Pirates snap 10-game skid in wild 11-10 series opener vs. Cleveland

The Pittsburgh Pirates are waking up with smiles on their faces this morning following a wild win at PNC Park Friday night.

The Good Guys snapped a 10-game losing streak after an 11-10 win in the series opener against Cleveland.

The Pirates wasted no time getting on the board with a five-run first inning. The five runs in the first matched the same amount of runs the team scored in its previous 34 innings.

Adam Frazier began the hit parade, and Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds reached base to load the bases for Colin Moran with no outs.

Moran drove Frazier in, Stallings doubled to bring Hayes and Reynolds in, and Gregory Polanco brought Stallings back home with a four-bagger.

Bryan Reynolds increased the lead in the third with a solo shot, and just like that, the Pirates were up 6-0.

Cleveland got a run back in the sixth to make it 6-1, but the Pirates poured it on in the bottom half of the inning with another five-spot, highlighted by a bases-clearing double from Ke’Bryan Hayes with the bases loaded.

With an 11-1 lead, the largest of the season for the Pirates, the foot was taken off the gas pedal.

Cleveland started chipping away with two runs in the seventh before a Cesar Hernandez grand slam to make it 11-7.

In the 8th, Cleveland kickstarted another rally and loaded the bases for catcher Rene Rivera, who screeched a ball to deep center field to clear the bases and cut the deficit to one.

In the ninth, Richard Rodriguez came on for a save opportunity but struggled initially with Amed Rosario and Ernie Clement finding base. Eddie Rosario flied out to advance Rosario and Clement to second and third to put the go-ahead run in scoring position with two outs.

With the game in the balance, Rich Rod came out on top to strike out Bobby Bradley to end the game and avoid the comeback.

The win tonight comes with a lot of promise and caution as the Pirates scored a season-high 11 runs, but nearly gave up a 10-run lead. Nonetheless, the Pirates still scored more runs than their opponent, which is the object of baseball and something the team hadn’t done in nearly two weeks, so this win is definitely a positive.

The Pirates look to take the series win Saturday. First pitch is at 4:05 p.m. EST.