Hot stuff: Pirates break down before loss to D-backs
PHOENIX -- Maybe the Pirates should have seen their loss to Arizona coming.
The ride to the park set a tone.
One of the Pirates' team buses broke down five times on the way to Chase Field from the team hotel on Thursday afternoon, left fielder Josh Harrison said.
The one Harrison was on.
"Something with the radiator," Harrison said before the Pirates' 7-4 loss to the Diamondbacks.
"He had to keep re-starting it. It would only go two blocks at a time. It wasn't until we got close to the stadium that, 'All right, something ain't right.'"
By that time, the Pirates were trapped.
"We could see the stadium, but it was too far to walk," Harrison said.
"It's 107 degrees out there."
Inside, it was not much better.
Once the bus broke down the first time, the air conditioner conked out.
"There was no more AC for the last 10-15 minutes," Harrison said.
Travis Snider, another of the five Pirates on the bus, took matters into his own hands.
He called Uber.
"We had one ready just in case," Harrison said. "Said it would have been six minutes. But as he (bus driver) kept cranking it up every two blocks, we were getting closer. We could ride it out."
An uncomfortable ride led to an uncomfortable night.
Harrison struck out four times and the Pirates failed to hold a two-run lead.