For a long time Tuesday night’s game was the most unlikely of pitching duels. Yes, the Pirates were involved in another 1-0 game, but only after being held scoreless for six innings by a rookie with a 7.08 ERA in fifteen previous Major League starts. Felipe Vazquez blew a save, but veteran catcher Ryan Lavarnway, who’d only joined the Pirates as a September call-up, lined a bases loaded single in the eleventh to bring home the win for the Pirates.
With a game score of 83, it was the second highest rated start of Jameson Taillon’s career, topped only by his one-hit complete game shutout of Cincinnati on April 8 of this year.