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Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams reacts after getting Reds catcher Curt Casali to ground into a double play to end the second inning Sunday, Sept. 29 2019, at PNC Park.
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Trevor Williams honors Steve Blass with ‘angelic’ tribute

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

Trevor Williams honors Steve Blass with ‘angelic’ tribute

Joe Musgrove knew. He was one of the only ones, too. Even the Pirates’ interim manager, Tom Prince, was very much in the dark.

But as Trevor Williams prepared to deliver the first pitch of Sunday’s game, he backed off the rubber, then the pitching mound entirely and removed his hat, saluting the 93.7 The Fan broadcast booth at PNC Park, where Steve Blass was about to call the final game of an illustrious career.

The place, predictably, went nuts and showered Blass, in his 60th year with the Pirates, with a thunderous ovation.

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“That was really cool,” Musgrove said. “Getting a chance to sit with [Blass] on Sunday morning and hear him talk a little bit and share some stories, it’s emotional, man. He’s been a big piece for all of us to learn from and grab things off of. Not having him around is going to be tough.”

Manager Clint Hurdle #13 of the Pittsburgh Pirates visits the mound for a pitching change during the fifth inning of a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 14, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Williams couldn’t stop smiling after the game when he described the move. Blass deserves that and more, Williams would say, and the real honor will come next year, when Blass is inducted into the inaugural Pirates Hall of Fame.

“He deserves everything that we’ve thrown at him this year and this weekend,” Williams said. “He’s a Pirate, and he’s a pro. It’s been really fun getting to know him the past four years. It’s been really fun getting to pick his brain and hear about how he pitched, the highs and lows he went through.

“He deserves more than just this weekend. He deserves the recognition that he’s going to get next year by being in the Hall of Fame.”

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The whole thing made Williams emotional, too. He said it felt like his MLB debut all over again, with his knees feeling weak, his stomach tight and the right-hander worrying about crying with the cameras focused on him staring up at Blass.

“I’m a crier,” Williams said. “I’m really emotional. I was trying not to cry because I knew the cameras were on me. I should have just let it go, but it was a feeling that, when I got on the mound, it felt like I was making my debut.”

Fortunately for Williams, he breezed through the top of the first inning, going 1-2-3 on just five pitches.

“I was really not on the mound when that was happening,” Williams said. “We either had angelic help from Roberto [Clemente] and Willie [Stargell] or it was a special moment for baseball and for the Pirates organization.”

Pirates pitching coach Ray Searage walks through the infield during batting practice Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019, at PNC Park.
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Pirates drop finale

Despite Williams going seven innings, the Pirates are 0-1 in the post-Clint Hurdle Era.

Their season is also over, this 162-game disaster finally put out of its misery.

A few hours after they fired their manager, the Pirates suffered a 3-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park, victims of three home runs their pitchers allowed.

The loss finalized the Pirates’ 2019 record at 69-93, as they dropped two of three during their final series of the season.

Williams coughed up two earned runs on five hits. The right-hander gave up two solo home runs, to Aristides Aquino and Brian O’Grady.

Richard Rodriguez gave up a solo home run to Alex Blandino in the eighth inning.

The only offense the Pirates could muster came in the sixth inning, when Jose Osuna scored Adam Frazier with a sacrifice fly.

Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.

First Published: September 29, 2019, 10:01 p.m.

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