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Pirates Morning Report: At The 60 Game Mark

Since the last report, the Pirates have played 25 games, winning 13. Their record stands at 32-28, which would put them on pace to win 86 games. Over the last 25 games, the offense continues to get better, while the pitching and defense have gotten worse. There is no question that the biggest overall disappointment this season has been the pitching staff. Last year, this team was 5th in all of baseball in run prevention, allowing just under 4 runs per game at 3.98 runs per game. This year, the Pirates have allowed 4.5 runs per game, which puts them 14th in the league. Last year’s pitching staff had an ERA of 3.76, ranking them 7th in the league. This year, they are currently 12th at 3.91. Even though their FIP has improved, they are ranked 8th because every other team is pitching better. Last year, they were 3rd in the league in FIP. Last year, they were 4th in WHIP, and now they are 10th. Last year, they converted 58% of their save opportunities. Not that great, but a lot better than the 48% that they are currently achieving, which is better than the abysmal 38% they had during the first 35 games. They are still 28th in the league in save percentage. If this team could have pitched like they did last year, they would be in first place. It is hard to say what the problem is. Everyone seems to be healthy, but everyone has declined, with few exceptions. Braxton Ashcraft is having the best year so far. Carmen Mlodzinski showed improvement as a starter; now he is heading for the bullpen, which he is not happy about, but it looks like things have been straightened out for the time being. Bubba Chandler cannot find the plate, and the coaching staff can’t seem to identify and correct the problem. Will Jared Jones return to his old form without giving up a ton of home runs? What once looked like the real strength of this team seems to be the one thing that is going to keep this team from making the playoffs. There seems to be no concern from the Pirates; there certainly is no hint of any help on the way via trade or even call-ups. The bullpen seems completely inept now, ranking 20th in baseball but has been ranked as low as 25th. The defense has dropped from 9th to 15th, which is just below league average, but nobody thought going into this season that this was going to be a great defensive team. You could blame some of the run prevention problems on a declining defense, but it can hardly explain the entire reason that the pitching staff has taken such a step backward. We are about 40% into the season, and the Pirates’ management seems to be doing what they do best, which is nothing.

The offense, on the other hand, is soaring. They are 5th in runs scored, 3rd in on-base percentage, and 5th in OPS, all up from the 35-game mark. They are hitting home runs and slugging better than they were in the first 35 games. They have 8 players that are over the league average in OPS; last year, they had 2. This is all well and good for the moment. As we all know, hitting can be a sometime thing. Even this year, this team has been shut out 6 times. The horrible offense from last year was shut out 9 times at this point in the season. The Konnor Griffin injury, to me, is a bit worrisome. Hopefully, he will be back in the lineup when the Pirates return home. The Pirate position players, with one exception, are ranked according to WAR from 3rd to 17th. The outfield over all is ranked 10th. Last year the Pirate outfield was ranked 27th. We still have the worst DH, and our catching dropped a spot to 26th. With the bullpen ranked 20th, it is obvious where this team’s weaknesses are. It looks to me that the Pirates are just going to have to overcome these weaknesses. The Pirates’ front office is not going to make the hard decisions to DFA certain players. This team is on pace for 86 wins. I thought they would win 92 games; I based this on the pitching staff’s performance last year, with absolutely no offensive help. If the pitching does not improve soon or no new blood is infused into the bullpen, I doubt that this team will finish above .500. The only good news about that is, it will be the end of the horrific Ben Cherrington Era.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pirates Bats Mash Again

Final Score: Pirates 9 Twins 3

Why the Pirates Won: The Pirate offense put up 9 runs in the first 5 innings and this time did not let the Twins come back. The Pirates hit two home runs, one by Ryan O’Hearn in his first at-bat coming off the IL, and Nick Gonzales hit his first home run of the season with a man on. Braxton Ashcraft and the bullpen did not let the Twins off the mat. Ashcraft went 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out a career-high 11 batters while walking no one. Cam Sanders pitched a clean 7th inning. Brandon Bidois pitched the final 2 innings, giving up a solo home run in the top of the 9th but did not allow a batter to reach base. Meanwhile, the Pirate offense scored 9 runs on 8 hits and 5 walks. They took advantage of a catcher’s interference for the 2nd day in a row. It was a nice way to wrap up the homestand, going 5-2 for the week. The Pirates are in 4th place but are only a half game out of 2nd.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates got off to a good start with the O’Hearn and Gonzales home runs to go out in front 4-0. In the bottom of the 5th, a Spencer Horwitz double and a Brandon Lowe single netted another run. Then the walks started, one to Bryan Reynolds. The Shadow then brought in newcomer Mike Paredes with runners on 1st and 2nd. He promptly threw 8 straight balls to make the score 6-0. Jake Mangum hit a sacrifice fly to make it 7-0. With Jared Triolo at the plate, catcher interference was called to reload the bases. Henry (You Know It’s The Pirates Day When This Happens) Davis lined a single to left to score 2 more, and it was 9-0. You noticed that Joe Block did not say that this game was over, even though he should have. The Twins never really made a game of it after that, and the Pirates had the series sweep.

