron Buxton in the fourth. Michael Feliz surrendered a two-run home run to Jonathan Schoop in the sixth that put the Twins up 5-1.
The Pirates rallied with a four-run eighth inning as Pablo Reyes and Moran hit RBI singles, Jose Osuna had a sacrifice fly and Hill scored on a wild pitch by Fernando Romero to cut it to 5-4.
In the top of the ninth, pinch hitter Kone hit a two-out single to center and scored on Hill’s single to right off Mike Morin to tie it at 5-5. Moran followed with a single to center to score Reyes for a 6-5 lead.
Reyes, who started at shortstop, went 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run.
Clay Holmes got the victory, and Brandon Maurer pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to get the save for the Pirates.
In other moves, the Pirates optioned right-handed pitcher Jake Barrett to Triple-A Indianapolis and reassigned infielder Alfredo Reyes to minor-league camp.
Todd Tomczyk, director of sports medicine, reported Gregory Polanco (shoulder) might be ready to play right field in a minor-league game next week, and catcher Elias Diaz (virus) has resumed baseball activities but will need at least a few weeks before he is ready to play in games. Catcher Jacob Stallings was removed from the Twins game in the fifth inning with soreness in his neck and is day-to-day.
Chris Archer is scheduled to start against right-hander Davaid Hess when the Pirates play the Baltimore Orioles at 1:05 p.m. Thursday at LECOM Park. Kyle Crick and Tyler Lyons also are expected to pitch. Nick Burdi, who has had four consecutive scoreless appearances, will pitch an inning in a minor-league game at Pirate City.
Love baseball? Stay up-to-date with the latest Pittsburgh Pirates news.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.