• Who: Pirates (5-3) vs. Orioles (3-5) • What: MLB regular season, Game 9 • When: 1:35 p.m. • Where: PNC Park • Pitchers: RHP Braxton Ashcraft (0-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Bassitt(0-1, 8.31 ERA) • TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, MASN (Maryland) • Stream: SNP 360 (local), MLB.tv (out of market) • Radio: Pirates Radio Network • Satellite: SiriusXM 179/861 • Boxscore: MLB.com • Medianotes: Pirates | Orioles
• HOME RUN: Cruz hits his fourth of the season, a 107.2-mph line drive that lands in the Pirates shrubbery. Pirates, 8-1
• Mangum starts off the Pittsburgh sixth with a single into center field.
• That's a 1-2-3 inning for Ashcraft. Six great innings today. At 87 pitches, I'd think he's done.
• Davis flies out to center. Ashcraft indeed starting the sixth inning.
• Horwitz keeps it going with two outs. Slaps a single into left field. Runners on first and second for Davis.
• Nobody's up in the Pirates' bullpen. Assuming Ashcraft is getting the sixth. He's at 73 pitches.
• Nice at-bat from Griffin. Worked a walk on eight pitches from Povich. Snaps a streak of nine straight retired. Two outs in the Pittsburgh fifth.
• Ashcraft gets Alexander swinging to end the Baltimore fifth, his seventh strikeout. Five good innings so far.
• Really good try from Griffin on a near-impossible play to get a speedy Taveras out at first base. Going far to his right and throwing against his body. Griffin makes it look so easy.
• Cruz, Lowe and Reynolds are retired in order in the Pittsburgh fourth.
• O'Neill pops out to Horwitz. Just one run in the Baltimore fourth.
• Ashcraft bounces back by getting Basallo swinging at a sinker. Two down.
• RUN: Alonso laces a hard-hit double into right-center, just out of Cruz's reach, driving in Ward from third. Pirates, 6-1
• Henderson bounces out to Ashcraft. Ward moves up to third with one out.
• O'Hearn lays out for a soft liner from Ward, but it gets past him. Leadoff double in the Baltimore fourth.
• Mangum flies out to center field. Pirates go quietly in the third.
• Davis grounds out to short.
• Horwitz pops out in foul territory to start the Pittsburgh third.
• Left-hander Cade Povich is now on the mound for the Orioles.
• Another 1-2-3 inning for Ashcraft. Just 34 pitches thus far. Five strikeouts.
• Albernaz has been ejected, the first in his career. Clearly not a fan of home plate umpire James Jean.
• There's a nice little web gem from Griffin. Nice dive to his left, fields it and fires a strike to first to nab Jackson at first.
• Griffin flies out to center for the final out in the Pittsburgh second. But plenty of damage done.
• Yorke gets hit by a pitch. Bassitt's gotta be near the end. 58 pitches in 1 2/3 innings.
• RUNS: O'Hearn lines one into the left-center gap, piling on two more runs. That's four RBIs in the game for him now. Pirates, 6-0
• RUN: Reynolds hits one deep to right field, plenty deep enough to score Mangum from third base on the sacrifice fly. Pirates, 4-0
• Reynolds loses a challenge. High fastball clipped the top of the zone. Reynolds is now 0 for 2 this season on challenges.
• Lowe grounds one hard to Alonso, who makes the heads up play to throw home and get the lead runner. One out. Bases still loaded.
• RUN: Cruz lines one 111.8 mph off Bassitt. It stays in the infield, but all runners advance 90 feet. Bases remain loaded with nobody out. Pirates, 3-0
• Mangum lays down a bunt and blazes down the first base line to beat out the throw. Bases are loaded, nobody out for Cruz.
• Davis slaps a single into right field. Runners on first and second to start the inning.
• After 28 pitches in the first inning, Bassitt walks Horwitz on four pitches to start the Pittsburgh second.
• Ashcraft strikes out Basallo and O'Neill swinging to start the second, then gets Beavers looking at a fastball up in the zone. The third strike to Beavers was initially called a ball, but Davis challenged and won easily as the whole ball was in the zone. Just 15 pitches in an inning where Ashcraft struck out the side.
