Bell backs Bucs to further All-Star bid

HOUSTON -- The Pirates enjoyed one of their easier wins of the year, and against one of their tougher opponents, topping the first-place Astros, 14-2, before a near-sellout crowd Wednesday at Minute Maid Park.

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The Pirates attacked early, late and often en route to their seventh win in 10 games. On a day that all three teams ahead of them in the National League Central lost, the Pirates gained ground. They’ll enter Thursday’s series finale with a five-game deficit in the division, and four games back of the second Wild Card spot.

Here are four significant elements that led to a landslide win at Minute Maid Park:

Bell crushes 21st homer

Before the game, Josh Bell talked about how much it would mean to him to be selected to the National League All-Star team and participate in ancillary activities, such as the Red Carpet parade and Home Run Derby.

A couple of hours later, Bell destroyed a 92 mph fastball from starting lefty Framber Valdez, sending it to the second deck in right-center. The homer, Bell's 21st of the season, traveled 423 feet, with an exit velocity of 108.4 mph.

"I saw it on the replay. It was pretty nuts, especially right-handed," the switch-hitting Bell said.

The Bucs scored two runs in each of the first three innings, including five runs with two outs.

"It's a complete flip from yesterday," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Those hits, they're timely and they change the direction of the course of the game, night after night, throughout baseball. We had them tonight, different result."

Dickerson's improbable swing

Corey Dickerson was 4-for-4 and was on base five times, but it's likely that years from now, he'll remember his sixth-inning at-bat the most vividly.

Houston reliever Chris Devenski bounced a changeup in front of the plate, and somehow, Dickerson, with a swing resembling something you'd see in a cricket game, reached down and got it and poked it into center field.

What's more, the speedy left fielder somehow stretched the odd hit into a double. Dickerson estimated that was the fourth time he's connected with a hit that bounced first.

"My plan kind of got ruined," Dickerson said. "I had a plan going into that at-bat about what I wanted to do. I took a few pitches, my back was against the wall. I like to compete. I want to be the hardest out possible. I try to be a bulldog when I play. It happens."

Said Hurdle: "I've seen Vladimir Guerrero hit them really hard and far. But that's pretty crazy. No doubt."

Agrazal earns first win

Boosted by gobs of run support, Dario Agrazal earned his first Major League win in his second start, holding the Astros to one run over six innings, with three walks and three strikeouts over a 99-pitch outing.

When George Springer launched a leadoff homer in the first, it seemed unlikely that would be the only offense Houston's lineup would manage against the rookie right-hander, but five innings later, Agrazal had not allowed another run, and he was all smiles in the dugout while receiving hugs from his teammates.

"I went into the game recognizing the team I was going against," Agrazal said through an interpreter. "I recognized that offensively, they were a very strong team all the way around. But I trusted my plan, committed to my plan, submitted myself to my plan and thank god I was able to come out with a victory."

A nutty ninth

The Bucs had a comfortable lead in the ninth, but there's an argument to be made that it wasn't an insurmountable one, especially given the Astros' history of late-game comeback wins. Yet, down 8-2, Astros manager AJ Hinch opted to turn to first baseman Tyler White, his go-to position player to use to pitch in a blowout loss.

The Pirates pounced, and pounced some more, to the point where Hinch had to not only pull White after 38 pitches, but also bring another position player out of the dugout with him to the mound -- catcher Max Stassi, who got Bell to ground into a forceout to end the inning.

The Pirates scored six runs off White, including mammoth home runs by Jose Osuna and Kevin Newman, who was 4-for-6 and extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

There’s a fine-ish line between wanting to score as many runs as possible and not wanting to show up the opponent, and throughout the pile-on, the Bucs displayed a sportsmanlike professionalism, seemingly careful not to go to extra lengths to embarrass their opponent. One example: Elias Diaz did not attempt to score on a fly ball to left with only one out in the inning.

"The 3-0 takes, and not trying to score on certain fly balls ... there's the do's and don'ts of the game at that point," said Bell, who had two plate appearances in that inning. "I feel like we did the right things."

“You honor the game, you respect the game,” Hurdle said. “We were going up there with at-bats. Their decision was to put a position player in. Our decision was how we handle the at-bats and how we run the bases. I thought we did it very professionally.”