Pirates roust Cards 9-4

The Pittsburgh Pirates got to raise the Jolly Roger over a foreign ship.

The Bucs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 9-4 for their first victory of the 2022 season, and with the exception of a bumpy first inning by starter Bryse Wilson, it was a fun game to watch,

Said bumps were three Cardinal runs, capped by Nolan Arenado’s two-run homer. There was much groaning among the BD Commentariat as it prepared itself for another long game.

But in the third, the Bucs began to stir. Roberto Perez singled. So did Ke’Bryan Hayes after Ben Gamel lined out. Bryan Reynolds got in on the singles party.

Then, somewhat unbelievably, came this. Unbelievably, because it was Michael Chavis, but we liked that he acted like he’d done it before:

Actually, he has—he’s now 2-14 with the bases loaded. Both hits? Grand slams.

After that, the Bucs never looked back. Only Yoshi Tsutsugo didn’t get a hit. Diego Castillo? Yeah, he was 3 for 4. Chavis collected another two hits. Hayes and Jake Marisnick each got two as well. I kind of like that Chavis and Marisnick were the heroes in this game when a lot of people considered them weak links. #underdogs

Let’s not overlook pitching. After he got out of the first, Wilson was effective over the next three innings. Since he didn’t go five, under the new rules Miguel Yajure got the win, with two hitless innings. Heath Hembree gave up two hits, but no runs, and Wil Crowe struck out two, including whiffing Harrison Bader to finish things off.

It feels good to do this: