Ryan McMahon hit a home run that landed in the Allegheny River, Cal Quantrill pitched until the eighth inning, and the Colorado Rockies finally kept their lead during a 3-2 victory over the struggling Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night.
This win ended a streak for Colorado, as they had trailed in every game they played this season until now. Rockies manager Bud Black joked that he might sleep better now that the streak is over, saying it had been tough.
McMahon’s homer in the sixth inning put the Rockies ahead. It was a powerful hit that flew over the right-field stands and splashed into the Allegheny River, a distance of 445 feet from home plate. This marked the 71st time a home run has reached the river since PNC Park opened in 2001.
Later in the sixth, Elehuris Montero and Brendan Rodgers added RBI singles to extend Colorado’s lead. Quantrill, along with two relief pitchers, shut down the Pirates for the rest of the game, securing the Rockies’ wire-to-wire victory, their first since September when they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1.
Jake Bird struck out Andrew McCutchen with two runners on base to end the eighth inning. Jalen Beeks allowed a two-run homer to Oneil Cruz in the ninth, which also landed in the Allegheny River, but he managed to get two outs and secure his first save of the season.
The Rockies almost ended their streak earlier this week in Miami when they took a five-run lead against the Marlins early in the game but ended up losing in extra innings.
Quantrill earned his first win against the Pirates by holding them to three hits while striking out nine batters. He faced some trouble in the second inning when Rowdy Tellez and Jared Triolo singled with one out, but he struck out Jack Suwinski and Joey Bart to escape the inning. After that, he retired 18 of the next 19 batters. He was taken out of the game after hitting Bart with two outs in the eighth inning.
This win was only the eighth for the Rockies in 32 games, but Quantrill believes that better days are ahead for the team. Triolo had two hits for the Pirates, but their offense struggled once again.
The Pirates have lost five consecutive games and 14 of their last 17 after starting the season with an 11-5 record. During this slump, Pittsburgh has scored two runs or fewer in 13 games and has gone 3 for 40 with runners in scoring position in their last seven games.
