Postgame: Bucs come out on wrong end of 2-0 pitcher's duel

Notes and quotes from tonight's postgame:

Pitcher's duel

Tonight's starting pitchers allowed only one run over a combined 14 2/3 innings pitched. Shane Greene was extremely efficient, throwing only 81 pitches over eight innings and inducing 11 groundouts along the way.

"I don't think it hurt him that there were more right-handers in the lineup," Brad Ausmus said. "That sinker/slider combo was good against right-hand hitters."

Ausmus added that he would have sent Greene out to bunt in the ninth if Jose Iglesias hadn't doubled right before him.

"He's never had a complete game at any level so I'd liked to have given him a complete game," Ausmus said. "If Iglesias is on first, I would have let him bunt him over and sent him back out with a very short leash. But once a guy is in scoring position, that run becomes so important. The difference between a two-run lead and a one-run lead is enormous."

A.J. Burnett matched Greene throughout the first six innings, but ran into trouble in the seventh as his pitch count crept up over 100.

"I felt strong," Burnett said. "The delivery got out of whack in the seventh a little bit. Free passes, they say they hurt you, and they do when they score."

Cabrera's odd reaction to striking out

In the fourth, Miguel Cabrera struck out swinging on a curveball in the dirt. When Francisco Cervelli went to tag him to complete the strikeout, Cabrera knocked the ball out his hand. A.J. Burnett shrugged and gave a "what-are-you-going-to-do" grin when asked about the play.

"I don't pay attention to Miggy," Burnett said. "We go way back. That's his game, man. He's a little kid playing baseball and that's just what he does."

Hurdle ejected

In the eighth inning, Clint Hurdle was ejected by home plate umpire David Rackley for questioning a pitch that appeared to be in the center of the strike zone but called a ball.

"I felt a strike needed to be called and it wasn't," Hurdle said. "I said something and normally you feel like if you violated something, they'll tell you to shut up and that's enough. Obviously I didn't get that opportunity to shut up and it was gone. I felt we had a strikeout, we didn't get it."

Burnett ‘humbled' by Pittsburgh reception

Burnett was received a loud cheer from the nearly sold-out crowd at PNC Park when he took the mound in the first inning. As he left the mound in the seventh, Pirates fans gave him a standing ovation that he acknowledged with a wave.

"From when I got here, walking through the concourse and all the people that work here saying hi and welcome back, and the crowd (was great)," Burnett said. "It's humbling."

Iglesias takes extra base

In the ninth, Jose Iglesias dumped a little liner in shallow center field for what looked like a routine single. However, when Andrew McCutchen was slow getting to the ball, Iglesias tore around first and ended up sliding into second for surprise double. Two batters later, Ian Kinsler singled him home and the Tigers had a 2-0 lead.

"We play a little deeper, we're going to try to come in and get to balls as quick as we can," Hurdle said. "We've always got to be ready for guys when they try and take the extra base. The throw was high. Possibly a good throw might have got him."

Iglesias said that he noticed that McCutchen wasn't paying attention to him after he reached first base.

"I saw McCutchen not looking at me and kind of slowing things down and I took advantage of that and took the extra base," Iglesias said.

The Tigers have now taken taken second on hits that appeared to be singles three times over the past two days.