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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.

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Pirates Morning Report: Phillies Show How Good They Are

Final Score: Pirates 0 Phillies 8

Why The Pirates Lost: Cristopher Sanchez pitched his normal 7 innings. He allowed 0 runs on 3 hits, walking 2 and striking out 9 while throwing 92 pitches. For the game the Phillies staff struck out the Pirates 13 times. The Pirates had a few chances, but the Phillies brought some leather making some great plays in the field, particularly third baseman Alec Bohm. Bubba Chandler, who continues to look better, pitched well for 6 innings. He gave up 2 runs on 5 hits walking 1 and striking out 6. Unfortunately, the 7th inning went south on him as he gave up a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a double and a single to exit with the score 3-0. There were runners on 1st and 3rd. Isaac Mattson could not keep the runners from scoring and when the dust cleared the Pirates were down 5-0. Brandon Bidois came on in the 8th and got racked around for 3 more runs to see his sparkling ERA go to 6.32. He appeared to be in some kind of discomfort in the middle of the inning. I hear the IL calling. The Pirates are back to .500

Key Moments Of The Game: In the top of the 5th this was still a ball game with the score 2-0. Billy Cook of all people got a 1 out double. Henry Davis popped out. Konner Griffin hit a 98 MPH ground ball down the 3rd base line that Bohm made a spectacular play on to throw out Griffin by the smallest of margins. He was ruled safe, but the Phillies challenged with call being overturned. Esmerlyn Valdez led off the 6th with a single. The Pirates could not do much with that, thanks to great play by 2nd baseman Bryson Stott on a 106 MPH ground ball by Bryan Reynolds to force Valdez at 2nd. That was the last time the Pirates had any action of the base paths while it was still a ballgame. The Phillies scored 3 in the 7th and 3 in the 8th to turn this into a blowout win.

Next Game: Tonight, Phillies in Philadelphia. It is Paul Skenes vs. Zack Wheeler. Maybe this is what it will take for Skenes to break the team losing streak when he pitches. The Pirates have lost 8 games in a row when Skenes starts. The Pirates need to win one of these next 2 games. After putting up some real heady offensive number over the previous 8 games averaging 7 runs a game, there is the real possibility the Pirates could be shut out for 2 games in a row. During that 8 game stretch the Pirates were just 5-3. I will be really surprised if the Pirates pull this one out tonight. Of course, I could change my mind if Billy Cook gets his second start in a row.

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Pirates Morning Report: Offense Does It Again

Final Score: Pirates 11 Phillies 7

Why the Pirates Won: The Pirates’ offense put 11 runs on the board, which was enough to get a big come-from-behind win over the Phillies. At one point, the Pirates were behind 5-0. The Pirates scored 11 runs on 11 hits and 5 walks. They were 4 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left only 5 men on base. Esmerlyn Valdez went 2 for 3 with 2 walks. He hit a home run in his 4th consecutive game, driving in 2 runs and scoring 2 runs. Endy Rodriguez went 2 for 3 with 2 walks. He hit a big home run in the top of the 9th, driving in 3 runs to give the Pirates that 4-run cushion. He drove in 4 runs for the game and scored 1. I would be remiss not to add that Jared (Dead Tree) Triolo hit his first home run of the year. Braxton Ashcraft was plagued by the long ball, giving up 3 but hung in there for 6 innings. He gave up 5 runs on 5 hits, walking one and striking out 8. He turned the game over to the bullpen in the 7th inning, and of course, they almost blew it. In 3 innings, they gave up 2 runs on 4 hits, walking two. At least we know the Pirates are not going to get swept by the Phillies this time. The bottom of the 7th and the 8th were something else.

