Pirates recover in second game to earn split of doubleheader with Tigers

The gloves weren’t steady, and the bats provided only two hits with runners in scoring position over 18 innings. But Ben Gamel, Jose Quintana and Daniel Vogelbach performed well when it mattered most and Dillon Peters showed some good can surface, even in defeat.

The result Wednesday for the Pittsburgh Pirates was a split of their doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Tigers (8-15) won the opener 3-2, taking advantage of three Pirates errors. Then, in the second game, the Pirates (10-14) won 7-2 using a seldom-used weapon — the home run — and solid pitching by Quintana and three relievers.

With the score tied at 2-2 in the nightcap, the Pirates scored twice in the seventh. The runners crossed the plate on a wild pitch by Tigers relief pitcher Will Vest and a sacrifice fly by Vogelbach. In the ninth, Gamel’s single with Jake Marisnick on third base and Vogelbach’s fourth home run netted three insurance runs. It was only the Pirates’ 14th homer in 24 games.

“It’s nice to see the fruits of your labor,” said Gamel, who had five hits and three RBIs.

Gamel, who batted leadoff in both games, said a pregame “pep talk” in the batting cage from hitting coach Andy Haines helped fuel him for the day.

“Man, he gasses you up,” said Gamel, who entered the day with a .230 batting average and went to sleep Wednesday night hitting .275. “He gets you ready for a major-league at-bat. There are no two ways about it. We got in a good head space and a couple found a hole.”

Manager Derek Shelton was pleased that after his players lost the opener — their 10th loss in 14 games — they responded in the nightcap.

“Good bounce back. We didn’t do some things well in the first game,” Shelton said, “and it cost ourselves a game because of it.”

The Pirates scored single runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 2-0 lead in Game 2.

In the third, Bryan Reynolds’ double-play ground ball scored a run after singles by Marisnick and Gamel. In the fourth, Roberto Perez launched a 418-foot home run that left his bat at 109.8 mph. Reynolds hit doubles in his final two at-bats — his first two of the season.

Reynolds showing life at the plate might have been the most significant outcome of the day. He’s still hitting only .217, but Shelton isn’t worried.

“I thought with the work that he and Andy were doing (in the batting cage), he’s in a better spot,” Shelton said, “and we’re seeing the fruits of it. This kid can hit, and he’s going to hit. That’s the last thing I worry about, ever.”

In the first four innings, Quintana allowed only three runners, two on errors by second baseman Josh VanMeter and shortstop Diego Castillo. That was after the Pirates recorded three errors in the first game.

Quintana ran into trouble in the fifth. Doubles by Jeimer Candelario and Robbie Grossman sandwiched around Eric Haase’s single tied the score at 2-2. But relief pitchers Zach Thompson, Chris Stratton and David Bednar, who earned a two-inning save, worked the final five. Thompson was credited with the victory, his first as a Pirates player. Shelton said he’ll return to the starting rotation Sunday in Cincinnati.

“Our pitchers all game long kept us in the game,” Shelton said.

The Pirates had a plan in place for the first game, but no one anticipated typically reliable infielders Cole Tucker and Ke’Bryan Hayes botching routine ground balls.

The Tigers won the game with only three hits and three unearned runs. The Pirates managed only five hits.

Peters started and pitched well, but he wasn’t asked to confront more than 10 batters. With one out in the fourth inning of a scoreless game, Shelton — following through on his plan — inserted Bryse Wilson, who was the scheduled starter Tuesday before the game was washed out by rain.

Peters did his part.

He was almost perfect for 3 1/3 innings, striking out four and allowing one hit while stretching his scoreless streak to start a season to 16 2/3 — the longest by a Pirates pitcher in 26 years and tops in MLB this season. He has allowed only two hits in eight games.

Wilson got the final two outs in the fourth. But Candelario’s double and Tucker’s one-out error — his second of the season — on Willi Castro’s 94.7 mph ground ball ignited the Tigers rally in the fifth.

Grossman’s sacrifice fly scored one run, and the Pirates almost escaped further damage when Javier Baez bounced a high chopper toward Hayes at third. Hayes misjudged the second hop, however, and the ball bounced off his glove and into left field to score two runs. It was Hayes’ third error of the season — his total for all of last year.

Wilson deserved a better fate. He struck out six of the 16 batters he faced in 3 2/3 innings and allowed two hits and one walk.

Said Vogelbach: “Sometimes, it falls the way we want to; other times, it doesn’t.”