Next Game: Tomorrow, the Astros, in Houston. The Pirates’ next 12 games will be interesting. It starts with 3 games in Houston against an Astros team that is 27-34. This is an excellent opportunity to stay hot. Next, they go up against the two best teams in the National League, the Braves in Atlanta, and the Dodgers come to Pittsburgh. They finish this 12-game stretch at home against the Miami Marlins with a record of 26-34. Can the Pirates hold their own against the elite and take advantage of the weaker teams? An 8-4 run here would be wonderful, but 7-5 would be more than acceptable. Tomorrow, the 60-game report. We will see how the Pirates are doing compared with the rest of the league and what the future might hold.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pirates Win Slugfest

Final Score: Pirates 10 Twins 9

Why The Pirates Won: Twins starter Bailey Ober continued to have problems giving up the long ball. He gave up 3 long balls accounting for 5 of the 8 runs that he allowed. When Oneil Cruz hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 2nd to make the score 7-1, Joe Block declared, “This game is over.” Wrong, boring breath. What he did not realize was that Mitch Keller and Ober are the Bobbsey twins. Their pitching numbers were very similar going into the game and continued that way after the dust settled. Ober went 4 and 1/3 innings, giving up 7 earned runs on 12 hits, striking out 3, and walking 1. Keller went 4 innings, giving up 7 earned runs on 10 hits, striking out 5, and walking 1. Giving up homers is their only major difference, as Ober now has given up 12 for the season to Keller’s 4. After 4 innings, the game was tied 7-7. The Pirates took back the lead 8-7 in the bottom of the 5th and added 2 more in the 7th. The Twins cut it to 10-9 in the top of the 8th. Gregory Soto came in with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th with runners on 2nd and 3rd and the score 10-9. Kody Clemens hit a sharp 100 MPH ground ball that Tyler Callahan made a nice play on to end the inning. In the top of the 9th, Soto was hit hard, with every contact being 95 MPH or harder. Fortunately for the Pirates, the balls were always at someone to walk away with a wild 10-9 victory.

Key Moment Of The Game: Spencer Horwitz set the tone by opening the bottom of the 1st with a home run. With one out in the bottom of the 2nd, Jake Mangum hit his first home run of the season. After another ground out, Spencer Horwitz hit a high, lazy fly ball out to medium left field. Trevor Larnach lost the ball in the sun, and it dropped in front of him for a single. Did the Pirates ever make them pay! A single, walk, single, and three-run home run later, it was 7-1 before you could say the sun does shine in Pittsburgh once in a while. The Pirates were able to take the lead in the bottom of the 5th, thanks to catcher’s interference between two singles. For the second straight game, the Pirates had pulled out a one-run victory over the Twins.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Twins, in Pittsburgh. Braxton Ashcraft will be going for the Pirates today as they seek the sweep. The Twins will send out someone called Zebby Matthews, who has not pitched badly this season. In his previous two years, he has been knocked around quite a bit. I am sure we will see the usual weird Sunday lineup. Hopefully, Ozuna won’t be in the lineup, at least. The Pirates have been able to take advantage of the Twins’ mistakes during the first two games of the series. Maybe they can be generous for one more game.

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Pirates Morning Report: Reynolds Saves The Day

Final Score: Pirates 6 Twins 5

Why the Pirates Won: The bullpen had one of their best games of the year. The Twins helped the Pirates score 3 runs in the first. The Pirates were able to overcome another Don Kelly blunder. Jared Jones made his first start since the end of 2024, and it was like he never left. Once again, he was plagued by the home run ball. In 4 and 1/3 innings, he gave up two of them, which accounted for 3 of the 5 Twins runs. He gave up 5 runs on 7 hits, striking out 6 and walking 2. After 3 innings, the score was 5-4 in favor of the Twins. The bullpens handled essentially the last 5 innings of the game. The Pirates bullpen, namely Wilber Dotel, for 3 of those innings, did not allow a run on one hit with no walks. The Twins bullpen matched the Pirates, giving up only 1 hit through the 8th inning. Oneil Cruz hit a long 450-foot home run into the river in the 3rd inning to cut the lead to 5-4. This game boiled down to the bottom of the 8th and the bottom of the 9th.

