Kuhl runnings for Bucs rookie in homecoming start

PHILADELPHIA — Chad Kuhl looked refreshed and recharged Thursday night. He was clearly energized, due either to the extra time off he just received or the idea of pitching in front of family and friends — or perhaps a combination of both. But he didn’t look nervous.

“I definitely hid it very well, then,” Kuhl said. “I was extremely nervous.”

Kuhl channeled that nervous energy into his well-rested right arm and put together a gem in front of more than 100 family, friends and family friends at Citizens Bank Park. The rookie and native of nearby Bear, Del., threw six efficient innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out five without a walk.

He had plenty of support, too — and not just the offensive eruption Pittsburgh provided in a 15-2 romp over the Phillies.

“I now can realize what it must have been like when Chad pitched Little League games,” manager Clint Hurdle quipped. “We had 45 of his closest, dearest, most intimate friends right over the top of the dugout all night long. Very entertaining.”

How entertaining?

“Every …

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