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Pirates Morning Report: A Bullpen Shocker

Final Scores: Game 1 Pirates 7 Brewers 6 Game 2 Pirates 3 Brewers 2

Why the Pirates Won Both Games: The bullpen had to cover 8 and 1/3 innings in the two games. That was because both Braxton Ashcraft and Bubba Chandler had very inefficient starts. Ashcraft took 98 pitches to get through 5 innings, where he allowed 5 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks in Game 1. Chandler took 97 pitches to get through 4 and 2/3 innings; he was more effective, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits while walking 3. The bullpen protected the one-run lead for 2 innings in Game 1. In Game 2, they did even better, protecting the one-run lead for 3 innings. That was the shocking part of the day. Esmerlyn Valdez had quite the 2 games; he went 4 for 8, driving in 8 runs and hitting 3 home runs, including a grand slam in Game 1 that gave the Pirates a 7-6 lead. The worst the Pirates can do is finish one game over .500 at the break. It would be so nice to sweep the Brewers and get 3 games above .500. Even if they lose today, nothing can really dampen the doubleheader win over the Brewers.

Key Moments Of The Games: In game one, the Pirates trailed 6-3 going into the bottom of the 7th. The Pirates loaded the bases with 3 straight singles to start the inning. Bryan Reynolds struck out. This brought Valdez to the plate. He had hit a solo home run earlier in the game. He got ahead in the count 2-0 and 3-1. He took a 99 MPH fastball and drilled it into the right field seats to put the Pirates ahead 7-6. That was the score going into the top of the 9th. Gregory Soto took the mound. He gave up an opening single to Christian Yelich. He got Jackson Chourio to pop out. He walked Brice Turang on 6 pitches. William Contreras hit a little chopper to short that Jared Triolo totally botched up, and the bases were loaded. This brought up pinch hitter Andrew Vaughn. On the 2nd pitch, he hit a ground ball to Nick Gonzales at 3rd. Gonzales stepped on the bag and threw to home to nail the runner at the plate to end the game. In the top of the 5th in game 2, Brice Turang drove in 2 runs to tie the game 2-2 with a 2-out double. This brought in new Pirate reliever lefty Brandon Eisert into the game. He promptly walked 2 batters on 11 pitches to load the bases. This brought up Garrett Mitchell. The first pitch was a called strike, then a ball in the dirt. Mitchell then swung at an inside pitch that barely caught the plate and grounded it right back to the pitcher to end the inning. The Brewers only got one more runner into scoring position the rest of the game, as the Pirate bullpen had their best day of the year.

Next Game: This afternoon, Brewers in Pittsburgh. It is quite the matchup today with The Mis going against Paul Skenes. Even though Paul Skenes and Misiorowski are almost exactly the same age you can’t help get the feeling that Skenes is the wily veteran going up against the young upstart. The Pirates will have their work cut out for them if they expect to sweep the series. The game starts at noon today as part of that early opener thing they do on Sunday now. The good news is we won’t have to listen to the Pirate announcers. Even if the Pirates lose tomorrow, it will be a more enjoyable day.

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Pirates Morning Report: One Bad Decision After Another

Final Score: Pirates 5 Braves 10

Why The Pirates Lost: Bad decisions by the management team or who ever makes these asinine decisions. You have to go back to Tuesday for the first dumb decision. Bringing Carmen Mlodzinski into a game that you are ahead 10-2. Even with that dumb decision, he only threw 24 pitches, but they still did not use him yesterday when he was really needed. Starting Tyler Callihan yesterday with an OPS in the last 15 games of .618 over Marcel Ozuna with an OPS of .716 over his last 15 games. Taking Mitch Keller out after throwing 72 pitches in 3 innings. Have you seen the way this bullpen of schmucks performs. Then bringing in Cam Sanders. Oh my God he gave up 3 runs in 2/3 innings of work. What a surprise. Then after the position players battled back to make the score 6-5 you top it off by bringing in Dennis Santana who failed miserably the night before. Mason Montgomery could have pitched. Santana and Montgomery had thrown the exact same number of pitches, 16, the night before. Four of the next 6 batters were left handed. At the very least you should have left Gregory Soto pitch to the first two. He had thrown only 11 pitches the inning before. Here is what Santana did against the left-handed batters. Walk, single, intentional walk, grand slam home run, 10-5 game essentially over. Great job Donnie Kelly. Donnie Osmond could have done a better job.