Key Moments Of The Game: In the bottom of the 8th, the Twins tried their darndest to give the game away, but the Pirates just refused to take it. Anthony Banda walked Oneil Cruz on 4 pitches. Konnor Griffin hit a ground ball to short. In his hurry to try to turn the double play, Twins 2nd baseman Luke Keaschall did not secure the catch, and the ball went off his glove, getting no one out. This allowed Cruz to go to 3rd base. They charged the error to the shortstop, but that should be changed. Konnor Griffin quickly stole 2nd base. This left the Pirates with 2nd and 3rd, with no one out, thanks to the Twins. Endy Rodriguez, after taking 2 balls, took a strike, fouled off a strike, and then swung at a pitch about chin high. The Password was next up. HOLD YOUR HORSES. The wheels were churning in that vacuum between Don Kelly’s ears. He sent Jake Magnum up to pinch hit. Magnum is 0 for 12 as a pinch hitter and rarely hits a deep fly ball. Password should have batted. I would have been less upset if Ozuna or the new guy Tyler Callihan had batted. Sure enough, Magnum slaps a ball to the first baseman, and Cruz was easily thrown out at home. Jared (Why Wasn’t I Pinch Hit For) Triolo flew out to right to end the inning. In the bottom of the 9th, Spencer Horwitz got an infield single to lead off. After one out, Bryan Reynolds took a 2-2 pitch and drilled it 422 ft. into the left field seats to save the Pirates from an embarrassing loss. The weekend sure does look brighter now.

Next game: Late afternoon, the Twins in Pittsburgh. It will be Mitch Keller vs. Bailey Ober, two right-hand pitchers with almost identical stats. The only place Keller has a clear edge is in home runs allowed. Keller has given up 4 home runs to Ober’s 9. Ober has won one more game, 6. They both have 2 losses. Keller’s ERA is 3.64, while Ober’s ERA is 3.94. Keller has pitched 2 and 1/3 more innings. Ober has given up one more hit. Keller has struck out 3 more batters but has walked 2 more. Pretty freaky, huh? Looking at this, the Pirates should win this afternoon by hitting the long ball. We will find out. Last night’s win may be the one that gets this team going. Circle that one on your calendar.

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Pirates Morning Report: No Luck Skenes

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cubs 7

Why the Pirates Lost: Paul Skenes pitched a solid 5 and 1/3 innings, but some poor defense and bad luck did him and the Pirates in. Of course, the bullpen stunk again. Skenes gave up 3 runs, with only 1 being earned. He struck out 10 but did walk 3, which contributed to his 103 pitch count. The Cubs did not hit a ball over 93 MPH off of him. This should have been the making of another Paul Skenes gem, but it was not to be. The bullpen made sure the Pirates would lose by giving up 4 runs on 4 hits, walking 3 while striking out 2 in 3 and 2/3 innings of “work”. Brandon Bidois and Yohan Ramirez were the Cubs’ players of the game. The Pirate offense was not much better, scoring only 2 runs while going 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. Apparently, Don Kelly gave an emotional speech after the 10-4 drubbing the Cubs had handed the Pirates the game before. I guess it didn’t work because the Pirates just went through the motions for this game.

The Key Moments Of The Game: The Cubs scored their 1st run of the game in the top of the 4th when Paul Skenes tried to field a weak comebacker with his bare hand but failed. This put runners on 1st and 2nd with two out. Seiya Suzuki hit a broken bat bloop over shortstop to drive in the run. The runner who scored had walked. In the top of the 6th with one out, Skenes walked another batter. Then newcomer Tyler Callihan and Jared Triolo decided to throw the ball around for errors on consecutive plays, and the Cubs had a 2-0 lead. Suzuki hit a double play ball that the Pirates couldn’t turn, and the lead was 3-0. The Pirates were able to cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning. Bryan Reynolds homered, and The Password singled, followed by a Callihan double. The bullpen collapsed in the 8th and 9th, and the Pirates lost a very big game.