Key Moments of the Game: With a score of 8-5 in the bottom of the 7th, Evan Sisk came on to pitch. He jumped ahead of J.T. Realmuto 0-2 thanks to a missed call by the ump. He took advantage of that break by hitting Realmuto on the toe. After one out, Justin Crawford hit a chopping ground ball between the pitcher and first baseman Ryan O’Hearn for a base hit, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Sisk struck out Trea Turner, getting him to swing at two pitches out of the strike zone. After hitting a scary foul ball over the right field wall, Kyle Schwarber hit a weak 43 MPH spinning ground ball with lots of English on it that Jared Triolo made a great play on and threw him out by half a step to end the inning. See, I can write something nice about Triolo. The bottom of the 8th was even scarier. Gregory Soto started the inning. He must not be the automatic closer, and did little to show that he deserves the job back. He did strike out Bryce Harper to start the inning. He gave up a homer to left-hand hitting Brandon Marsh, his second of the game, to make the score 8-6. On a 7-pitch at-bat with a count of 3-2, Alec Bohm hit a ball 102 MPH up the middle that Brandon Lowe made a great sliding stop on and threw Bohm out. Bryson Stott singled to center field. Don Kelly decided to bring in Yohan (How Many Outs Are There And I’m About To Lose All Control Of My Bowels) Ramirez. His first pitch was a wild pitch that sent the runner to second. On a 3-2 pitch, Realmuto singled to right field, making the score 8-7. He walked Derek Hill on 5 pitches; three of the pitches were not close to the strike zone. Ball four was actually a strike, but for some reason, Rodrigues did not challenge. This put the tying run on second base. This brought up Justin Crawford. The first pitch to him was called a strike, even though it was a ball. He worked the count to 2-2. He was called out on strikes. He challenged, but the call was confirmed. The Pirates were out of the jam, and Ramirez hurried off the mound immediately to the toilet. I hate to think what the bottom of the 9th would have been like if Rodriguez had not hit the big 2-out 3-run homer.

Next Game: Tonight the Phillies in Philadelphia. The Pirate tonight will have to face the Cy Young Award front runner Christopher Sanchez. He did get touched up for 5 runs in 5 innings in his last outing. Maybe he is coming back down to earth after pitching around 50 shut out innings. Bubba Chandler will start for the Pirates. Hopefully the Pirates will continue to play Valdez, but you never know about them. After all Jared Triolo can play outfield.

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Pirates Morning Report: Baseball Ineptness 101

Final Score: Pirates 9 Reds 4

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates were just a little less inept than the Reds. The Reds were less inept at the plate than the Pirates were but made up for it by being a lot more inept at pitching. The Reds pitchers walked 8, and gave up 11 hits, including 4 home runs. The Pirates would have blown the Reds away except they loaded the bases twice with 0 outs and failed to score. The first time they had the top of the order coming up, and the second time the 9-1-2 hitters. The 2 hitter did not get up because Konnor Griffin hit into a double play after Henry Davis popped out. Once, they loaded the bases with 2 outs and failed to score. It wasn’t until the bottom of the 8th that they were able to break the game open when the Reds walked 2 batters in a row and Ryan O’Hearn hit his 2nd homer of the game to put the Pirates ahead 8-4. Esmeralda Valdez put icing on the cake by blasting a 461 ft. home run. This capped off a day where he went 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs. He probably won’t be in the lineup again until Wednesday at the earliest. This game showcased 2 teams that are in the playoff hunt but showed quite convincingly that neither one of them will likely make it.

The Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates’ ineptness with the bases loaded could have been a key moment if they had lost. They had a 4-0 lead at one point, but the Reds erased that with Mitch Keller pitching, scoring 2 runs in the 4th and 5th innings. It was in the bottom of the 5th that Ryan O’Hearn launched a 1-out solo home run into the right-field seats to get the Pirates quickly back on top, 5-4. The score remained the same as the game headed into the top of the 8th. Carmen Mlodzinski had pitched a scoreless 7th. He started the 8th by giving up a single and a walk, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Nathaniel Lowe took an 0-2 pitch and blooped it into shallow center field. Konnor Griffin made a nice running leaping catch for the first out. Mlodzinski fell behind the next 2 batters, 2-0 and 3-1, but managed to get both out on a fly out and ground out. In the bottom of the 8th, the Pirates broke it open and avoided being swept by the pathetic Reds.

Next game: Tonight, the Phillies in Philadelphia. From now until July 30th, the Pirates will play nothing but contenders, including the Phillies, Braves, Brewers, Guardians, and Yankees. On July 30th, they will be playing the Reds again in Cincinnati. The Pirates’ record against the Brewers, Braves, Phillies, and Nationals is 4-9. These are the teams they will face leading up to the All-Star break. The Pirates currently sit at .500 with a 42-42 record and are 2.5 games out of a wild card spot. If they really want to make the playoffs, which is debatable, they need at least two solid relievers, one being a reliable closer. This team cannot afford to wait until the trade deadline to shore up the bullpen. They will have to give up something pretty decent to get that. I am not too sure they will do it. If they don’t, this team will fall flat in July.