Key Moments Of The Game: The second inning the Pirates had 2nd and 3rd and no outs and could not score. After all the bad decisions there was still room to make a great one. Bring in Mason Montgomery to face Mike Yastremski with the bases loaded. I am sure that Don Kelly was not aware that this year against left hand pitching Yastremski is hitting .200 and has not hit a home run all season off a lefty. For his career he is hitting .210 with 20 of his 128 homers coming against lefties. Why would Don Kelly know such a thing. It is only his job. What a terrible management team and coaching staff.

Next Game: Tonight, Brewers in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are back to .500, what else. One thing is for sure though they are not going into the All Star break at .500. It will be either be 3 games above or below or 1 game above or below. The Pirates lucked out and did not have to face Chris Sale in the Atlanta series. It did them no good they still lost the series. They won’t be so lucky with Brewers as Jacob Misiorowski is going on Sunday. Paul Skenes will pitch for the Pirates. Don Kelly has announced that Dennis Santana will be the closer for the rest of the season. (Not Really) He might as well be. This team has not a chance for the playoffs. The trade deadline will come and go with Pirates doing what they do best, nothing.

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Pirates Morning Report: Just Can’t Seem To Do It

Final Score: Pirates 0 Braves 3

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates offense was shut down. They had only one at bat with a runner in scoring position. They struck out 11 times. They did not get a hit in the last 3 innings of the game. The bullpen gave up the big hit. Joey Bart of all people, hit a 2 out 2 run homer in the top of the 8th to break the scoreless dead lock. Jarod Jones pitched 6 perfect innings. He struck out 8 while throwing 77 pitches. We know that hitting can be a sometime thing, but the offense really looked bad yesterday. This team just cannot seem to get on a roll. The loss sets up the rubber match this afternoon. With Brewers coming to town this seems like a must win.

Key Moments Of The Game: If this game was going to go into extra innings 0-0, the bullpen needed to come from another team. Dennis Santana started the 8th inning. He got the first two batters on 6 pitches. The brought up Mike Yastremski. Even though he has the famous name he has a slash line of .228/315/.348. On a 2-2 pitch Santana grooved a slider right down the center of the plate. Yastremski hit it off the Clemente wall for a double. Joey Bart had hit a ball off Jones that sent Bryan Reynolds right to wall in left, just missing a home run. The pitch was thrown knee high left center of the plate, a 90 MPH slider. Santana’s first pitch to Bart was a 93 MPH sinker almost in exactly the same spot. This time he did hit it out. You can’t make this stuff up. Isaac Mattson gave up a run in the 9th. The Braves bullpen, which is ranked 5th in baseball, made it hold up, not allowing the Pirate offense to even sniff a run.

Next Game: This afternoon, Braves in Pittsburgh. For the 2nd time this season, Mitch Keller is paired with a pitcher that has almost identical stats. It was the Twins Bailey Ober on May 30th. Today it will be Bryce Elder. The last time this happened the two pitchers combined to give up 15 runs. The Pirates were fortunate to win the game 10-9. They better have that same good fortune today. The Pirates need this game badly.

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Pirates Morning Report: Maybe O’ Hearn Should Be An All Star

Final Score: Pirates 12 Braves 4

Why the Pirates Won: Ryan O’Hearn had one of the best offensive games in MLB history. He hit one grand slam and two three-run homers to knock in 10 runs in the first six innings. The Pirates scored a run in the seventh and eighth to make the final total 12. They collected 14 hits and walked seven times. Paul Skenes did not pitch great but pitched better. He gave up eight hits in six innings, walking one but limiting the damage to only two runs. It was a much-needed quality start with a victory for both him and the team. He should be feeling good going into the finale with the Brewers. It was a rousing start to the homestand. Hope the Pirates will continue to roll.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Braves had two out lightning in the first inning to get a run. The Pirates tacked on 4 in the first, thanks to the O’Hearn grand slam. The top of the 3rd started with a Michael Harris double. Ozzie Albies singled to center to make it 4-2 Pirates. Neither ball was hit very hard, going less than 74 MPH. You thought, here we go again; the dark cloud is still hanging over Skenes. The heart of the order was coming up for the Braves. Matt Olson hit a lazy fly ball to left for one out. Drake Baldwin hit an 0-2 mistake pitch sharply on a line at 100 MPH, but Esmerlyn Valdez was able to track it down for out number two. Skenes struck out Mauricio Dubon on 8 pitches. Dubon battled hard but eventually was called out. The top of the 5th opened with 2 singles. Skenes got Albies to pop out. Matt Olson hit the ball hard on the ground at 108 MPH, but right at O’Hearn, who threw to second for one, and Jared Triolo made a nice throw to Skenes covering the bag to turn a beautiful double play. In the 6th inning, the Braves could not push home a one-out double. In the bottom of the inning, O’Hearn hit his third home run, making it 10-2.

