Pittsburgh Buries Boston Early, Cruises to 8-3 Win
Pittsburgh put up seven runs before Boston had a single one on the board, turning Sunday's game into a rout by the third inning. Connor Wong's 417-foot blast in the fifth was the lone highlight for a Red Sox offense that never found its footing.
The damage was done fast and it was done in bunches. Bryan Reynolds got it started in the first, doubling to left to score Valdez — a play that swung Pittsburgh's win probability from 69% to 77% before most fans had settled into their seats. Lowe followed immediately with a single to left, scoring Reynolds, and just like that it was 2-0 before Boston's starter had recorded six outs. Raymond Burgos went four innings for Boston, allowing just 2 hits and 1 earned run, but the third inning buried him. Reynolds singled to left to score Triolo and push Valdez to third. Lowe singled to right to score Valdez. Then Yorke delivered the knockout blow — a single to center that scored both Lowe and Reynolds to make it 6-0. A sacrifice fly by Davis capped the inning at 7-0. Seven runs. Three innings. Game over.
Boston's only real answer came in the fifth, and it was a good one — just too little, too late. Wong launched a home run 417 feet to left center, scoring Duran and Seigler to cut the deficit to 7-3. Wong finished 2-for-3 with a homer, 3 RBI, and a run scored, which looks like the only reason Boston's box score is worth a second glance. Yorke added Pittsburgh's final run in the seventh with a single to right that scored Flores Jr., pushing the final to 8-3. Yorke ended the night 2-for-4 with 3 RBI, and Reynolds went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored — two players who appear to have carried Pittsburgh's offense from wire to wire.
On the mound, the story of the night was Pittsburgh's pitching depth doing just enough. Lake Bachar opened with 3.0 innings of two-hit, zero-run ball, striking out four. Hunter Barco took the next three innings and gave back three of those runs on Wong's homer, but by then the lead was so large it barely registered. Kirby Yates closed it out with a clean inning — no hits, no walks, two strikeouts. Boston's Burgos was actually serviceable in his four innings, but when your offense doesn't score until the fifth and you're already down seven, serviceable pitching is irrelevant. Pittsburgh controlled this game from the opening at-bat and never let Boston breathe.