COMON Network

By COMON Network Team

Final Score – Pittsburgh Pirates (17-39) 2 def. Chicago Cubs (32-24) 1

WP: Trevor Williams (2-8) LP: Kyle Hendricks (6-5) SV: Richard Rodriguez (4)

All of the evening’s runs came in the first inning on solo home runs as the Pirates bested Chicago for the second-straight night.

After Anthony Rizzo homered in the top of the first inning against Trevor Williams, who ended up throwing 5.2 innings of three-hit ball in his final start of the year, Adam Frazier and Ke’Bryan Hayes went back-to-back to give the Bucs a 2-1 lead.

The score held up, and now the Pirates have a chance to win the four-game set tomorrow afternoon when the series concludes at 1:35 p.m.

COMON Network Team Commentary

KYLE DAWSON

• The Pirates are 2 games in front of Texas (19-37) for the No. 1 pick. It would be so 2020 for this team to somehow have a four-win deficit for 29th in the league going into its final six games and somehow manage to avoid having the top pick in next year’s draft. The Rangers have four with the Astros. The Bucs have tomorrow afternoon against the Cubs and then three with Cleveland.
• Six hits from the top three guys in the lineup. Good stuff. Hayes continues to simply tag baseballs and Frazier’s home run was a bullet. As for the rest of the lineup tonight… meh. Six other guys combine for one hit (Stallings up the middle on the ground).
• Trevor Williams was solid I thought. Good to see him have a good outing after his last handful were just unbearable. Hopefully he can return to form and be solid in 2021.

Player of the Game – Ke’Bryan Hayes (PIT)

JOE SMELTZER

• It was nice to see Trevor Williams end his season on a high note. Williams is, by all accounts, a good dude, and certainly got his teeth kicked in a bit this season. Hopefully tonight is a sign of a better tomorrow. Williams is still relatively young, and when he’s on like he was tonight, he can be more than just a good guy to have in the clubhouse.  
• The Pirates starting rotation in general has been excellent over the past week. Even the bullpen, which once looked hopeless, has shown flashes this season. I think it’s clear pitching coach Oscar Marin has done a solid job in his first year.   
• I’ve never bought into Ke’Bryan Hayes as a potential franchise player, but he’s slowly convincing me. The dude can hit. He can field. Hell, Hayes can fill up the Gatorade cooler, walk the dog and paint the back porch. He’s proven that he belongs in the majors, now it’s just a matter of how good he can get.  

Player of the Game – Trevor Williams (PIT)

RYAN SIMPSON

• Trevor Williams had a rough year, but closed his season with a solid start. The Rizzo longball is whatever as it was the 15^th homer Williams gave up this year. For those at home, that is the most in the MLB this season. After that, he settled down only allowing two hits and three walks. I really want Williams to turn it around; after his historic second half in 2018 he has been a shell of himself. He can be a solid four or five for this team, but he needs to figure it out for 2021.
• Side note, recent call up Jared Oliva lost his outfield positioning card during an inning and a member of the bullpen had to retrieve it for him. Love the rookie messing up in a game that means nothing other than the race for that number #1 pick in the draft.
• Are you tired of me talking about how great Hayes is yet? Making some very hard plays at third look easy, almost made a “Nolan Arenado-esque” play well into foul ground and oh yeah he went yabo in the top of the first. Moved Frazier over in the eighth (though called out) with a perfect poke through the right side. I love Hayes so much.

Player of the Game – Ke’Bryan Hayes (PIT)

DONNY CHEDRICK

• Going out on a high note. 2020 hasn’t been kind to Trevor Williams. It hasn’t been kind to much of the Pirates’ roster. Williams used his last start of 2020 to turn in one of his best efforts. Nearly six innings of one run ball that came on an Anthony Rizzo home run in the first inning. Not an overpowering start, but a good one, and that’s what a guy who was 1-8 with a 6.70 ERA going into tonight needed to finish his season.
• Early power. A 2-1 final on three solo home runs — all of them in the first inning. Anthony Rizzo for the Cubs then Adam Frazier and Ke’Bryan Hayes went back-to-back for the Bucs. Not much for a fan looking to see excitement, but the Pirates got the job done. Kudos to Trevor Williams and the Pirates’ bullpen. One more at home tomorrow.
• Was the win costly? Pirates’ followers have been rooting for the team to #TankForKumar — the stud right hander expected to be taken first overall in the 2021 MLB Draft. The Pirates still have the inside track on acquiring that pick as it will go to the worst team during the 2020 season, but a few games remain and the Buccos’ haven’t clinched it yet. I’m not a fan of the tanking method, but the Pirates selecting Kumar Rocker will bring some much-needed optimism toward this franchise.

Player of the Game – Trevor Williams (PIT)