Next Game: Tonight, Braves in Pittsburgh. Jared Jones will be going for the Pirates. It is time for him to get that ERA down under 5. Yesterday the Pirates got the bad news that Konnor Griffin will be out for an extended period due to a torn tendon in his finger. At least for one game the Pirate offense did not miss a beat. The Pirates have won 3 in a row. The Braves are reeling right now because of injuries and babies. They have 5 players on IL or paternity leave, including Ronald Acuna Jr. Hopefully the Pirates can take advantage of all this and sweep the Braves.

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Pirate Morning Report: All Star Snubs and Home Stand

Only one Pirate made the All-Star team, Paul Skenes. He is not even the best pitcher on the Pirates right now. Braxton Ashcraft has pitched better than Skenes, although it is closer than you think. Skenes does lead Ashcraft in FIP, WHIP, and strikeouts per nine. Ashcraft has pitched more innings and has a lower ERA. He is ahead of Skenes in ERA+. Nothing compares to Brandon Lowe being left off the All-Star team. The two second basemen on the team are Ozzie Albies and Luis Arraez. Lowe has a better WAR than both, and he is the best fielder of the group. Arraez has a better OPS than Lowe, but only by .16. I did not think I could make a case for Bryan Reynolds to make the team, but when you add up the numbers, Reynolds comes out ahead of Brandon Marsh, who is starting. He also compares favorably with James Wood because Wood is such a terrible fielder. His defensive runs saved is -4. Compare that with Pete Crow-Armstrong at +21. Reynolds is at +2, which is one of his better fielding seasons. All three Pirates simply fell victim to the fan voting. When it came to picking the reserves hitting seemed to be the biggest criteria. I don’t know what the Philadelphia fans saw in Brandon Marsh, but he finished 8th in the statistical comparisons of the seven outfielders that made it, along with Reynolds. Skenes is pitching Sunday, so Ashcraft could still be added to the team. There could be nagging injuries that could cause some players to drop out, allowing either Lowe or Reynolds to make the team. The selection process has always looked at star power rather than who is having the best year. I guess that’s why they call it an All-Star game.

There are six more games for the Pirates until the All-Star Game. For me, the Pirates have to win at least 2 of the six games. One thing the Pirates have going for them is that the Braves have just been mediocre since June 1st, going 12-15. They have had 11 games where they have given up 6 or more runs. They are not as fortunate when it comes to the Brewers; they are 21-12 during this same time frame. They have given up 6 runs 7 times during this stretch. Of course, the Pirates have not been exactly lighting it up during this time frame. They are 14-17 and have given up 6 runs or more a whopping 16 times. The Pirates have faced the Brewers only 3 times this year. If you are looking for some hope, the Pirates took 2 out of 3 from them in Milwaukee. The Pirates have 11 more games against the Brewers. If the Pirates could sweep the Brewers, it may make them start thinking a little too much when they are playing the Pirates. We have been talking about the minimum the Pirates have to do in order to stay in the wild card race at the break. The maximum they could do would be to win all 6 games and have an 8-game winning streak going into the break. Obviously, the pitching would have to find itself, especially against the Brewers. What do I think will happen? The Pirates will be the Pirates and go 3-3. It would be nice to be wrong and see them have an above .500 home stand. Time will tell.

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Pirates Morning Report: Good Finish To Road Trip

Final Score: Pirates 11 Nationals 5

Why the Pirates Won: The Pirates’ offense lit it up at the beginning and at the end to score 11 runs. For the game, they had 13 hits and 6 walks. They were 5 for 15 with runners in scoring position to cap off another outstanding offensive performance. The bullpen did a nice job limiting the damage in a bases-loaded, nobody-out situation and holding a very good offense to just one run over the last 5 innings. Bubba Chandler was back to being “Old Bubba.” He was staked to a 4-0 lead but could not protect it. He went 4+ innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits and 4 walks. He struck out no one and threw 86 pitches to get through the 4+ innings. The score remained 4-4 going into the top of the 8th. The Pirates put a big 5-spot on the board. Konnor Griffin drove in the first two runs with a bases-loaded single. This was followed by a 3-run homer by Brandon Lowe. Griffin made two diving catches on little bloopers to help keep the Nationals in check. The bullpen, for the 2nd day in a row, held the vaunted Nationals offense pretty much in check. The game took 3 hours and 28 minutes to play in the grueling heat of D.C. The Pirates finished the road trip 4-3 and get a day off before the big homestand leading up to the All-Star break.

