Wilmer Difo pulled a Roberto Clemente-type move in the 9th inning, scoring from second base on a ground ball to first, as the Pirates beat the Reds for the second straight game.
Joe Block has the story.
Manager Derek Shelton says the Pirates winning on Roberto Clemente Day, with a Roberto Clemente-style play, is special.
Batting second in the lineup, Yoshi Tsutsugo was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs driven in. In 26 games with the Pirates, the former Japanese League star is batting .309 in 68 at-bats with 7 home runs and 19 RBIs. Shelton says Yoshi is a true professional who put his struggles with the Dodgers and Rays behind him when he came to Pittsburgh.
The Pirates go for the sweep this afternoon at PNC Park. It will be a 12:10 airtime, 12:35 first pitch on WCCS. Connor Overton, who was picked up off waivers from Toronto last weekend, will make his first-ever Major League start. He appeared in four games for the Blue Jays and pitched for the Pirates Sunday against the Nationals. The Reds counter with right-hander Tyler Mahle, who is 11-5 with a 3.73 ERA and 188 strikeouts this season.
In his weekly update, director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said injured pitchers JT Brubaker and David Bednar are pain free now, but he also said that with the season winding down, both might be done for the season. Brubaker is eligible to come off the injured list today but has not yet even begun a throwing program to get back to pitching. Bednar is throwing but Tomczyk said the Pirates are “being very diligent” in deciding whether or not to get him back on the mound. Infielder/outfielder Michael Chavis will begin a rehab assignment at Indianapolis. He hurt his elbow diving for a ball a couple of weeks ago.