Next Game: Tonight, the Twins are in Pittsburgh. Derek (The Shadow) Shelton returns to Pittsburgh. Maybe the Pirates will get some spark to beat him. The last two days have been very disappointing for the Pirates. Injuries are starting to become prevalent. Konnor Griffin and Nick Gonzales seem to be banged up and will miss some time. According to WAR, the Pirate bullpen is ranked 25th in baseball. It will get a boost with Carmen Mlodzinski moving to the bullpen as Jared Jones will make his first start of the year coming off elbow surgery. If the Twins sweep the Pirates, they will have a better record than the Pirates. The Twins are in a rebuilding year. Nobody knows what the Pirates are doing, including the Pirates.

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Pirates Morning Report: Tale Of Three Struggling Relievers

Final Score: Pirates 4 Cubs 10

Why The Pirates Lost: Simply put, a complete and utter pitching failure. Bubba Chandler continued to have problems. He went 5 innings, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits, walking 2 and striking out 5. It took him 91 pitches to get through 5 innings. After 5 innings, the game was tied 4-4. The top of the 6th saw the first of 3 struggling relievers entering the game. Yohan Ramirez, who is making me look better every day, came in to relieve Evan Sisk with 2 outs and 2 on. He got Nico Hoerner to hit a soft liner that Konnor Griffin was able to corral. He unfortunately stayed in to start the top of the 7th. He hit Michael Busch on a 3-1 count. Alex Bregman hit a rather high ball down the left field line that looked like it might be caught by Bryan Reynolds. He could not get to it and it fell in for a double. Ian Happ took the very first pitch and parked it over the Clemente wall, making it 7-4 Cubs. Mason Montgomery was warming up, but Kelly elected not to use him to pitch to Ian Happ. Happ’s splits are distinctly better against right-handed pitching, even though he is a switch hitter. After giving up a single to Seiya Suzuki, Ramirez was pulled in favor of struggling reliever no. 2, Justin Lawrence. The very first pitch that Lawrence threw was parked into the seats by Michael Conforto, and the Cubs led 9-4. The rest of the inning was a mess, with one more run scoring. Lawrence started the 8th, got two outs, and was relieved by struggling reliever no. 3, Dennis Santana. Although he did not give up any runs, in the course of 1 and 1/3 innings, he walked 2 and hit a batter. After all the dust cleared, the final result was Ramirez ERA 4.75, Lawrence ERA 5.32, and Santana 4.94. Not what you’re looking for when it comes to bullpen pitchers.

Key Moments of the Game: Bubba Chandler had a shaky first inning, and the Cubs were able to score 2 runs. Naturally, 2 walks were involved. A good start was exactly what the Cubs needed in their slumping state. He then gave up 3 singles in the 2nd for another run. The Pirates scored their 3 runs in the bottom of the 3rd on a Brandon Lowe 3-run homer. In the fourth inning, the Cubs and Pirates each scored a run. The Cubs on back-to-back doubles after 2 were out. The Pirates tied it on a solo home run by Konnor Griffin. Then came the disastrous 7th inning with the bullpen collapse. When and if the Pirates address their bullpen issues remains to be seen. For now, it is costing them game after game after game. At this rate, it will probably cost them the playoffs.

Next game: Tonight, Cubs in Pittsburgh. As the Pirates like to say, it is Paul Skenes day. Skenes is coming off two mediocre starts. This is a big game for the Pirates; they need this series win against the Cubs. Although it would not have made much difference with the way the bullpen performed, you have to wonder why Konnor Griffin did not lead off. It was such a success. His splits are not much different righty vs. lefty. The Pirates are truly amazing. They took forever to get Oneil Cruz out of the leadoff spot. They scored 12 runs with Griffin leading off, but they don’t lead off with him the next day. They used an opener twice with Mlodzinski pitching and gave up just 2 runs over 18 innings. Why not do it every time he pitches. They do not add any bullpen help and even sent the wrong guy down to the minors. You don’t need to look any further than the managerial team’s decision-making to know why this team is only 2 games over .500. Oh yeah, I forgot Marcel Ozuna still bats 7th or even higher in the Pirate order. This is to make sure that the Pirates don’t score too many runs.