Key Moments Of The Game: The score was 4-3 going into the bottom of the 5th inning. Bubba Chandler had given up a 2-run homer in the 3rd and gave up a run in the 4th without giving up a hit. He walked the leadoff hitter and wild-pitched him to 2nd. Two ground balls later, it was 4-3. Chandler threw 4 out of 13 pitches in the strike zone to start the 5th inning. One of those pitches was hit for a single that was sandwiched between two walks to load the bases with nobody out. I have to give Don Kelly credit here. He brought in one of his high-leverage relievers, Mason Montgomery, in the 5th inning. It paid off. Thanks to one of Griffin’s spectacular catches, he was able to get out of the inning with only one run scoring. Isaac Mattson, despite giving up 2 hits, pitched a scoreless 6th inning. He got James Wood to ground out to 3rd to end the inning with a runner on 2nd base. Kudos again to Kelly for going with Mattson after having a bad outing 2 games ago. Gregory Soto pitched a clean 7th to get to the 8th-inning explosion. The Pirates scored 2 more in the 9th to win going away.

Next Game: Tomorrow night, Braves in Pittsburgh. More on this game and the homestand tomorrow. Yesterday’s win was big because it gave the Pirates just a little wiggle room as they go up against two division leading clubs. You would like to see the Pirates do better than this but going 2-4 over the next 6 games would put them one game below .500 at the break. Not great but they would not fall out of contention for the wild card. Anything worse than that and the Pirates could be looking at a meaningless trade deadline. Will the Pirates finally show that they can play with the big boys? It should be an exciting week.

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Pirates Morning Report: We Are Not In Philadelphia Any More Donnie

Final Score: Pirates 7 Nationals 1

Why the Pirates Won: The Pirates took advantage of a very fortunate 2nd inning, scoring 4 runs. For a change, they made it hold up with a good overall pitching performance to win rather easily. The Pirate bullpen did not give up a hit for 3 and 2/3 innings, but somehow still made it interesting. The vaunted Nationals offense could not really get untracked. They hit into 3 double plays and only had 5 at-bats with runners in scoring position. James Wood took Braxton Ashcraft’s first pitch of the game and drilled it 428 feet for a home run. After that, the Nationals could not do much with 5 hits and 5 walks, thanks to those double plays. The Nationals helped out the Pirates with some questionable moves and plays something that the Phillies hardly ever do.

Key Moments Of The Game: The score was tied 1-1 going into the top of the second. The Pirates did not hit a ball over 88 MPH but managed to score 4 runs. It was Nick Gonzales’s opening ground ball single that went 88 MPH. Jake Mangum got hit by a pitch on the 7th pitch of his at-bat. Tyler Calihan bunted for a single down the 3rd base line to load the bases. Henry Davis hit a weak 38 MPH ground ball that the 3rd baseman could not handle to score a run. Konnor Griffin struck out on a 9-pitch at-bat by swinging at 3 balls that were way out of the strike zone. Brandon Lowe hit a kind of knuckling looper at 87 MPH into centerfield for a single scoring 2 runs. Bryan Reynolds popped out for the 2nd out. Esmerlyn Valdez hit this pathetic 77 MPH low blooper that fell in at 243 feet for a single, driving in the 4th run of the inning. For the next 5 innings, the Pirates got 1 hit and 1 walk. Going into the bottom of the 7th, the score was still 5-1 Pirates. Yohan (I Want Unlimited Challenges) Ramirez had relieved Ashcraft in the 6th inning, getting the final out. He started the bottom of the 7th. He walked the first two batters. He threw 12 pitches, and only 2 were in the strike zone. This brought up the weak-hitting Nasim Nunez. The first pitch to him was a ball nowhere near the plate. He swung at the next pitch that was borderline low and grounded into a double play. Take sign anyone? Ramirez walked James Wood, which was probably not a bad idea. The Pirates pulled him to bring in Mason Montgomery. For the record, Ramirez threw 26 pitches, with only 9 finding the strike zone. Then the Nationals made a Pirate move. They pinch-hit for Luis Garcia Jr., who hits lefties at a .242 clip, with a right-handed batter who is hitting .159. Montgomery struck him out. Great use of analytics there, Nationals. The Pirates added 2 in the 8th, and this game was over.

