Clutch Jacob Stallings hit sends Pirates to 5-3 win over Marlins

Ke’Bryan Hayes returned to the lineup tonight with a solid game at the plate and in the field, while Jacob Stallings won the game on a eighth-inning double that cleared loaded bases with the Pittsburgh Pirates down 3-2 to the Miami Marlins to lift the Buccos to an ultimate 5-3 win in tonight’s series opener.

Hayes went 2-for-4 with a run scored, including a smash off of the Clemente Wall in the sixth inning.

He also had several sparkling plays in the field, robbing Jazz Chisolm Jr. in the seventh and former Pirate Starling Marte in the eighth.

But it was Jacob Stallings who stole the show for the night with his clutch hit in the bottom of the eighth inning.

That hit scored Adam Frazier, Bryan Reynolds, and Gregory Polanco to give the Bucs the lead. Richard Rodriguez pitched a one-hit ninth for his seventh save on the season, and that was that for the Buccos, who snag the win in dramatic fashion to move to 21-34 on the year.

Starter Tyler Anderson went five and one-third, giving up three runs on five hits and striking out four, while Clay Holmes, Sam Howard, Kyle Crick and Rodriguez combined to not let up another run the rest of the way.

In addition to Hayes and Stallings, the Bucs also got a good night at the plate from Bryan Reynolds, who went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and a walk. He’s now batting .289 on the year.

The Bucs will look to build some momentum with Hayes back and helping drive the engine, and they’ll return to action again tomorrow night at PNC Park with another 7:05 start against the Marlins, where they’ll be looking to start a winning streak.

In the meantime, raise the Jolly Roger, Bucs fans!