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Pirates Morning Report: They Did Not Ignore The Reverse Splits

Final Score: Pirates 12 Cubs 1

Why The Pirates Won: They did not ignore the reverse splits this time, starting all three of their left-handed batters against lefty Jordan Wicks. It really paid off as the Pirates came flying out of the gate, scoring five runs in the first, with Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe getting base hits. Esmerlyn Valdez capped off the inning by hitting a two-run home run to give the Pirates a 5-0 lead. Cruz, Lowe, and Spencer Horwitz went 7 for 10 for the game. There were some at-bats against right-hand pitching, but it was good that the Pirates had the lefties in the game. Wicks settled down to pitch three good innings, only giving up two hits and striking out the side in the bottom of the second. The roof collapsed in the bottom of the fifth when the Pirates got to him and Ryan Rolison, another lefty, to score three runs. They scored single runs in the sixth and seventh and a pair in the eighth. For the third straight game, the Pirate pitchers held an opponent to one run. The Cubs had many opportunities early to get back into the game but could not get out of their own way. For the game, they were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 men on base. It was another frustrating day for the Cubs as they lost their tenth game in a row.

Key Moments Of The Game: After the Pirates took the lead 5-0, the Cubs had a couple of innings where they could have gotten back in the game. They started the 2nd off with back-to-back doubles by Alex Bregman and Ian Happ to get a run. On a fly ball out to not-so-deep right field, Happ tried to go to third but was thrown out by Garcia. Suddenly, there were 2 outs and the bases were empty. In the top of the 4th, the Cubs opened with 2 singles by Michael Busch and Bregman. Ian (Larceny In His Heart But Lead In His Feet) Happ hit into a 6U-3 double play. Ashcraft got another ground ball out to end the inning. The top of the 5th was like their last chance, getting runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. Nico Hoerner struck out. The Pirates broke it open in the bottom of the inning. With the score 8-1, the Cubs loaded the bases with one out in the top of the 6th but still could not score. The Pirates won easily and are now 3 games over .500.

Next Game: Tonight, Cubs in Pittsburgh. It will be Jameson Taillon vs. Bubba Chandler. Both pitchers are struggling. Chandler did strike out 11 in his last outing, but he still had trouble finding the plate. Taillon has given up 12 runs in his last two starts. The Pirates have finally gotten Oneil Cruz out of the leadoff spot. I know it is an extremely small sample size, but he has gone 5 for 7. I guess you could say that the Pirates at least did this before June. The Cubs are on a 10-game losing streak—something that seemed impossible about a month ago when they were reeling off all of those home victories in a row. Can the Pirates extend their misery two more games? You can see that the Cubs are pressing. This losing streak has collectively gotten into their heads. It is an interesting thing to watch.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pitchers Do It Again

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cubs 1

Why the Pirates Won: For the second straight game, the Pirates’ pitching staff held the opposition to one run. This time they had to because the Pirate offense scored just two runs. Carmen Mlodzinski pitched an effective five innings, giving up the one run on five hits while walking three. The Cubs had only two at-bats with runners in scoring position. Wilber Dotel came in and pitched three strong innings out of the bullpen. He only gave up one hit and struck out four while walking none. He was able to get his first Major League win thanks to a seventh-inning home run by none other than Henry Davis to make it 2-1 Pirates. It was his fourth home run of the season. While he really did not have anything to do with the scoring, Oneil Cruz had a nice game going 2 for 4, batting fifth and playing center field. This is what he should do for the rest of the season. We can only hope and pray. Gregory Soto pitched a clean ninth to earn the save and send the Cubs to their ninth straight defeat.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Cubs made some noise after 2 were out in the top of the 2nd. They got back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases. This brought up Dansby Swanson to the plate. Mlodzinski struck him out on 4 pitches, with the last pitch being a beautiful sweeper. In the top of the third, the Cubs were able to get runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. Michael Conforto hit a soft liner down the left field line that The Password was able to corral. The Cubs got a home run in the top of the 5th to tie the game but could never really put up a threat the rest of the game. They had some chances early but could not get the big hit. This is what happens when you are in the midst of a losing streak.

Next Game: Tonight, the Cubs are in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are sending Braxton Ashcraft to the mound tonight. He is on a bit of a roll; his ERA this season is 2.89. The Cubs are countering with lefty Jordan Hicks, who they just called up from AAA. He has a lifetime ERA of 5.21 in a 26-game career. On paper, this does not look like the matchup the Cubs need to snap a 9-game losing streak. He is another lefty who has reverse splits: left-handed batters are hitting .327, while righties are hitting .279. It will be interesting to see how many left-handed batters play for the Pirates, as they tend to ignore reverse splits. All losing streaks have to end sometime. Will the Pirates help the Cubs end theirs tonight?

