Spencer Turnbull pitched seven strong innings and Miguel Cabrera singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth as the Detroit Tigers edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Sunday to sweep the three-game series.
After the Tigers posted 17-13 and 11-5 wins at PNC Park, the finale turned into a pitching duel.
Cabrera’s single to left-center field off Richard Rodriguez (0-1) scored Jonathan Schoop, who was hit by a pitch with two outs and took second on a wild pitch.
Pittsburgh Pirates' Adam Frazier, left takes off to steal second as Detroit Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull pitches to, and strikes out Josh Bell in the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in Pittsburgh. Frazier was safe at second. (AP PhotoKeith Srakocic)
Turnbull (2-0) allowed only one run and five hits while striking out four and walking two. He has now won two starts in a row after losing his final 13 decisions last season as a rookie when he finished with a 3-17 record, the most losses in the majors.
Buck Farmer pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Joe Jimenez retired the side in order for his fifth save.
Detroit improved to 8-5, including 5-1 on the road, a year after having the worst record in the major leagues at 47-114.
Detroit Tigers' Victor Reyes (22) slides past Pittsburgh Pirates catcher John Ryan Murphy, right, as home plate umpire Bill Welke, center, looks to make the call after Miguel Cabrera singled in the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in Pittsburgh. (AP PhotoKeith Srakocic)
Pittsburgh has the worst mark in the big leagues this year, falling to 3-13 with its 10th loss in 11 games.
Pirates starter Steven Brault pitched two hitless innings. He was filling in for Joe Musgrove, who was scratched from the scheduled start a day earlier because of right ankle soreness.
Brault was much better than in his relief outing Friday against the Tigers in which he failed to retire any of the six batters he faced and was charged with four runs.
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Steven Brault pitches against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning of a baseball game Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in Pittsburgh. (AP PhotoKeith Srakocic)
The Pirates opened the scoring in the fourth inning on Erik Gonzalez’s RBI single off the glove of Schoop, the second baseman, with two outs.
The Tigers answered the run in the fifth to tie the score. Victor Reyes doubled with one out and came home on Austin Romine’s single.
Gonzalez, Romine and Pittsburgh’s Adam Frazier each had two hits.
THE CARDINAL EFFECT
The Pirates had the opener of their three-game series with the Cardinals, which was scheduled for Monday at Busch Stadium, postponed while St. Louis deals with a COVID-19 outbreak. It’s unclear whether the entire series will be scrapped pending an update by Major League Baseball.
The Tigers are scheduled to host the Cardinals in a makeup doubleheader on Thursday. Those two teams had their four-game series in Detroit postponed earlier in the week.
ROSTER SHUFFLE
The Pirates recalled LHP Brandon Waddell and INF/OF Jose Osuna from their alternate training site in Altoona and RHP Nick Mears was assigned there. INF/OF Phillip Evans (broken left jaw, concussion) was placed on the 45-day injured list.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: CF JaCoby Jones (left abdominal tightness) left the game in the bottom of the third. He was injured on a swing in the top of the inning.
Pirates: Evans will miss the remainder of the season after being injured in a collision with RF Gregory Polanco on Saturday. The 27-year-old rookie had been one of the few bright spots for the Pirates this season, hitting .359 with one home run and nine RBIs in 11 games.
UP NEXT
Tigers: Open a three-game series against the White Sox at Chicago on Monday night with RHP Michael Fulmer (0-0, 13.50) pitching against LHP Dallas Keuchel (1-0, 2.55). The expectation is for Fulmer to pitch the first three innings then be followed by LHP Daniel Norris, who was recently removed from the rotation.
Pirates: Tentatively scheduled to play the Cardinals on Tuesday night.
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