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Pirates Morning Report: Good Day For Bad Hitters

Final Score: Pirates 7 Reds 9

Why the Pirates lost: The bullpen, walks, and mediocre defense did the Pirates in again. This time the Pirates did not walk a ton of batters—4—but 2 of them really came back to haunt them. Two bad hitters, Eugenio Suarez with an OPS of .655 and Jose Trevino with an OPS of .465, did some serious damage. Trevino went 2 for 4, driving in 2 runs and scoring one. Suarez hit the big go-ahead 3-run homer in the top of the 9th. Gregory Soto, in 4 of his last 7 outings, has given up 2 runs or more. He has given up 12 hits in 6 innings of work; in one outing, he did not retire a batter. He has not regularly closed games since 2022. Gee, I wonder why. Even though Soto lost the game in the 9th, this was a complete staff failure. Jared Jones, in 4 and 2/3 innings, gave up 4 runs, 3 earned, to see his ERA go up to 5.96. Of course, he gave up a home run. The bullpen for the day pitched the last 4 and 1/3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 6 hits. All of this wasted a big offensive performance by the Pirates. The Pirates’ awful hitter Jared Triolo, with an OPS of .592, went 3 for 4 with 1 RBI. The Pirates fall below .500 and are getting closer to last place.

Key Moments Of The Game: This game was tied 4-4 going into the 6th inning. In the top of the 6th, Jose Trevino got the big hit, driving in 2 runs to make the score 6-4. Yohan Ramirez hit a batter to load the bases. Elly De La Cruz, who has not had a hit in the series, hit into an inning-ending double play. If the Pirates had won, this would have been the key moment of the game. So would have Esmerlyn Valdez’s home run in the bottom of the 8th to give the Pirates a 7-6 lead. In the bottom of the 9th, Soto walked De La Cruz after giving up a lead-off single. He induced Sal Stewart to hit into a 4-6-3 double play. This brought up left-hand hitting J.J. Bleday. He is hitting .200 against left-hand pitching. He has hit 3 of his 13 home runs against lefties. This is the guy that has to beat you. Instead, Soto walks him on 6 pitches. Bleday never swung at a pitch. Suarez came to bat. Against lefties he has 3 home runs in 43 at-bats for a home run every 14 at-bats. Against righties, he has 5 home runs in 152 at-bats for a home run every 30 at-bats. His on-base percentage is 48 points lower against right-handed pitchers. Soto was struggling. The Pirates ignored all of this, or maybe they don’t have access to such meaningful stats. It cost them the game.

Next game: This afternoon Reds, in Pittsburgh. In a series that I thought the Pirates needed to sweep they are one game away from being swept. Mitch Keller goes for the Pirates today. If he gets knocked around the Pirates will have two starters in their rotation with ERAs over 5. This entire pitching staff has taken a major step backward and there is no end in sight. The bullpen had a nice little run there but that is the key word, little. They did it against teams that have had a hard time scoring runs. I do not know what the pitching coaches are doing but it is not working. They cannot even play the injury card. The Pirate staff has been one of the healthiest in the majors. If something is not done soon, this team is not going to finish over .500 let alone make the playoffs.

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Pirates Morning Report: So Much For Sweeping The Reds

Final Score: Pirates 4 Reds 6

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates lost the battle of the bullpens. The Pirate bullpen had to cover the last 4 innings of the game. They gave up 2 runs on 2 hits. The Reds bullpen had to cover 3 and 2/3 innings. They gave up 0 runs on 3 hits, 1 walk and a hit by pitch. Paul Skenes had a bad 2nd inning, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. For the other 4 innings, he gave up 2 hits, walking no one and striking out 6. The Pirates made their usual strange decisions. They started Jared Triolo over Nick Gonzales. They decided to pinch run for Esmerlyn Valdez, 22 years, instead of Marcell Ozuna, 35 years old. Konnor Griffin started at short, coming off the IL. I guess the Pirates did not want to have too much firepower in the lineup, at least until they fell behind. They finally put Gonzales in as a pinch hitter. Great thinking.

