PITTSBURGH _ With right-hander Ivan Nova scuffling Wednesday night at PNC Park, the Pirates were powered by their rookies in a 6-2 win against the Tampa Bay Rays. Right fielder Jose Osuna and catcher Elias Diaz each picked up a pair of hits and drove in two runs as the Pirates evened the series.
The Pirates deployed an all-right-handed lineup against Rays left-hander Blake Snell, and so Osuna started in place of slumping Gregory Polanco in right field. Osuna, now batting .259 in his debut season, blasted a pair of RBI doubles, one to left field and one to right, and pushed his RBI count this season to 20, two more than Polanco has in nearly twice as many at-bats.
Nova, typically so sound on the mound, managed to limit the Rays (41-39) to two runs over five innings. He allowed seven hits, walked two and hit one batter. It marked the first time this season Nova failed to pitch at least six innings, ending a stretch of 15 consecutive six-plus-inning starts to start a season last matched by right-hander Eddie Solomon in 1981.
The Pirates bullpen contributed no drama, as relievers Daniel Hudson, Tony Watson, Juan Nicasio and Felipe Rivero, who took the loss Tuesday, each pitched in a scoreless inning.
There was nothing Nova-esque about the way this one began. Corey Dickerson singled in the first inning, and Evan Longoria cracked a double past diving center fielder Andrew McCutchen to open the scoring. The lead did not last, but the Rays bats' barrage had only just started.
The Pirates (36-42), meanwhile, hadn't faced a left-handed starting pitcher in nearly three weeks, and they needed no re-introduction to the notion. They welcomed the lefty Snell instead with keen senses for the strike zone, and their patience paid off with a bundle of runs.
With two outs in the first inning, Snell walked McCutchen and David Freese. Osuna bounced a ground-rule double, putting the Pirates on the board. Josh Bell walked. With Snell laboring, Diaz poked a 2-2 pitch the other way for a two-run single, collecting his 12th and 13th RBIs of the season. By the end of the four-run first, Snell had run his pitch count to 36.
For Nova, the hits kept coming. He escaped from a jam in the second when Freese and Diaz combined to pinch the lead runner in a rundown between third base and home plate with one out.
In the third, Dickerson singled, Longoria doubled down the left-field line _ only after pounding back-to-back foul balls which had home-run distance _ and Steven Souza Jr. was hit by pitch and Wilson Ramos lifted a sacrifice fly. Tim Beckham singled on the infield, loading the bases, but Nova induced an inning-ending ground ball from Adeiny Hechavarria, halting the rally.
There was no further damage against Nova, though the Rays had their share of opportunities. Nova issued walks in the fourth and fifth innings, his 12th and 13th free passes this season.
The Pirates offense continued to stay a few steps ahead.
Bell led off the fourth inning by pulling a solo home run into the left-field corner, his 14th home run this season and fifth from the right-handed side of the plate. With homer No. 14, Bell tied Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner for most home runs hit by a Pirates rookie before an All-Star game.
After McCutchen walked with one out in the fifth, Osuna laced a double to right field and McCutchen came all around to score the Pirates' sixth run. Snell was replaced after five innings, having allowed six earned runs on four hits, including Bell's blast, and five walks.
