He was solid across the board as a rookie, and capped the season off by allowing just two runs in 12 1/3 innings in the World Series, a sign of sure stardom to come.
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In a corresponding roster move, the Royals have optioned right-handed pitcher Yordano Ventura to Triple-A Omaha.
“Just fortunate for them to fall tonight”, Ishikawa said with a smile.
The Pirates and Royals (55-36) entered the game with the Nos. He is good on the road as well, with a 5-1 record and a 2.70 ERA.
Yordano Ventura was a phenom for the Royals last season, lighting up radar guns and starring in October at age 23.
The Pirates bats came to life with 17 hits, though, and the Royals had 14. He homered in the fifth with Jung Ho Kang aboard. “They came out swinging”. We came out swinging.
Alvarez erased an early Royals lead with a two-run grounder through a shifted infield in the second. “It was a matter of trying to keep us somewhat in the lead”. Instead, Ventura has struggled to be an ace. It’s tough to lay off some of the stuff. The Pirates collected five hits in a row to start the second before Ventura struck out Sean Rodriguez and heard mock applause.
Philadelphia’s Cesar Hernandez doubled, tripled and drove in two runs to help the Phillies defeat Tampa Bay 5-3. The Pirates would add a run later and looked to be well on their way to picking up their first victory since before the All-Star Break.
Mike Moustakas also homered for Kansas City.
Walker, the Pirates’ second baseman, supplied the antidote with a two-run triple in the eighth. He was 3-for-5 with a home run and four runs batted in on Monday night. Fun to see your guys jump on a starter who is filthy.
Ishikawa drilled a double high off the left field wall to drive in two runs.
Closer Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 30th save of the season, 100th of his career, and extended his club record with a 28th consecutive successful save opportunity. C Francisco Cervelli left in the seventh with discomfort in his right wrist. Burnett, left, is held back by catcher Francisco Cervelli as 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. If and when Ventura gets back to the majors, there is every reason to think he will be a significantly better pitcher than he was to this point, and you should feel pretty confident in that if you hang on to him during his demotion.
In the series opener between the Royals and the Pirates, lots of scoring took place.
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With men on the corners and two outs in the fourth, Jarrod Dyson got picked off first but toyed with Kang, the shortstop, long enough to allow a run to score, then scampered safely back to first – officially, it was the first steal of home (exclusive of a double steal) against the Pirates since Houston Astros slugger Jeff Bagwell did it August 18, 2001. Later in the inning, Eric Hosmer ripped an RBI triple.