• A couple notes: Bassitt needed 28 pitches to get through the first inning. O'Hearn's two-run homer would have gone out in 16 of 30 ballparks, per Baseball Savant.
• Griffin grounds out softly to second to end the first.
• Yorke keeps the two-out rally going, slapping one past a diving Jackson on the right side of the infield. Here comes Griffin.
• HOME RUN: Ryan O'Hearn blasts a 3-0 fastball from Chris Bassitt and hits it over the IC Light sign in center field. Pirates, 2-0
• Reynolds walks on four pitches with two outs.
• Horribly unlucky play. Cruz takes off, Lowe lines one hard down the right field line but right at Alonso covering first, stepping on the bag for the double play.
• Down 0-2, Cruz gets grazed by a pitch to lead off the home half of the first.
• Ashcraft gets Henderson swinging, then Alonso flies out to Cruz running to his left in center field. Only 10 pitches for Ashcraft in the Baltimore first.
• Ward leads off with a single between shortstop and third base, but Davis erases him trying to steal second. Great throw from Hank.
• FIRST PITCH: Braxton Ashcraft fires in ball one, and we're underway on a chilly Easter afternoon.
• Don Kelly's lineup, going for the sweep:
1. Oneil Cruz, CF 2. Brandon Lowe, 2B 3. Bryan Reynolds, DH 4. Ryan O'Hearn, RF 5. Nick Yorke, 3B 6. Konnor Griffin, SS 7. Spencer Horwitz, 1B 8. Henry Davis, C 9. Jake Mangum, LF
• Craig Albernaz's lineup for the Orioles:
1. Taylor Ward, LF 2. Gunnar Henderson, SS 3. Pete Alonso, 1B 4. Samuel Basallo, C 5. Tyler O'Neill, RF 6. Dylan Beavers, DH 7. Leody Taveras, CF 8. Jeremiah Jackson, 2B 9. Blaze Alexander, 3B
THE ASYLUM
LIVE: Pirates 8, Orioles 1, sixth inning
• Who: Pirates (5-3) vs. Orioles (3-5)
• What: MLB regular season, Game 9
• When: 1:35 p.m.
• Where: PNC Park
• Pitchers: RHP Braxton Ashcraft (0-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Bassitt (0-1, 8.31 ERA)
• TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, MASN (Maryland)
• Stream: SNP 360 (local), MLB.tv (out of market)
• Radio: Pirates Radio Network
• Satellite: SiriusXM 179/861
• Boxscore: MLB.com
• Media notes: Pirates | Orioles
• HOME RUN: Cruz hits his fourth of the season, a 107.2-mph line drive that lands in the Pirates shrubbery. Pirates, 8-1
• Mangum starts off the Pittsburgh sixth with a single into center field.
• That's a 1-2-3 inning for Ashcraft. Six great innings today. At 87 pitches, I'd think he's done.
• Davis flies out to center. Ashcraft indeed starting the sixth inning.
• Horwitz keeps it going with two outs. Slaps a single into left field. Runners on first and second for Davis.
• Nobody's up in the Pirates' bullpen. Assuming Ashcraft is getting the sixth. He's at 73 pitches.
• Nice at-bat from Griffin. Worked a walk on eight pitches from Povich. Snaps a streak of nine straight retired. Two outs in the Pittsburgh fifth.
• Ashcraft gets Alexander swinging to end the Baltimore fifth, his seventh strikeout. Five good innings so far.
• Really good try from Griffin on a near-impossible play to get a speedy Taveras out at first base. Going far to his right and throwing against his body. Griffin makes it look so easy.
• Cruz, Lowe and Reynolds are retired in order in the Pittsburgh fourth.
• O'Neill pops out to Horwitz. Just one run in the Baltimore fourth.
• Ashcraft bounces back by getting Basallo swinging at a sinker. Two down.
• RUN: Alonso laces a hard-hit double into right-center, just out of Cruz's reach, driving in Ward from third. Pirates, 6-1
• Henderson bounces out to Ashcraft. Ward moves up to third with one out.
