The Pirates got whacked by the Washington Nationals again last night, 7-1. The Nationals scored five runs in the last two innings off Pirates reliever Chris Stratton. Starter Steven Brault was charged with the loss, allowing two runs over six innings. Adam Frazier homered off Max Scherzer for the Pirates’ run.
The Pirates released popular veteran catcher Francisco Cervelli at his request yesterday. He has not played since late May after going on the concussion list. He has appeared in 427 games over the past five seasons with Pittsburgh. The 33-year-old has suffered at least six concussions in 12 seasons in the majors. He had appeared in six rehab games in the minors in August, going 8-for-19. His 11.5-million dollar salary was the highest annual salary on the Pirates this year. One report yesterday had Cervelli potentially signing with the Atlanta Braves.
The Bucs host the Reds tonight for the start of a three-game series at PNC Park. The last time the two met on July 30th, there was a dugout-clearing brawl that led to eight ejections and multiple suspensions for both teams. In twelve games against each other this season, there have been nine hit batters, 15 ejections and two bench-clearing incidents. Mitch Keller will start the opener for the Pirates tonight.