Key Moments Of The Game: Paul Skenes had one hell of an inning in the top of the 2nd. He threw 27 pitches before he recorded the first out. It took him 37 pitches to complete the inning. Two of the first 4 hits were under 80 MPH. The Pirates tied the game 4-4 on back-to-back home runs by Ozuna and Valdez. Ozuna went 2 for 3 with a walk. I think it is time to put him back in the lineup every day. Mason Montgomery gave up one single with one out in the top of the 8th. He then fell behind pinch hitter Noelvi Marte 3-1. He was able to get a swing and miss on a 98 MPH fastball. He tried to do it one more time and Marte hit it into the left field seats for a 2-run homer. The Pirates had minor threats in the 8th and 9th but could not score the necessary 2 runs to tie the game.

Next Game: Late afternoon, Reds in Pittsburgh. Jared Jones is going up against the Reds’ ace Chase Burns. When I saw how the series was going to play out, I thought this might be the game the Pirates could lose. Jones obviously is not going to miss a start after being hit on the elbow with a line drive in his last outing. Will the Pirates go with their most offensive team today or just put out another lineup? Will Ozuna get to DH two games in a row? He has only done that 4 times in the last 30 games. The Pirates just continue to muddle along.

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Pirates Morning Report: Taking The Series

Final Score: Pirates 5 Mariners 1

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirate pitching staff ran through the raindrops holding the Mariners to 1 run despite loading the bases 3 times during the game. The Mariners had 6 hits, 6 walks, and 1 hit batter. They were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. Bubba Chandler went 5 and 1/3 innings giving up the only run of the game on 5 hits and 3 walks. The bullpen finished the game by only giving up 1 hit but walked 3, and hit a batter, getting out of 2 bases loaded situations. The offense was sparked by the dynamic duo of Henry Davis and Jared Triolo. Brandon Lowe hit a home run in the 1st to make it 1-0. In the bottom of the 3rd, Triolo singled to right and Davis hit a blast to right center field to extend the lead to 3-0. Davis started off the bottom of the 8th with a line drive double that led to 2 more insurance runs. Just a side note, Jake Mangum finally led off the game. It was a one-game failure as he went 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts. Maybe he was in a state of shock. With Horwitz on the IL, he may get to do this some more. Hopefully, he can handle it.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Mariners’ frustration started in the top of the 4th inning. They loaded the bases with 2 singles and a walk. There were 2 outs when Tuesday night’s hero, Cole Young, came to the plate. He hit a 98 MPH line drive to left-center field. Jake Mangum made a spectacular sliding catch to keep the Mariners from scoring. In the 5th inning, they scored their only run of the game with two walks and a single, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with nobody out. Chandler struck out Cal Raleigh, and then Julio Rodriguez hit a 103 MPH ground ball right at Nick Gonzales for an inning-ending double play. The Mariners loaded the bases in the 6th with 2 singles and a hit by pitch with 2 outs. Colt Emerson hit a 104 MPH ground ball this time right at the perfectly positioned Triolo, who stepped on 2nd to end the inning. In the top of the 7th, Evan Sisk and Yohan Ramirez walked the bases loaded. Fortunately, they each got one out. Mason Montgomery came in and got a lazy can of corn to left field to end that inning. Montgomery and Gregory Soto shut them down after that, 6 up and 6 down. I will give Don Kelly his just due in this one. He made the right moves in the critical 6th and 7th innings, forcing the Mariners’ hand a couple of times.

Next Game: Tonight, Reds in Pittsburgh. Paul Skenes takes the mound for the Pirates tonight. It is hard to believe that the Pirates have lost the last 7 games that Paul Skenes has started. Let’s hope that ends tonight. The Reds are hurting. They are 5 games under .500. Elly De La Cruz is on the IL. One of their main starters, T.J. Friedl, is putting up Henry Davis-like numbers. He has a lifetime slash line of .251/.336/.400. This year it is .179/.259/.256. This is the kind of drop-off I thought only Pirates had. There is no better time for the Pirates to keep the Reds down and get a 5-game winning streak. We will see if they can do it.

