Pirates 4, Twins 0: Tough Turkey

An unconventional pitcher’s duel went the way of the Pirates on Saturday afternoon, with Pittsburgh taking home a 4-0 victory and holding Minnesota to 18 scoreless innings to begin the three-game series.

On one side, Simeon Woods Richardson.

As speculated in the pregame, indeed he went 6 — and indeed he lowered his ERA all the way down to 2.84, re-affirming his presence as a key cog in the Twin rotation and cementing his value as part of the Jose Berrios return. Woods Richardson pitched six shutout frames, walking none and striking out six, and was given the opportunity to get as many outs as he could in the 7th.

Unfortunately, he left a changeup in the zone to Rowdy Tellez.

It was the game-breaking blow in an afternoon full of crisp pitching, missed opportunities, and great defense. The home run, just over a wall too tall for Byron Buxton, was the only run the Pirates would need, although an inning later he’d add some insurance by fisting a Jhoan Duran fastball through an open hole on the left side for a two-run single. (So too would Michael A. Taylor, adding the fourth run with a two-out RBI knock off Diego Castillo.)

On the flipside, a coalition of relief arms stymied the Minnesota lineup, making it two straight games against the Pirates without Rocco Baldelli’s crew putting a run on the board.

Six scattered hits were mostly erased by three ground-ball double plays; six Pittsburgh arms carried this one through to completion.

Without even a cursory Royce Lewis sympathy homer, there just isn’t enough to say about the Twins in this state, losers of five straight for the second time in only a few weeks.

They’ll attempt to salvage the final game of the road trip before heading back home on Monday, where opponents such as the Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics may offer an opportunity to get back on track.

See you then!

STUDS:

SP Simeon Woods Richardson (6.1 IP, 6 H, ER, 0 BB, 6 K)

DUDS:

RP Jhoan Duran (0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, K, BLK)

Offensive contributions of your choosing