Max Kranick certainly didn’t show any nerves for a rookie pitching in a pennant race near his hometown.
In fact, he was so cool that he made some of the 50-some family in friends in attendance at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia a little angry Sunday.
Kranick worked five scoreless innings and combined with four relievers on a six-hit shutout as the Pittsburgh Pirates blanked the contending Phillies, 6-0.
Chasen Shreve, David Bednar, Nick Mears and Chris Stratton each pitched one inning out of the bullpen. It was the Pirates’ sixth shutout of the season.
The Pirates (58-97) avoided being swept in the four-game series while winning for just the second time in their last 12 games in Philadelphia.
“I give our group credit,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “You come in here, you get beat three times and you don’t play poorly, but you have to come back and win this last game against a team that is playing good baseball. It was a big win for us.”
Pitching in front of friends and family who made the 125-trip from Scranton, Kranick (2-3) allowed four hits and three walks and struck out five. He ended a six-start winless streak that began after he won his major-league debut against the Cardinals on June 27 at St. Louis.
The loss dropped the second-place Phillies (81-75) two games behind the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves with six games to play.
Though Kranick grew up as a fan of the New York Mets, many in his cheering section root for the Phillies.
“There’s too many of them,” Kranick said with a smile. “At the end they said to me if that’s the one reason they don’t get in (the playoffs), they’re going to be very mad at me. It was funny.”
The Phillies had runners on base in each of Kranick’s five innings. However, he twice escaped jams by getting All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto on a strikeout in the third inning and a groundout in the fifth.
“I feel like a lot of my outings have been really similar, and I haven’t been able to get out of those situations,” Kranick said. “So, I’ve been working really hard in my in-between days to make sure I get out of those situations and find a way to breathe and execute. So, I was really excited and fired up to get out of that.”
Shelton called it “a big growth moment in Max’s development.”
Cole Tucker got the Pirates started when he hit the game’s first pitch off the right-field foul pole for his first home run of the season. The drive came off Hans Crouse (0-1), who was making his MLB debut after being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Tucker finished with two hits, two walks and two runs scored. Colin Moran reached base three times.
“It was awesome. It was euphoric,” Tucker said. “It was really fun that when you’re playing a team that’s really in contention like that and really kind of suck the wind out of their sails. You really feel it in the stadium. It was really sweet to be on the other side of that and kind of play the spoiler.”
Making a rare pinch-hitting appearance, Ke’Bryan Hayes extended the Pirates’ lead to 3-0 with a two-run double into the right-field corner in the seventh inning with one out. The hit scored Tucker and Bryan Reynolds, who each walked.
Hayes, the regular third baseman, got a partial day off as he wound up staying in the game on defense after pinch-hitting. He went 2 for 2.
An inning later, Yoshi Tsutsugo grounded a two-run single into right field. Hoy Park opened the eighth with a double.
The Pirates added their final run in the ninth inning when Hayes singled and eventually scored on a balk.
Odubel Herrera had two hits for the Phillies. Crouse allowed one run in three innings and walked four. The Pirates drew 11 walks overall.
Notes: The Pirates have a one-day stopover in Cincinnati to play the Reds at 1:10 p.m. Monday to make up a game rained out Wednesday. The Pirates have not announced a starting pitcher. Left-hander Reiver Sanmartin will make his major-league debut for the Reds. … Bednar was reinstated from the 10-day injured list prior to the game. The Mars graduate had been out with a right oblique strain since Sept. 8. Right-handed reliever Kyle Keller was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.
John Perrotto is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
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