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Pirates Morning Report: The Pirates Do It Again

Final Score: Pirates 4 Blue Jays 1

Why The Pirates Won: For the fourth time this season, when the Pirates hit .500, they won their next game. This time, they prevailed with the long ball and clutch pitching. Spencer Horwitz and Oneil (Who Cares) Cruz each hit solo home runs. Esmerlyn Valdez hit a two-run shot in the top of the sixth to extend the Pirates’ lead to 4-1. Mitch Keller danced through the raindrops for six innings, retiring the side in order only twice. In the second, it took a great play by Jake Magnum to achieve that. Every inning had the potential to be worse, but the Blue Jays were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Keller threw 101 pitches to get through the six innings. He gave up one run on four hits, walked three, and hit a batter. The Pirate bullpen continued the clutch pitching to protect the lead. The Pirates avoided the sweep and are heading home one game over .500.

Key Moments of the Game: The Pirates brought in Yohan Ramírez to pitch the bottom of the 7th, and he made sure that the Blue Jays had a chance to tie the game. He got the first out. Brandon Valenzuela lined a double down the right-field line. George Springer walked on five pitches. Even Don Kelly had seen enough; he brought in Mason Montgomery. In one of his best outings of the year, he got two ground ball outs to end the inning. He retired the side in order in the bottom of the 8th, striking out two. In the bottom of the 9th, Gregory Soto just had to make it interesting. After one out, he hit a batter and walked a batter. He got George Springer to pop out and struck out Gary Varsho to end the game. The Pirates got four walks during the game, and the last one proved very costly. Endy Rodríguez picked up his second walk of the day. He was on base when Valdez hit his first home run and hit of his Major League career. That extra run seemed huge when the Blue Jays threatened in the 7th and the 9th.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Cubs are in Pittsburgh. The Cubs come to town today on a surprising 8-game losing streak. During the streak, the Cubs’ pitchers have given up 51 runs. It would seem highly unlikely that the Pirates will be able to extend their streak to 12. We have Bubba (What’s the Strike Zone) Chandler going in one of those games. Will the Pirates ever get on a roll? This would be a great way to end the month by winning 7 out of 8 at home. The bullpen needs to find some footing. Yesterday, even though Cruz DH’d again, he at least did not lead off. That is a step in the right direction. Dare we hope that he does not lead off the rest of the season? Can Kelly the thinker figure it out? The Pirates need to go on a run.

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Pirates Morning Report: Not Looking Good

Final Score: Pirates 2 Blue Jays 5

Why the Pirates Lost: Paul Skenes put together his second straight mediocre start. He went five-plus innings, giving up a whopping nine hits, including a leadoff home run to start the game and four doubles. He struck out just two batters and was charged with four runs, raising his ERA to 3.00. Just two starts ago, it was below 2. The offense did not do much better, getting only five hits and two walks to score two runs. For the second straight game, they failed to get a hit with runners in scoring position, going 0 for 6. They struck out 12 times. Oneil Cruz did not start but had two plate appearances. He struck out both times on eight pitches and made contact with the ball once, fouling off a pitch. He seems as disinterested as a player could get. It is obvious that the Pirates need some serious bullpen help. Maybe it is time the Pirates moved Cruz to get some. The Pirates are 2-3 on the road trip and 26-26 overall. Every time they have been at .500, they win to keep from going under. I am not so sure they will do that today.

Key Moments of the Game: After Paul Skenes gave up the leadoff home run to George Springer, he settled down and pitched a solid 5 innings. He gave up 4 hits and walked one batter with no runs scoring. In the top of the 6th inning, the Pirates got some two-out lightning when Bryan Reynolds singled and Marcell (DH Extraordinaire) Ozuna doubled to score Reynolds. This tied the game at 1-1. This was the time Skenes needed to shut down the Blue Jays to maintain what little momentum the Pirates had. He could not even get an out. Before you could say that Paul Skenes is human, the Blue Jays had 4 straight hits and took a 3-1 lead. Skenes was gone, and the Pirates had lost their 2nd straight game to the Blue Jays.

Next game: At noon, Blue Jays in Toronto. The game is on Peacock today in something called the early bird special or some other ridiculous thing. The Pirates will try to have a .500 road trip and avoid dropping below .500 for the first time since the opening of the season. This team is certainly in a funk right now. Yes, the bullpen has been really bad, but the offense has been about as inconsistent as it can be. The Pirates continue to put out some horrible lineups and batting orders. This has finally caught up with them. A win today would help as they head home to face the Cubs for four games and the Twins for three. As usual, management has done nothing to help this team so far. If this team stays the same personnel-wise for the next four weeks, a very talented team may have been mismanaged into a last-place club. Thank you, Don Kelly and Ben Cherington.