Cole gives Pirates’ bullpen a break
Gerrit Cole gave the Pirates鈥� bullpen a break Wednesday night when the right-hander threw the first shutout of his four-year career.
The three-hitter in the 10-1 rout of the Seattle Mariners at PNC Park marked just the second time the Pirates had a complete game in their first 100 games this season. The low total shouldn鈥檛 be surprising because the Pirates did not have any complete games in 2015 for the first time in franchise history.
However, the Pirates starters鈥� inability to pitch deep into games had forced manager Clint Hurdle to use his relievers an average of 3.61 innings a game coming into the weekend. That ranked second in the major leagues to the Cincinnati Reds鈥� 3.63 mark.
The Toronto Blue Jays had used their relievers a major league-low 2.63 innings a game and the San Francisco Giants had the low mark in the National League at 2.73.
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Also on Wednesday, center fielder Andrew McCutchen and third baseman Jung Ho Kang drove in four runs each for the Pirates.
McCutchen hit a three-run home run and an RBI single. Kang had a three-run double and a bases-loaded walk.
According to the Elias 缅北禁地 Bureau, it marked the first time the Pirates had two players with at four RBI in a game since Sept. 17, 2008, when Adam LaRoche drove in five runs and Ryan Doumit knocked in four in a 15-8 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park.
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Adam Frazier鈥檚 game-winning home run last Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies, a pinch-hit solo shot in the seventh inning that snapped a 4-4 tie and lifted the Pirates to a 5-4 victory at PNC Park, was rather unexpected.
Not only was it the rookie utility player鈥檚 first home run in 42 major league plate appearances, but just the fourth of his four-year professional career. Frazier went deep three times in 1,520 trips to the plate in the minor leagues after being selected in the sixth round of the 2013 amateur draft from Mississippi State.
Frazier is one of five active major leaguers whose first career home came in a pinch-hit appearance and gave their team the lead in the seventh inning or later. The others are Kansas City鈥檚 Drew Butera, the Dodgers鈥� Scott Van Slyke, San Diego鈥檚 Cory Spangenberg and St. Louis鈥� Aledmys Diaz.