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Pirates Morning Report: A Tale Of Two Flyballs

Final Score: Pirates 11 Mariners 1

Why the Pirates Won: The Pirates were held hitless for the first 3 innings and trailed 1-0. Bryan Reynolds opened the 4th with a single. One out later, Ryan O’Hearn got a lucky double that seemed to open the floodgates. The Pirates got 4 hits over the next 5 batters, including a double and a triple putting a big 5 spot on the board. They added 4 in the 7th and 2 in the 8th to break open the game and win going away. All told, they scored 11 runs on 15 hits, 3 walks, and one Mariner error. They were an incredible 9 for 14 with runners in scoring position. After a shaky start, Braxton Ashcraft pitched a very good 6 innings. In his last 5 innings, he gave up 2 hits, did not walk a batter, and struck out 10. Carmen Mlodzinski pitched the last 3 innings, giving up no runs on 2 hits, striking out 3 and issuing no walks. After a slow start on both sides of the ball, the Pirates broke it open for an easy win to set up the rubber match today.

Key Moments of the Game: It is hard to say if these two plays would have changed the outcome of the game since it eventually became a blowout. Both plays involved Randy Arozarena. Ashcraft started the game by giving up three straight singles, and the Mariners quickly got out in front 1-0. Josh Naylor struck out. Arozarena lifted a high, deep fly ball down the right field line that went over the yellow line but was foul by about six inches. It was so close that they went to a video review, but it was a foul ball. If it had been fair, the score would have been 4-0 Mariners. Ashcraft went on to strike out Arozarena and eventually got out of the inning with no further damage. After that, he was pretty much invincible. In the bottom of the fourth, with one out and a runner on first, Ryan O’Hearn lifted a high, short 239-foot flyball down the left field line. Arozarena, who is coming off a hamstring injury, seemed to have some trouble getting over to the ball. It landed fair by about a foot and bounced high into the stands for a ground rule double. I think this game would have been much more interesting if those two fly balls had gone the other way—something we will never know.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Mariners in Pittsburgh. Bubba Chandler will go and try to win the series today, carrying with him the momentum built over his last three starts, where he has shown remarkable improvement. He has pitched 17 innings, giving up only six earned runs for a commendable 3.18 ERA. Each outing has showcased his growing confidence and ability to adapt on the mound, which is essential as he prepares for today’s game. He will need to have another good outing because I am sure the Pirates will follow their asinine policy of not letting a catcher start a day game after a night game. As a result, Henry (.136 batting average) Davis will probably start the game. I do not want to think about today’s starting lineup, especially given the unconventional decisions that have often left fans scratching their heads. However, perhaps against the odds and despite the lineup challenges, they will be able to win anyway.

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Pirates Morning Report: Tough Loss To Open Home Stand

Final Score: Pirates 2 Mariners 3

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates could only score 2 runs on 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 Mariners errors. Most of this was condensed into the first 5 innings. In the last 4 innings, they could only get one hit, one walk and the Mariners committed their last error. The Pirates made a couple of outs on the base paths. They were 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position, which is not bad, but left 9 men on base. Mitch Keller pitched well for 6 innings. You could say he was the master of the deep fly ball. In the first 6 innings there 7 fly ball outs ranging from 334 to 377 feet. There were 3 other fly outs that were under 334 feet. Cal Raliegh’s home run went 393 feet. That was the only run Keller had given up in the first 6 innings. He had given up only 5 hits on 76 pitches walking no one. I was in complete agreement with him coming out for the 7th inning. In 8 pitches he gave up a double and a home run and the Mariners took the lead 3-2. He walked the next batter on 8 pitches and was gone. The bullpen even though shaky at time held the Mariners at bay for the rest of the game. The Pirates finally used Isaac Mattson as he pitched a clean 8th inning. The Pirates had a slight threat in the 8th inning but could not score. In the bottom of the ninth Andres Munoz struck out the side.

Key Moments Of The Game: In the bottom of the 3rd, with one out, the Pirates had 3 straight singles, and a Mariners throwing error making the score 2-0. This put runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Ryan O’Hearn popped out. Endy Rodriguez struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 5th, Brandon Lowe doubled, and Bryan Reynolds walked, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Nick Gonzales hit into a 6-4-3 double play. He hit the ball hard but right at the shortstop. Ironically, he hit two weak ground balls for infield singles in his 2 previous at bats. Ryan O’Hearn hit a soft liner that first baseman Josh Naylor was able to leap up, deflect in the air, and make the catch with his back almost facing home plate. Right there, you figured it might not be the Pirates’ day. In the bottom of the 8th, the Pirates managed to get runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs but could not score.

