PITTSBURGH (AP) — Wil Crowe and two relief pitchers combined on a one-hitter, and the Pittsburgh Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak with a 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.
Crowe (3-5) pitched six innings and allowed the Phillies’ only hit, a single by Alec Bohm in the second inning. The rookie right-hander struck out four and walked four in winning his second straight start.
Chasen Shreve pitched the seventh and Duane Underwood Jr. worked the last two innings to finish the Pirates’ fourth shutout of the season.
“I was just mixing and matching my pitches and trying to be unpredictable and playing the chess match from pitch one,” Crow said. “That’s who I am as a pitcher and what I have to do to succeed. A game like this shows me that I have good pitches and if I execute them then any team in the big leagues I can get out and have success against.”
The Pirates have scored 26 runs in Crowe’s last three outings.
Five Pirates had two hits — Ben Gamel, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Bryan Reynolds, Gregory Polanco and Kevin Newman. Polanco and Newman also drove in two runs apiece.
The outburst came a few hours after MLB’s trade deadline passed. The rebuilding Pirates made five trades involving major league players in a six-day span.
“Now we can move forward,” Newman said. “We came out with clear minds and swung the bats well. You develop relationships with these guys and friendships with these guys and it’s definitely tough to see them go. At the same time, it’s part of the game and as much as it stings you have another game to play.”
Vince Velasquez (3-6) got hit hard again, lasting just two innings and getting tagged for five runs and six hits. He is 0-4 with a 12.00 ERA in his last five starts.
Phillies manager Joe Girardi said it was “about the poorest game we’ve played all year,” and would not commit to Velasquez making his next scheduled start. Chase Anderson, who began the year in the rotation, followed Velasquez and gave up two runs in four innings.
“It all starts off with the starting pitching and from a starting standpoint you’ve got to set the tempo,” Velasquez said. “It’s frustrating to have the same results. The expectations for myself are very high. The results are not what I expect.”
Philadelphia lost for the third time in four games and remained 3½ games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets.
The Pirates took a 3-0 lead against Velasquez in the first inning.
Gamel led off with a double and scored on Reynolds’ one-out triple. Polanco then singled to score Reynolds before Rodolfo Castro doubled home a run when right fielder Bryce Harper misjudged a fly ball in front of the warning track.
Hayes hit an RBI double in the second and scored on Polanco’s single. Newman’s two-run double in the fourth made it 7-0.
BEATING THE DEADLINE
The Phillies and Pirates were busy prior to the trade deadline.
The Phillies acquired pitching help by getting right-handers Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy from Texas, along with minor league righty Hans Crouse for right-hander Spencer Howard and minor-league righties Kevin Gowdy and Josh Gessner.
Philadelphia also picked up infielder Freddy Galvis from Baltimore for minor-league righty Tyler Burch. Galvis spent the first six seasons of his career with the Phillies from 2012-17.
In a minor league trade, the Phillies shipped catcher Abraham Gutierrez to the Pirates for left-hander Braeden Ogle.
The Phillies also activated outfielder Travis Jankowski from the COVID-19 injured list, designated right-hander Brandon Kintzler for assignment, optioned left-hander Christopher Sanchez to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and transferred outfielder Matt Joyce from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.
Pittsburgh dealt closer Richard Rodriguez to Atlanta for right-hander Bryse Wilson and minor league righty Ricky DeVito. The Pirates also sent left-handed reliever Austin Davis to Boston for infielder/outfielder Michael Chavis.
Additionally, the Pirates recalled right-hander Mitch Keller from Triple-A Indianapolis.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Phillies: 1B Rhys Hoskins (groin) and 2B Jean Segura (knee) weren’t in the starting lineup and are considered day to day after being injured during Thursday’s doubleheader with Washington. … Harper (back) returned to the lineup after leaving the second game of the twinbill. He was shaken up in the fourth inning Friday when he slammed into the scoreboard in right field while trying to catch Hayes’ fly ball. He stayed in the game. … RHP Zach Eflin (right knee tendinitis) is throwing at 110 feet.
Pirates; 3B Colin Moran (broken left wrist) began a rehab assignment at Indianapolis on Friday night.
UP NEXT
Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (7-6, 4.37 ERA) will face RHP JT Brubaker (4-10, 4.67) on Saturday night.
In his last start, Nola allowed one run in 8 2/3 innings to beat Atlanta. Brubaker has lost six straight decisions and has not won since May 11.