Next Game: This afternoon, Nationals in Washington D.C. The Pirates have a chance to win the series and have a 4-3 road trip, which is something I did not think they would do. Even if they lose today, 3-4 is not too bad. With the next 6 games against the Braves and the Brewers, it would be a big win today. They would pick up a full game on one of their wild card competitors. While the Pirates have been treading water, their opponents have been getting hot and are now 4 games out of the wild card. This is the furthest out they have been all season. At the very least, they need to tread water over these next 7 games. Lose the next 5 or 6 games, and the trade deadline could become insignificant.

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Pirates Morning Report: Death By Home Run

Final Score: Pirates 5 Nationals 9

Why the Pirates Lost: The Pirate pitchers, particularly Mitch Keller and Isaac Mattson, were throwing batting practice. They did not realize this was a real game. Together, they gave up 5 home runs, which accounted for 8 of the Nationals’ 9 runs. Keller pitching: 1st home run, a belt-high inner third of the plate, 89 MPH cutter hit 117 MPH, 395 feet. 2nd home run, an 80 MPH “sweeper” that died on the outside third of the plate, knee-high. This pitch was hit 108 MPH, 417 feet. 3rd home run, a 4-seam 93 MPH fastball right down the middle. This one was pounded 106 MPH, some 434 feet. Isaac Mattson came in and gave up a home run on a 95 MPH four-seam fastball that was at least high out of the strike zone. It traveled 106 MPH, landing 413 feet away. Mattson gave up the 5th home run of the night on another non-sweeper that went only 375 feet. For the 4th game out of the last 5, the Pirate pitchers gave up 7 or more runs. The Pirates got 4 garbage runs in the top of the 9th by stringing together 5 doubles. The Pirates continue to do nothing about their pitching problems. How to go from one of the best pitching staffs in baseball to one of the worst in 9 months’ time. Only the Pirates.

Key Moments of the Game: The Pirates were never really in this game but had a slight chance in the top of the 7th. After two were out, Jared Triolo doubled, and two walks loaded the bases for Bryan Reynolds. He swung at a strike. The next two pitches were low and inside. He then took a pitch that was on the knees and on the inside of the plate. He then swung at an 87 mph slider that was almost in the dirt to strike out. The Nationals added two in the 7th and two in the 8th to put the game away. Before the 9th inning, the Pirates were 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position, stranding 10 runners.

Next Game: Late morning, Nationals in D. C. Braxton Ashcraft will start for the Pirates today. Let’s hope that he can stem the tide and deliver a strong performance on the mound. If the Pirates don’t win today, they will be playing to avoid a sweep on Sunday, a scenario that could weigh heavily on the minds of the players. The Nationals are red hot, showcasing impressive skills and momentum that could prove challenging for the Pirates. After facing the Nationals, the Pirates will have six crucial games at home against the Braves and the Brewers, where every game could be a turning point in the season. The only good thing is that the Braves have been faltering just a bit recently, which might give the Pirates a glimmer of hope. However, despite these minor advantages, you just get the feeling that this season is slipping away, leaving many fans anxious about the team’s future and questioning whether they can rally back in the coming weeks.

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Pirates Morning Report: All Is Forgiven When You Win

Final Score: Pirates 6 Phillies 1

Why The Pirates Won: The quartet of Jared Jones, Carmen Mlodzinski, Gregory Soto, and Mason Montgomery held the Phillies to one run on 4 hits. They walked 2 (Jones) and struck out 10. Surprise, surprise, surprise, the Phillies did not hit a home run. The Pirate offense went 6 frustrating innings scoring only 1 run, despite having many opportunities to score more. Twice they had a runner on 3rd base with no one out and did not score. Once they had a runner on 3rd base with 1 out and did not score. With runners on first and second and no outs, Bryan Reynolds hit a ball off the wall in right field and no one scored. For the game, they left 12 men on base. When you win, all is forgiven but hopefully not forgotten. They finally started scoring in the 7th and 8th innings, getting 2 runs each. Nick Gonzales homered in the 9th for the 6th run. The pitching came through for once, and the Pirates managed a split with the Phillies.