Next Game: Tonight, Mariners in Pittsburgh. Braxton Ashcraft goes for the Pirates tonight. Last night it was damned if you do and damned if you don’t when Mitch Keller went out for the 7th inning. The Pirates did start Ozuna, and he drove in a run; finally, his average is over .200. The Pirates still refuse to allow Jake Mangum to lead off. I guess they don’t want Mangum mayhem to start the game. Horwitz hasn’t done a bad job leading off, but I still do not understand why you have a guy who is hitting close to .300 with an on-base percentage of .345 who can steal bases batting 8th in the lineup. Does that really make any sense? Do the Pirates even use analytics?

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Pirates Morning Report: Random Stats And Thoughts

The Pirates stand at 39 wins and 39 losses. We are three games short of the halfway point of the season. They are one of nine teams contending for the wild card. They are 1.5 games out of a spot. They are at a point in the season where any kind of a streak could determine the outcome of their season. Lose or win seven or eight in a row, they could be at the top of the wild card standings or fall completely out of contention. The Pirates have had a grinding season so far. The most they have been under .500 has been two, and that was on March 30th. The most that they have been above .500 is five on June 4th. I thought this would be a good point in the season to see who was doing the best for the Pirates and who was doing the worst. I am simply going to use the two comparison stats, OPS+ for hitters and ERA+ for pitchers, with the number 100 meaning you are league average. I was not going to use this stat, but for the purpose of this blog, it is an easy number to look at. I will do the normal team report at the All-Star break.

The best hitter on the team is Bryan Reynolds, with an OPS+ of 143. He is having his best offensive year since 2021. It will be interesting to see if he can continue this pace. The worst Pirate hitter is Henry Davis at 43; no surprise there. You have to wonder how long the Pirates can keep him on the team. Among players that have made at least 150 plate appearances, there are only two players in all of baseball that are worse than Davis. The best fielder on the team is Brandon Lowe, with +5 defensive runs saved. The worst fielder on the team is Oneil Cruz, with -9 defensive runs saved. Ryan O’Hearn is next, with -4. Most of the Pirates are average fielders, with 0 defensive runs saved. Interestingly, Jared Triolo grades out at 0 this year. By the way, he is the second-worst hitter on the Pirates, at 64 OPS+. So far this year, his glove has not been much of an asset. The best starting pitcher is Paul Skenes, with an ERA+ of 151. His ERA+ in his previous two years has been over 200. The worst starting pitcher is Mitch Keller, at 88, which is below league average. The best reliever is Evan Sisk, at 185, and the worst is Dennis Santana, at 83. It is time to put Sisk in more high-leverage situations and see how he does. Overall, the Pirate bullpen is ranked 27th in baseball. Their DH moved up one spot to 29th. Thanks to Endy Rodriguez, the catching position has moved up to 15th out of 30 teams.

Looking at the stats, it is obvious where the Pirates need help. I do not see the Pirates making any tough decisions—decisions like these: cut Henry Davis if he is out of options, bring up Rafael Flores even though he is not tearing it up in AAA; neither was Endy Rodriguez. No matter what, he has to hit better than Davis. Cut Billy Cook, bring up the Password, and keep him up here. When Konnor Griffin comes back, cut or trade Jared (No Hit Average Field) Triolo, bring up Hunter Stratton, and cut Dennis Santana. As far as the bullpen is concerned, do not look for any more help from AAA. The Indianapolis Indians are 31 and 44, and no one is really pitching or hitting very well. You notice you haven’t seen many down-on-the-farm reports on Pirate broadcasts; about the only exception is young pitcher Seth Hernandez. The Pirates are going to have to make a trade for bullpen help, and that is one scary proposition. The Pirates do not have a lot of prospects to shop, and it will not be that easy to get a top closer from another non-contending team. The lack of effort to obtain bullpen help during the off-season will most likely cost the Pirates a playoff spot.