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The Pirates’ struggling offense had no answers for Zack Greinke Thursday and the Diamondbacks completed the four game sweep in Pittsburgh, beating the Bucs 5-0.
Jameson Taillon (1-3) was off early, allowing two runs in the first. That set the pace for a five run, five inning day for the right-hander. He finished with six hits and five strikeouts on his ledger.
“I thought I made a lot of really good pitches today,” Taillon said. “And the ones I didn’t, they let me know they weren’t good pitches.”
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Two such pitches came in the third when Greinke and Jarrod Dyson hit back to back triples. Christian Walker also hit a pair of doubles against Taillon, finishing with a run scored and a run driven in.
The Pirates’ offense, on the other hand, could only muster three base runners against Greinke (4-1) in his seven innings. Two of them came in the third when Jameson Taillon and Cole Tucker hit back to back singles, but Gregory Polanco and Colin Moran both grounded out to end the threat.
The loss caps a four game series where the Pirates were outscored 30-7.
“They played better than us,” said Clint Hurdle. “At the end of the day, they played, they pitched, they hit better than us. That’s usually what dictates what happens.”
Thunder-Shucked
J.B. Shuck did not do anything at the plate Thursday, going 0-4 with two strikeouts, but he did make a highlight reel play, robbing a home run in the seventh.
“He’s a ball player,” Hurdle said. “...One of the ways he keeps finding his way back to the big leagues periodically. He goes out and plays hard.”
On Deck
The Pirates are California bound. Chris Archer (1-1, 2.74) will make the starts again Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 3.10) in Los Angeles, with first pitch coming at 10:10 p.m. Eastern time.
NUMB3RS
1. Thursday was the first time Taillon allowed more than three earned runs in a home start since Apr. 15, 2018.
2. The Diamondbacks have won 10 straight at PNC Park, dating back to May 30, 2017. That is the club’s longest winning streak in an opponent stadium in franchise history. The next closest is eight straight wins in Citizens Bank Park.
3. Greinke became the first pitcher to triple in 2019. The only other player in baseball to pitch and hit a triple at any point this year is Shuck.