DETROIT — Neal Huntington called a doubleheader on the eve of the Pirates' home opener “challenging.” Clint Hurdle laughed when saying, “We’re going to play three games in 24 hours.” That task seemed even more daunting given the 13-inning marathon only two days earlier, when seven of the staff's eight relievers pitched.
Then, their two young starting pitchers — Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl — did enough to help secure a sweep of the doubleheader against the Tigers on Sunday at Comerica Park, 1-0 and 8-6 and, in turn, gave the Pirates a 3-0 record heading back for the home opener Monday at PNC Park.
Williams threw six no-hit innings in the first game before being replaced by Michael Feliz after walking a career-high five batters, but the bullpen held on. Kuhl then took the ball for the nightcap, allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings, but he was lifted by his offense, including three home runs.
"It hasn't been the easiest weekend for all of us because we want to play," Josh Harrison said, referring to the Pirates having two games postponed in three days. "It was good to get a sweep, man. Good wins, especially for our team and everybody being involved."
Williams, 25, threw only 42 of his 85 pitches for strikes, but he still had a no-hitter through six innings when Hurdle turned to Feliz — the right-handed reliever who allowed four earned runs in the season-opening win. Feliz lost the no-hitter three pitches later, although he, George Kontos and Felipe Rivero secured the win.
TAP CARDS FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOIn the second game, Kuhl then allowed eight hits, striking out four with no walks. The middle of the Tigers' order accounted for six of the nine hits he allowed, but he left in the sixth with a four-run lead thanks to an offense that scored three runs in the third and five in the fifth.
"We’re fighting," Clint Hurdle said. "We’re making enough pitches to stay away from big innings. Everybody threw something in from the bullpen today. The starting pitchers got us to a point in the game where we could navigate it home. Offensively, we continued to get some big swings and do some good things."
Williams relied on three double plays to escape trouble after walking at least one batter in four of his six innings. He did so by inducing weak contact and, like last season, tends to find a way to limit damage on nights when he isn't at his best.
Williams, who began last season in the bullpen, had a 3.65 ERA in his final 24 starts, which ranked 25th among qualifying starting pitchers and was much better than the league average. He allowed only 0.84 home runs per nine innings — the sixth-lowest mark in the league — and opponents batted only .214 against him with runners in scoring position.
He had that success despite allowing 8.7 hits per nine innings, with left-handers batting .286 against him. His walks against the Tigers forced him to pitch out of the stretch for much of the game. So, when he retired the side in the sixth, he admitted he was somewhat relieved that Hurdle decided to pull him from the game:
The Tigers were eager to swing early in the count — Williams retired seven betters on three pitchers or less — and failed to advance a runner after leadoff walks in the second and third innings. "It wasn’t big [velocity] and guys eyes’ started getting big and you just have to start pitching to that," he admitted. Williams' four-seam averaged only 90.9 mph and topped out at 93, according to Statcast.
Kuhl, who made 31 starts for the Pirates last season, ran into similar problems, although he did not walk a batter. The 25-year-old right-hander struggled keeping his sinker low in the zone, which led to both doubles allowed in the first inning. But he responded by retiring seven consecutive batters.
Kuhl, though, gave up a solo home run to Cabrera on an elevated sinker in the sixth and was pulled after allowing a pair of infield singles.
"Ugly line a little bit, but it was really just three or four guys that did the damage," Kuhl said.
The Pirates' entire lineup did damage during the series. They scored 29 runs in three games, recording at least 10 hits twice. Harrison, Starling Marte and David Freese homered in the second game. Now, they'll carry that offense to Pittsburgh with Jameson Taillon throwing the first pitch at 1:10 p.m.
"It was a good start," Hurdle said.
1. Stop worrying about Rivero.
Felipe Rivero was bad in spring training. He'll be the first to admit that. Sure, he only allowed four earned runs in seven innings, but he had five walks to eight strikeouts and a 1.71 WHIP in seven innings. He found an answer by slowing down his delivery and threw one scoreless inning with a strikeout in his final appearance — again having his four-seam fastball reach triple digits.
His first outing of the season raised cause for concern, though. His average four-seam fastball velocity was 96 mph and dipped to 93.8. He recorded only two outs on 30 pitches, throwing just 13 strikes, and walked three batters and gave up one hit for four earned runs in the 13-inning marathon.
