A stellar pitching performance nets the Pirates a 4-1 victory against the East Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night.
The Pirates’ pitching staff allowed just one unearned run on the evening as the offense slammed nine hits en route to the victory.
The Pirates didn’t waste any time getting on the board as in the first inning, catcher Justin Gomez hammered a 2-0 pitch over the right field fence for a two-run home run, thus giving the Pirates an early 2-0 lead.
The very next inning, the Pirates would tack on two more runs on RBI singles by Chaneng Varela and Kyle Jackson.
The Dodgers would rally for a run in the fifth inning, but Pirates starter, Nicholas Sergi would work his way out of the jam and keep the score at 4-1.
From there, manager, Charlie Reynoso, turned to bullpen to shut the door.
Reliever, Dylan Stablein, pitched three shutout innings of relief before turning it over closer, Andrew Eppenbach in the ninth.
In the inning, the Dodgers attempted to mount a comeback, putting runners on second and third with just one out. However, Eppenbach would strikeout the next two batters and nail down the save on the Pirates 4-1 victory.
Justin Gomez provided the crucial offensive blow with his two-run shot in the first.
Shortstop Chaneng Varela also had a good day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and a run batted in, as well as reaching base in all five of his plate appearances.
Nicholas Sergi went a very strong five innings, giving up just the one run on four hits and earned himself the victory.
“I just wanted to put the ball in play,” said Sergi. “I know I have a good defense behind me.”
The win moves the Pirates to 8-4-1 on the season.
The Pirates next contest will be this Saturday the 20th at Scolinos Field against the San Diego Force.
| Batting | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Jackson | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonny Reynoso | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nolan Henley | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chaneng Varela | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tyler Urbach | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michael Deceglie | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jeff Nellis | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Justin Gomez | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Troy Resch | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Andrew Eppenbach | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 36 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
BattingHR: Justin Gomez
TB: Kyle Jackson 2, Nolan Henley, Chaneng Varela 3, Jeff Nellis, Justin Gomez 4, Troy Resch
RBI: Kyle Jackson, Chaneng Varela, Justin Gomez 2
SB: Kyle Jackson, Nolan Henley
CS: Jeff Nellis
| Pitching | IP | #P | TB | H | R | ER | BB | K | HR | S% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Eppenbach | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .000 |
| Dylan Stablein | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
| Nicholas Sergi | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | — |
PitchingW: Nicholas Sergi
SV: Andrew Eppenbach