• O'Hearn lays out for a soft liner from Ward, but it gets past him. Leadoff double in the Baltimore fourth.
• Mangum flies out to center field. Pirates go quietly in the third.
• Davis grounds out to short.
• Horwitz pops out in foul territory to start the Pittsburgh third.
• Left-hander Cade Povich is now on the mound for the Orioles.
• Another 1-2-3 inning for Ashcraft. Just 34 pitches thus far. Five strikeouts.
• Albernaz has been ejected, the first in his career. Clearly not a fan of home plate umpire James Jean.
• There's a nice little web gem from Griffin. Nice dive to his left, fields it and fires a strike to first to nab Jackson at first.
• Griffin flies out to center for the final out in the Pittsburgh second. But plenty of damage done.
• Yorke gets hit by a pitch. Bassitt's gotta be near the end. 58 pitches in 1 2/3 innings.
• RUNS: O'Hearn lines one into the left-center gap, piling on two more runs. That's four RBIs in the game for him now. Pirates, 6-0
• RUN: Reynolds hits one deep to right field, plenty deep enough to score Mangum from third base on the sacrifice fly. Pirates, 4-0
• Reynolds loses a challenge. High fastball clipped the top of the zone. Reynolds is now 0 for 2 this season on challenges.
• Lowe grounds one hard to Alonso, who makes the heads up play to throw home and get the lead runner. One out. Bases still loaded.
• RUN: Cruz lines one 111.8 mph off Bassitt. It stays in the infield, but all runners advance 90 feet. Bases remain loaded with nobody out. Pirates, 3-0
• Mangum lays down a bunt and blazes down the first base line to beat out the throw. Bases are loaded, nobody out for Cruz.
• Davis slaps a single into right field. Runners on first and second to start the inning.
• After 28 pitches in the first inning, Bassitt walks Horwitz on four pitches to start the Pittsburgh second.
• Ashcraft strikes out Basallo and O'Neill swinging to start the second, then gets Beavers looking at a fastball up in the zone. The third strike to Beavers was initially called a ball, but Davis challenged and won easily as the whole ball was in the zone. Just 15 pitches in an inning where Ashcraft struck out the side.
• A couple notes: Bassitt needed 28 pitches to get through the first inning. O'Hearn's two-run homer would have gone out in 16 of 30 ballparks, per Baseball Savant.
• Griffin grounds out softly to second to end the first.
• Yorke keeps the two-out rally going, slapping one past a diving Jackson on the right side of the infield. Here comes Griffin.
• HOME RUN: Ryan O'Hearn blasts a 3-0 fastball from Chris Bassitt and hits it over the IC Light sign in center field. Pirates, 2-0
• Reynolds walks on four pitches with two outs.
• Horribly unlucky play. Cruz takes off, Lowe lines one hard down the right field line but right at Alonso covering first, stepping on the bag for the double play.
• Down 0-2, Cruz gets grazed by a pitch to lead off the home half of the first.
• Ashcraft gets Henderson swinging, then Alonso flies out to Cruz running to his left in center field. Only 10 pitches for Ashcraft in the Baltimore first.
• Ward leads off with a single between shortstop and third base, but Davis erases him trying to steal second. Great throw from Hank.
• FIRST PITCH: Braxton Ashcraft fires in ball one, and we're underway on a chilly Easter afternoon.
• Don Kelly's lineup, going for the sweep:
1. Oneil Cruz, CF
2. Brandon Lowe, 2B
3. Bryan Reynolds, DH
4. Ryan O'Hearn, RF
5. Nick Yorke, 3B
6. Konnor Griffin, SS
7. Spencer Horwitz, 1B
8. Henry Davis, C
9. Jake Mangum, LF
• Craig Albernaz's lineup for the Orioles:
1. Taylor Ward, LF
2. Gunnar Henderson, SS
3. Pete Alonso, 1B
4. Samuel Basallo, C
5. Tyler O'Neill, RF
6. Dylan Beavers, DH
7. Leody Taveras, CF
8. Jeremiah Jackson, 2B
9. Blaze Alexander, 3B
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