The Pittsburgh Pirates are going to their hotel with smiles on their appearances following a 5-3 Opening Day triumph over the Chicago Cubs.
The group didn’t waste any time putting runs up on the scoreboard, beginning the game with an Adam Frazier walk and a Ke’Bryan Hayes home run to open the long ball represent the Pirates this season.
The Pirates never followed from that point onward, yet there were a few near calls.
Chad Kuhl, who drew his first Opening Day start, ended up in a jam early in the first with the bases stacked, however the Cubs figured out how to score only one run in the frame.
Kuhl just lasted three innings, however after he gave the ball off to the bullpen, the relievers managed their job.
Duane Underwood Jr., Clay Holmes, Sam Howard (the present winning pitcher) and David Bednar all pitched hitless innings to give the Pirates the lead late in the game.
On offense, the Pirates figured out how to add runs in the second, fifth and seventh innings with an RBI from Stallings in the fifth and a couple from leadoff hitter Adam Frazier in the second and seventh.
Frazier certainly sparkled in his 2021 debut, going 2-4 with a couple of RBI’s and plating two of the five Pirates runs today.
The Pirates gave their fans a panic or two late subsequent to giving up an altercation the eighth to make it 5-3 and Rich Rodriguez kept things interesting in the 10th with a walk and a wild pitch. However, Rich Rod had the option to strike out Javier Baez and Jason Heyward to end the game and give the Pirates win #1 on the youthful season.
It’s a long way from an ideal product, yet it was certainly refreshing to see some of the Pirates bright spots play well on Opening Day with Hayes and the deep bullpen.