Key Moments Of The Game: The score was tied 1-1 going into the top of the 7th. The Pirates looked like they were going to let this one get away with all the blown opportunities. Brandon Lowe singled to left to start the inning. Bryan Reynolds lined out to left field. Lowe tried to steal second and was ruled out. The call was overturned. Esmerlyn Valdez, who had driven in the only Pirate run, ripped a 113 MPH line drive that went all the way to the wall for a triple, scoring Lowe. Again, the Pirates could not get a runner home with fewer than two outs as Ryan O’Hearn struck out. Nick Gonzales saved the day with a 2-out 76 MPH line drive to center to score Valdez. Valdez showed them how to do it the next inning by hitting a sacrifice fly with one out to score the 5th Pirate run, capping off a 3 RBI day. Endy Rodriguez opened the inning with a home run. Soto and Montgomery mowed the Phillies down, with Soto only using 8 pitches, all strikes, and Montgomery striking out the side in the bottom of the 9th.

Next Game: Tonight, the Nationals in Washington D.C. The Pirates are in our nation’s capital for the big 250 years American celebration. My God, who thought that was a good idea? The Nationals are throwing left-hander Foster Griffin. He is tough on left-hand batters. Maybe Billy Cook will get his 2nd start. The Pirates are at .500; the Nationals are two games over. Each team needs to win at least one game of the series. The Nationals are the leading scoring team in the league. They are worse at preventing runs than even the Pirates. This would be the perfect time for the Pirate pitching to finally step up. They are coming off a dominant performance against the Phillies. Can they keep it up?

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Pitching Failure

Final Score: Pirates 6 Phillies 10

Why the Pirates Lost: Another pitching disaster with Paul Skenes at the head of the class for this one. He went 4 innings, giving up 8 runs on 6 hits, with 2 leaving the park. He struck out 5, walked 2, while throwing 81 pitches. In the next 4 innings, the bullpen gave up 2 runs. It was Dennis Santana in the 8th, giving up a 2-run homer to extend the Phillies’ lead to 10 to 6. Even when the bullpen held the Phillies scoreless, they looked shaky. Check these lines out: Yohan Ramirez, 1 and 1/3 innings, giving up 0 runs on 2 hits, a walk, and two wild pitches while throwing 37 pitches. Cam Sander pitched 1 and 2/3 innings, giving up 1 hit, walking 2, and throwing 44 pitches. The Pirates have given up 25 runs in this series. It is amazing that they have won one game. For the season, the Pirates have fallen to 21st in runs allowed. Last year, they were 5th. It appears that no one is trying to solve the problem either. I have one suggestion: fire the pitching coach. This is a decline of historic proportions when you consider there have not been any injury issues to the staff. The offense did all right, scoring 6 runs and knocking out Zack Wheeler in the 5th inning. It is hard to overcome giving up 10 runs.

Key Moments of the Game: The bottom of the 2nd is where the Phillies broke the game open with the Pirates’ help. Paul Skenes opened the inning by hitting Alec Bohm. Bryson Stott took a very low slider and grounded it into right field for a base hit, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with no outs. Skenes struck out J.T. Realmuto. The next two batters changed the entire complexion of the game. Gabriel Rincones Jr. was the next batter. He has only had 41 major league at-bats. The second pitch was low, but Henry Davis challenged and, of course, lost. The 6th pitch of the at-bat was well inside the strike zone but called a ball. Davis did not challenge. The Pirates, by the way, are the worst team in baseball at challenging pitches. Rincones walked on the next pitch. Justin Crawford hit a weak two-hopper to Nick Gonzales at third. He could have stepped on third and thrown to first to get the double play. The worst that could have happened was the Phillies would have scored 1 run and had runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs if Crawford had beat it out. Instead, he elected to throw home and hit the runner in the back. Henry Davis looked like he was not even expecting the throw, and another run scored as the ball went to the backstop. He must have been thinking about his challenge skills. Trea Turner hit a 3-run homer, and the Phillies led 5-0. The Pirates tried to make a game of it, cutting the margin at one time to 8-6. Dennis Santana came in the 8th to make sure they did not have a chance.

Next game: This afternoon, Phillies in Philadelphia. Jared Jones goes for the Pirates. The big question will be can the Pirates hold the Phillies to under 7 runs. Right now that is looking very unlikely. There is more of a possibility that the Pirates may be able to outhit them and get away with a split in the series. Even Jared Triolo is starting to hit. In the last 15 games his slash line is .267/.353/.422 for an OPS of .775. As much talk that Nick Gonzales gets about his hitting, his slash line for the season is .300/.357/.373 for an OPS of .730. The league average OPS is .719. Gonzales’s fielding leaves a lot to be desired. At 3rd base he is -6 in defensive runs saved. If Triolo keeps hitting, which in my view is a toss-up, the Pirates may have to consider making him the regular 3rd baseman. I cannot believe I just wrote that, but Nick Gonzales is becoming a major defensive liability.