Pirates starter Gerrit Cole (13-4), who leads the majors in victories, was charged with all three runs and five hits in 7 1/3 innings. The Buccos posted eight hits and walked three times with Gregory Polanco driving in Jung-ho Kang with the lone run. His common fastball, whereas down barely, continues to be one of many hardest in baseball at 96 miles per hour.
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Then in the bottom of the fourth, with Alcides Esobar batting, Alex Rios stole home.
Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Yordano Ventura throws during…
The Pirates threatened in the eighth when first baseman Sean Rodriguez snapped an 0-for-16 drought with a one-out single and right fielder Gregory Polanco walked.
On the flip side, the Royals offense scored first, but could not provide almost enough run support that the pitching staff would need.
On July 21, 1978, 20-year-old Royals outfielder Clint Hurdle went 3-for-3 with a home run and six RBIs against the Rangers.
Pirates seventh. S.Marte singled to center. Mike Moustakas hit a solo homer, his ninth dinger of the year, to cut the lead to 8-5 Pittsburgh.
In the seventh, with a runner on third, first baseman Eric Hosmer picked up a grounder that likely would have rolled foul along the line, tagged the batter, and a runner scored from third without a throw. Hosmer tripled to right, L.Cain scored.
Medlen struck out the first two Pirates before yielding a home run to Ishikawa.
With the win, Pirates (54-38) pulled within 4 games of the idle St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central Division and improved to 18-7 in their past 25 road games against American League teams, dating to May 28, 2013.
That score wouldn’t change as Mark Melancon would earn his 30th save and secure the Pirate victory. Those 15 minutes of aiming for the seats exhausted him out – he was 0 for three in the All-Star Game and hitless in 10 at-bats during a series against Cleveland over the weekend. There shouldn’t be any worry about Burnett because he has still been phenomenal when evaluating his season as a whole.
Royals starter Jason Vargas left in the second inning after throwing 26 pitches with pain in his left elbow and will undergo a MRI Wednesday to detect the extent of the injury. He carried the load Monday and guys around him hit well too. Burnett to the showers and cutting the Pirates’ advantage to one run. Burnett has words with first base umpire Gerry Davis after being called for a balk during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Monday, July 20, 2015, in Kansas City, Mo. This was just one game of a long schedule, but a big win for the Pirates.
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Between a few big blasts – Ishikawa for the Pirates, and Kendrys Morales and Moustakas for the Royals – there were a couple scoring plays that were anything but ordinary. The Royals kept fighting but the Pirates found a way to come through and match the fight of the Royals. Charlie Morton toes the rubber in Wednesday’s bout at Kauffman Stadium. C Francisco Cervelli was held out with a bruised right wrist. With Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison out for extended periods of time, the Pirates had better hope that Cervelli is only enduring some minor discomfort and nothing more serious.
