Joe Musgrove captured the mood of PNC Park on Saturday night perfectly.
“There was a lot of excitement in the air,” he said.
Indeed, there was as a sellout crowd of 38,380 was on hand. Many of the fans came to see the 1979 Pirates honored in a pre-game ceremony, celebrating the franchise’s last World Series winner and participant.
The current Pirates then played like a championship team in beating the Phillies 5-1. Musgrove led the way, allowing one unearned and two hits in six innings, while Starling Marte had two doubles among his three hits.