Pirates drop second game to Tigers, settle for a split in doubleheader

Looking for a sweep of their doubleheader at Detroit that would pull them up to .500 for the season, the Pittsburgh Pirates pulled a surprise by giving a pair of rookies their first major league starts.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton put Miguel Yajure on the mound and Rodolfo Castro at third base for the Game 2 nightcap, moves designed to take advantage of roster flexibility and positional versatility but also symbolic of the organization’s youth movement.

For the first four innings, the reward outweighed the risk.

Sparked by Jonathan Schoop’s leadoff homer, the Tigers rode a three-run fifth inning to a 5-2 seven-inning victory Wednesday night at Comerica Park to split the doubleheader.

The Pirates (8-10) won Game 1, 3-2.

“We’re in a situation where we’re probably going to continue to play young players, we’re going to have to continue to develop young players,” Shelton said. “We talked about this since spring training: Our young players have to get better so in no way does it injure us at all. I thought they both played fine. That didn’t really affect the outcome of the game. I thought Turnbull affected the outcome of the game.”

That would be Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull (1-0), who allowed one run on two hits – one of them a Colin Moran bunt against the shift – and two walks with six strikeouts in five innings.

Yajure, a 22-year-old right-hander acquired from the New York Yankees in the Jameson Taillon trade in January, learned that he would be called up as the 27th man and make the start when Tuesday’s game was postponed because of a snowstorm. Yajure pitched three games in relief for the Yankees last season but this was his first MLB start, and Shelton cited how he attacked the zone as a positive despite allowing four earned runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

“My focus and my mindset was to make sure I’m throwing strikes, attack the hitters and attack them with my best pitches,” Yajure said through team interpreter Mike Gonzalez. “Go in there aggressive, being who I am, and just being alert of the game and attacking and throwing strikes throughout the game.”

The 21-year-old Castro, who had never played above Class A, was added from the alternate training site team when the Pirates designated outfielder Anthony Alford for assignment. Castro was told he would be joining the Pirates’ taxi squad, only for Shelton to surprise him with the news that made the major league roster and was starting the nightcap.

“At that moment I just became so happy,” Castro said, also through Gonzalez, “a joy that I’ve never felt before.”

The Pirates claimed outfielder Ka’ai Tom off waivers from the Oakland A’s, but travel and health and safety intake protocols could delay him from joining the team for at least a few days. Castro’s debut didn’t go as he’d dreamed – he went 0 for 3, with a strikeout and a groundout before hitting a bouncer to third for the game’s final out – but he couldn’t stop smiling at the thought of making a monumental leap.

“I’ve enjoyed every second, every bit of it,” Castro said. “Ever since I was a little boy, this is something that I’ve been dreaming about. … So, even though it didn’t turn out the way that maybe I would have loved, it was still perfect for me and I’ve loved every bit of it. I’m just so grateful that God provided me the opportunity and that this organization also trusted me with the opportunity.”

The Pirates spotted Yajure a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Erik Gonzalez doubled off Turnbull to score Bryan Reynolds, but Niko Goodrun tied it with a home run to left in the third.

Yajure rebounded to retire the next six batters before serving up a homer to Schoop. Goodrun walked, then scored on Akil Baddoo’s double down the right field line. Yajure was pulled after walking Grayson Greiner, and Willi Castro singled off reliever David Bendar for a 4-1 lead.

“It was the third time around in their at-bats, and they were starting to recognize some of my pitches,” Yajure said, also through Gonzalez. “That’s something that I just have to keep working on.”

After a brushback pitch, Phillip Evans answered with a home run off reliever Bryan Garcia to cut it to 4-2. The Tigers added another run in the sixth off Clay Holmes, when Wilson Ramos hit a leadoff double and reached third on a wild pitch. Pinch runner Victor Reyes scored on Harold Castro’s RBI single to right.

In the matinee, the Tigers stacked their lineup with right-handed hitters to face lefty Tyler Anderson, who used his four-seam fastball and changeup to tie a season-high with seven strikeouts in a 3-2 seven-inning victory.

“He was good again, mixing and matching,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Tough day to grip the baseball, and he went out there and executed pitches and continued to pitch the whole game, and the fact that he was able to use everything effectively.”

Anderson (2-2) allowed two runs on three hits and two walks in five innings and earned the win, thanks to a three-run fourth inning. Of his 90 pitches, he threw 31 changeups and 30 four-seamers, registering 50 swings and 15 misses, getting two Tigers out on called strikes.

“No. 1, he’s deceptive. He’s got the double, triple pumps and hides the ball, and I think the execution of his gameplan has been good,” Shelton said, with a nod to pitching coach Oscar Marin. “I think that’s a credit to Tyler and Oscar in terms of coming up with a really good gameplan to attack an all-right-handed hitting lineup today. To go through that and go through it pretty effectively was really important.”

Anderson rebounded from a rough start, as the Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Victor Reyes led off with a double, stole third and scored on Robbie Grossman’s sacrifice fly to center field.

Tigers starter Michael Fulmer (1-1) didn’t allow a hit through the first three innings, but the Pirates got four in a three-run fourth. They tied the score on Bryan Reynolds’ line-drive single to right field and took the lead on Colin Moran’s groundout to third, which scored Phillip Evans from third. Erik Gonzalez added an RBI single to left to drive in Reynolds for a 3-1 lead.

Anderson found a way, even after the Tigers answered with another double, this one by Wilson Ramos, who scored on Jonathan Schoop’s single to right-center that cut it to 3-2 in the fourth. With the tying run on first, Anderson got Reyes to line out to center to end the inning.

“I just feel like today the balls were – I’m sure Fulmer would say the same thing – they just felt like they were pretty slick and cold,” Anderson said. “So if you licked your fingers or got some rosin, it was just hard to get a really good grip. So sometimes that makes it harder to execute pitches.”