He shut everyone up Sunday. Rivero struck out the side in the ninth inning for his first save in the first game, including a three-pitch sequence to Cabrera that included all high four-seam fastballs. Then, he came back out in the evening and recorded a second save, recovering from a double by Cabrera to secure the win. His average four-seam fastball velocity went up to 97.5 mph. Perhaps most important, his changeup had the same bite it did last season.
"That’s the changeup that I was throwing last year," he said. "My curveball, everything was in place today. Once you see that, I’m back."
2. Giving away more outs.
The Pirates are determined to have a greater impact on the bases. Yes, Hurdle has placed an emphasis on that facet of their game since he took over as manager, but you're hearing players talk about it more than in recent years.
This group wants to manufacture runs, and yes, being smart on the bases is part of that. But giving away three outs in a tight game is counterproductive. Gregory Polanco was thrown out trying to take third after his RBI double scored Frazier in the first inning. Then, Josh Bell was called out at third base in the fourth when trying to advance on a wild pitch. Tigers' catcher James McCann quickly caught the bouncing ball and threw to third to beat Bell by three feet.
Frazier was then thrown out trying to steal second in the ninth inning, costing the Pirates a run because Polanco later walked and Bell singled to left-center. Bell was also thrown out at second on a failed hit-and-run in the second game.
3. Moran is a flawed hitter with promise.
Colin Moran's left-handed swing that produced 18 home runs in 79 games at Triple-A last season can be long and slow. The top of his bat can often hit the dirt when he swings and misses. Major league pitchers will try to exploit that by pounding the ball inside. Daniel Hudson, the former Pirates reliever, tried that in a spring training game against Moran last month, throwing a chest-high inside cutter.
Moran shortened his swing and pulled the ball to right for a double. Michael Fulmer, the Tigers' starting pitcher, utilized a different strategy and it backfired. The promising right-hander tried throwing a two-seam fastball low and outside to Moran, but Fulmer missed his spot and elevated the pitch on the outer edge. Moran drove it to left for a double. So, Fulmer tried throwing inside to Moran the next time around. The third baseman was ready, drilling an inside slider up the right-field line that would have gone for a double if Cabrera hadn't made an impressive diving catch.
Moran is 1 for 9 and his defense has looked shaky, but there are at least some signs that he can hit big-league pitching.
4. Glasnow is still a wild card.
Tyler Glasnow made his debut out of the bullpen, pitching scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth in the 8-6 win. He had two strikeouts to start the seventh, only to allow a triple and a walk. He recovered by getting Nicholas Castellanos to ground out to short. Then, he issued a one-out walk in the eighth, but got two consecutive outs.
Unlike Steven Brault, Hurdle seems to want to ease Glasnow into this long-relief role, leaning on Ray Searage and Euclides Rojas to help the 24-year-old learn how to develop a routine as a reliever. There's a reason why Hurdle chose to use Glasnow with a four-run lead.
"He didn’t give up any runs, which is always good," Hurdle said. "Positive step."
5. Offense carries Kuhl.
Remember when Hurdle had to use bench players such as Max Moroff and Gift Ngoepe last season? Or what about playing John Jaso in the outfield? Yeah, those days are over.
His bench — Sean Rodriguez, Freese, Adam Frazier and Elias Diaz — is one of the strongest in the National League. That makes sweeping a doubleheader possible. Sure, Rodriguez made a horrible defensive play in left, but Freese and Diaz had a hand in winning the second game.
Diaz went 2 for 4 with two singles and scored twice. Freese went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer in the fifth to help the Pirates grab a five-run lead. Oh, and the starters did their thing.
In the second game, Harrison went 3 for 5 with a two-run homer and was a triple shy of the cycle. Marte hit a solo homer to left and Bell, who is now 6 for 12 this season with two walks and a sacrifice fly, reached safely in two of three plate appearances.
The Tigers’ pitching is terrible, but the Pirates failed to hit terrible pitching the past two seasons. There’s something to be said for taking care of an inferior opponent. The team hit .284 with 33 hits in 116 at-bats during the series.
"We definitely have some length," Harrison said of the lineup. "I think it showed in spring training. Guys being healthy and getting pitches you want to hit. ... We had our chances. The weather prevented us a few times but we got them when they mattered."