The 23-year-old was ripped for eight runs on 11 hits – three home runs – and a walk while notching just two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
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Musgrove, a rookie making his fourth career start, was rocked for five runs and eight hits in four innings with two strikeouts and no walks.
Pittsburgh Pirates’ Adam Frazier scores a run as Houston Astros’ Jason Castro catches a late throw during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2016.
Houston’s four-game losing streak came to an end after the Astros were unable to overcome an early deficit.
“David has been a consummate professional while producing offensively and playing solid defense at both third and first base to help this team win games”, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said in a statement. As he tried to turn a double into a triple, Betts threw a strike to third base, where Travis Shaw applied the tag on a head-first slide. He also hit two and finished with three RBI against the St. Louis Cardinals on July 4. Boston starter Clay Buchholz (5-9) threw 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball.
The difference in this game was a 3-1 fifth-inning fastball Teoscar Hernandez hit into the left-field seats for his third home run of the season.
Nova (10-6) struck out six, walked one and threw 69 of his 98 pitches for strikes while improving to 3-0 in four starts with the Pirates. He’s got to learn to battle himself through his first back-to-back games of adversity. “When things kind of started coming to fruition, I was getting pretty pumped”. “He has a ton of competitiveness in him”.
Polanco had three of the Pirates’ 11 hits while driving in three runs and scoring three times.
“You can’t be out there at second base”, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. It was the third home run for Hernandez, who was called up from Triple-A Fresno on August 12 to make his major league debut. “He’s in his own way, and he just needs to go trust his abilities and be the guy that he’s capable of being rather than trying to make a ideal pitch every single time”.
Astros: 3B Luis Valbuena will undergo surgery in the next few days to fix a torn tendon in his right hamstring. OF Preston Tucker (strained right shoulder) is likely to begin a rehab assignment this weekend.
Astros: INF/OF Yulieksi Gurriel grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth a day after leaving his major league debut with right hamstring tightness.
Pirates right-hander Gerrit Cole (7-8, 3.30) will faces Astros right-hander Collin McHugh (7-10, 4.99) at 12:35 p.m. Wednesday in the finale of the three-game series. Pittsburgh rookie 1B Josh Bell is 4-for-9 in three straight starts.3.
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Pirates: RHP Ivan Nova (9-6, 4.83) is 2-1 with a 4.41 ERA in three starts since being acquired August 1 from the New York Yankees in a trade.
