Yankees spoil Pirates’ opening day; Keller’s birthday
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — The New York Yankees spoiled the birthday of Mitch Keller and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 25th home opener at PNC Park on Friday in a 9-4 victory.
Keller was celebrating his 29th birthday, but the Yankees decided to spoil the party.
After losing 3 of 4 in Miami and 2 of 3 at Tampa Bay, the Bucs fell to 2-6 this season following Friday’s setback. New York improved to 5-2.
“Their (the fans) frustration is they want to win,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton in reference to those in attendance voicing their displeasure during the game. “I want to win and our players want to win. We have to keep focusing on that.”
“We had a tough start in Miami with the late innings, and we got pitched to pretty well in Tampa.”
Keller labored through the first inning, but was able to keep New York off the scoreboard before the Yankees scored two runs in the second and third, and three in the fourth.
Keller dropped to 1-1 this season, and his ERA increased to 7.45 after yielding seven earned runs on eight hits over 3 â…” innings. Keller struck out and walked four.
“I have to throw more strikes earlier in counts,” Keller said. “That was the big thing. I was getting behind, then a couple walks, hit-by-pitches, a couple of broken-bat singles and ground balls up the middle. It’s just frustration because it wasn’t like I was getting hit around the yard.”
New York’s vaunted lineup entered Friday’s game having hit 22 home runs, but didn’t go deep until Aaron Judge blasted his sixth homer in seven games on the first pitch he saw from Tim Mayza in the seventh inning.
Ben Rice scored on Judge’s home run to extend the Yankees’ lead to 9-1 in the seventh, but most of New York’s damage was done by the bottom of its lineup, as No. 9 hitter Oswaldo Cabrera was 3 for 4 with a walk and four RBIs. Teammate Jasson Dominguez was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a double.
The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the second when Trent Grisham and Dominguez scored on Cabrera’s line-drive single to center fielder Oneil Cruz. Cabrera advanced to second on an error by Cruz.
Keller walked Rice, but struck out Judge and induced a pop up to third to end the inning.
Anthony Volpe scored on Dominguez’s base hit to left fielder Alexander Canario in the third, and Grisham advanced to third on an error by Canario.
Grisham scored on Cabrera’s base hit to left field for a 4-0 advantage in the third. The Pirates committed two errors.
“We have to play better defensively in the outfield,” Shelton said. “We have played well in the infield.”
Despite the errors and not getting much offensive support, Keller would not pass the blame to anyone else.
“That loss was completely on me,” Keller said. “I just need to do my best the next time to throw strikes earlier in the count.”
Max Fried was the winning pitcher after allowing one earned run on six hits over 5 â…” innings. He struck out six and walked one. Fried lowered his ERA to 2.61 and improved to 1-0.
Bryan Reynolds’ line-drive solo home run to left field with two outs in the bottom of the third got the home team on the scoreboard.
Reynolds has been limited to the designated-hitter role since the series against the Rays due to right triceps soreness, but he was able to get Pittsburgh within three at 4-1.
Reynolds’ injury put 38-year-old Andrew McCutchen in right field. McCutchen had three hits and played solid in the field, but he understands Reynolds’ plight.
“I wanted to get out there and play, especially understanding Bryan’s situation,” McCutchen said. “I don’t want to feel like I’m just sitting here collecting a paycheck, and not being able to do anything for the team.”
New York got the run back in the next inning when Paul Goldschmidt scored on Volpe’s sharp ground ball that deflected off Keller and into center field for a 5-1 lead.
Joey Wentz replaced Keller after Grisham walked in the fourth, and the Yankees pushed their advantage to 7-1 when Dominguez was hit-by-pitch and Cabrera walked with the bases loaded to score Austin Wells and Volpe.
The Pirates responded to Judge’s blast and a 9-1 deficit by putting up three runs in the bottom of the seventh on Ke’Bryan Hayes’ three-run homer to left field. Endy Rodriguez doubled and Isiah Kiner-Faiefa singled to set the stage for Hayes’ first home run this season.
“Today, I was proud of our group because we continued to battle,” Shelton said. “The game was 9-1 and we continued to have opportunities.”
Under the weather
Canario entered the game in left field in the top of the third inning due to Tommy Pham feeling sick. It was announced that Pham is day-to-day and the illness wasn’t disclosed.
“He (Pham) did not report any sicknesses as the day went on, and as the game started, he started to not feel good,” Shelton said. “He took the at-bat, and during the at-bat, we saw he was not in a good spot, and we got him out.”
Opening-day festivities
Pittsburgh announcer Greg Brown was the master of ceremonies for opening day roughly 30 minutes prior to first pitch at 4:13 p.m.
The Pirates honored those that passed away during the offseason, including former Pittsburgh Steelers lineman and announcer Craig Wofley and Pittsburgh Penguins play-by-play announcer Mike Lange.
Butler County’s Marc Fogel, who was released in February after being held in prison for three-and-a-half years in Russia because he was in possession of 17 grams of medical cannabis for back pain, threw the first pitch to Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes.
Odds-and-ends
Game-time temperature was 58 degrees and the announced attendance was 36,893, which was not a sellout. The time of the game was 3 hours and 18 minutes.