Pirates use big inning to beat Marlins
MIAMI -- The Pittsburgh Pirates produced an eight-run second inning, defeating the Miami Marlins 12-2 on Friday night at Marlins Park.
Catcher Francisco Cervelli provided the biggest blow of the inning with a three-run, line-drive triple that went under the glove of sliding left fielder Marcell Ozuna. It was just the 11th triple of Cervelli's 10-year big-league career.
Jordy Mercer, Josh Harrison and Andrew McCutchen each drove in two runs to lead the Pirates (10-12). Pittsburgh rookie second baseman Gift Ngoepe, the first native of the African continent in the majors, went 3-for-3 and is batting .800 (4-for-5) in two games.
Ngoepe got his first career RBI in the fourth and his first triple in the sixth. The next batter, rookie Alen Hanson, also hit his first career triple, putting the Pirates up 11-1 at that point.
Miami (10-11), which opened a five-game homestand, lost its third game in a row.
Jameson Taillon (2-0) earned the win, allowing just five hits, two walks and one run in five innings. In 19 road innings this season, he has allowed just one run.
Marlins starter Adam Conley, who did not allow a run in six innings last year in his only previous appearance against Pittsburgh, saw his ERA rise from 3.00 to 6.86. He lasted just 1 2/3 innings, allowing five hits, three walks, one hit batter and nine runs.
Pittsburgh opened the scoring on Mercer's one-out solo homer to left in the first inning. Mercer pulled an outside 1-2 pitch for his second homer of the season.
The Pirates then had their biggest inning since scoring eight on Sept. 15, 2016, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Conley dug himself a hole by allowing a single and two walks to load the bases in the second inning. Harrison drove in a run with an infield single to deep shortstop. Mercer then took a high 3-1 pitch for ball four and an RBI. McCutchen stroked a two-run opposite-field single to right. After Cervelli's triple, Jose Osuna capped the rally with an RBI single.
Cervelli had two hits in the 14-batter inning, including a leadoff single.
Miami scored in the third, using muscle and a bit of luck. Ozuna drilled a triple over head of right fielder Osuna. Martin Prado cut Pittsburgh's lead to 9-1 on a swinging bunt that drove in a run. Taillon escaped what became a bases-loaded, two-out jam by getting Justin Bour on a line-drive out to first.
NOTES: Pirates CF Andrew McCutchen reached base in his 17th consecutive game. ... Puerto Rico native Monica Puig, who won the 2016 Olympic gold medal for women's tennis, threw out the first pitch. Her presence was part of Puerto Rican Heritage Night at Marlins Park. ... This was the first game of a stretch in which the Pirates play 14 of 17 games on the road. ... The Pirates also play on 17 consecutive days before getting a May 15 day off, their only rest in May. ... Hall of Famer Tony Perez and former Marlins star Jeff Conine were named MLB All-Star Ambassadors. The Marlins will host the All-Star Game on July 11. ... Pirates veteran RHP Ivan Nova, 30, will make his first career start against the Marlins on Saturday. ... Marlins RHP Dan Straily, who will oppose Nova on Saturday, made six appearances against Pittsburgh last season, including five starts, compiling a 2-2 record and a 3.38 ERA.