The Pittsburgh Pirates weren’t willing to commit to Trevor Williams in the offseason, citing an ineffective fastball and his penchant for giving up home runs as the primary reasons for nontendering the right-hander.
Williams showed a five-pitch mix that induced seven strikeouts while allowing one run on three hits in a 4-1 victory over the Pirates on Wednesday night before 5,660 at PNC Park after the start was delayed 26 minutes by rain.
“I think he executed down at the bottom of the zone,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He pitched very effectively with his fastball, and we did not adjust.”
It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Pirates (18-30), who have given up 16 home runs in that span while hitting just one. They have scored one run or fewer in 14 of their 48 games, including four of their last five and five times since May 16.
Pirates starter Wil Crowe, meanwhile, struggled to locate his fastball and lasted just 11⁄3 innings, giving up a two-run homer to David Bote in a three-run second inning. Afterward, Crowe said he never could get into a rhythm, even while warming up in the bullpen before the game.
“I was out there grinding,” Crowe said. “Trying to get that one pitch, that one count, that one batter to click for me, and it never did. … I didn’t feel like myself out there. And that’s just how it went.”
The Cubs (26-22), who trail the St. Louis Cardinals (27-22) by a half game for first place in the NL Central, will look to sweep the three-game series against the Pirates at 12:35 p.m. Thursday.
The Pirates pounded Williams (3-2) in their previous meeting at PNC Park, scoring five runs on 10 hits and two walks in 31⁄3 innings of a 7-1 win April 11. This time was drastically different.
The Pirates were gifted a runner in scoring position in the first inning when Joc Pederson misplayed Ben Gamel’s fly ball to right field that sailed over his outstretched glove for a triple. They came up empty as Gamel was stranded when Bryan Reynolds popped out to second and Jacob Stallings grounded out to third.
Crowe had control issues from the start, giving up a two-out single to Javier Baez and walking Ian Happ in the first inning, then walking Rafael Ortega to start the second. The Cubs took a 2-0 lead on David Bote’s 413-foot home run that landed in the visiting bullpen in left-center.
It only got worse from there as Eric Sogard and Williams singled to set up Kris Bryant’s RBI single to center to increase the Cubs’ lead to 3-0. That’s when the Pirates pulled Crowe (0-3), who gave up three runs on five hits and two walks after throwing only 49 pitches.
“He was behind a lot. Normally when you’re behind and your fastball is in the zone, you can pitch with it. But the fastball was not effective, not in the zone, so I thought at that point our best chance to win was to go to our bullpen,” Shelton said. “Bullpen was outstanding. Gave up one run. Underwood picked us up big time, picking up those innings. Gave us a chance to win, and we just didn’t get anything going.”
Duane Underwood Jr. threw 32⁄3 scoreless innings, but Chris Stratton struggled in the sixth, giving up a double to Sogard and a single to Williams to put runners on first and third. Bryant’s two-out single to right scored Sogard for a 4-0 lead.
Williams went 2 for 3 at the plate and had more hits than the Pirates to that point, before Kevin Newman hit a leadoff double down the left-field line and scored on an Erik Gonzalez single to right to trim the deficit to 4-1. Gamel started the ninth with a double off Happ’s glove in center but was stranded as Craig Kimbrel struck out two of the final three batters to earn his 11th save.
Shelton blamed the Pirates for their lack of aggressiveness with their swings, as they managed five hits and stranded four runners. Where Gamel went 2 for 4 and Newman 2 for 3, the rest of the Pirates starters failed to get a hit. Adam Frazier, who went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, saw his 10-game hit streak snapped.
“We’ve talked numerous times that we’re not going to sit and hit the ball out of the ballpark with anybody,” Shelton said. “We have to be able to create opportunities, and when we have those opportunities, we have to capitalize on them. Right now, the few that we’re creating we’re not capitalizing on.”
Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .
The Link LonkMay 27, 2021 at 08:58AM
https://triblive.com/sports/trevor-williams-strikes-out-seven-david-bote-homers-as-cubs-beat-pirates/
Trevor Williams strikes out 7 as Cubs send Pirates to 5th straight loss - TribLIVE
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