Pittsburgh Pirates Roll To Win Behind Edinson Volquez, Travis Snider
Sep 25, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher
Edinson Volquez(36) delivers a pitch to Atlanta Braves second baseman Phil Gosselin (15) in the first inning of their game at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Edinson Volquez had a season high 10 strikeouts to win his 13th game of the season, all part of a 10-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday.
The previous season high in strikeouts for Volquez was seven set on June 29 against the New York Mets. This is his 10th career double-digit strikeout performance. Volquez also has pitched 18 consecutive scoreless innings, seven of which came tonight.
While Volquez was getting the job done on the mound, Travis Snider was getting it done at the plate, falling a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Snider had three hits in four plate appearances, and Josh Harrison went 3 for 5 at the top of the order, taking the league lead in batting average at .319 with three games to play.
With their 16th win in 20 games, the Pirates are only one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central race. Also, their magic number is two to clinch home field in next Wednesday’s NL wild-card game, if they are forced to play it.
Snider opened the scoring in the first inning with his 13th home run of the season off Braves starter David Hale and Andrew McCutchen batted in Harrison with a third-inning sacrifice fly. Gaby Sanchez added a run on a single against reliever Luis Avilan in the sixth inning which stretched the lead to three runs. The hit tied Sanchez with Snider for most pinch hits this season: 13.
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In the seventh inning, the Pirates loaded the bases with no one out. Neil Walker and Russell Martin each failed to bring a run home against Gus Schlosser, but a wild pitch scored a run and then Starling Marte drove a pitch to right field to bring home two more.
Volquez continued his performance in the eighth inning when he picked up his second hit of the season. He was hitless in his previous 45 at-bats.
The inning continued with a two-run bloop single to center by McCutchen to bring home his 80th and 81st RBIs this season. The next batter, Walker, connected his 22nd home run of the season to add two more runs on the Pirates’ side of the scoreboard.
Bobby LaFromboise pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Casey Sadler, making his first appearance since August 11 against the Detroit Tigers, allowed a run on a Ramiro Pena sacrifice fly in the ninth.
The Pirates’ regular season comes to an end with a weekend series that will be hosted by the Cincinnati Reds. Vance Worley [8-4 2.93 ERA] will start on Friday.
Worley is 1-0 with a 3.24 ERA against the Reds this season. His mound opponent will be Mike Leake [11-13 3.78 ERA]. Leake is 1-0 with a 3.71 ERA against the Pirates in 2014.
Of note: The Pirates have scored 672 runs this season, which is the most since 2008 when they plated 735…All Pirates starters other than Martin got a hit, with Marte and Ike Davis getting two each.