Posts

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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?

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.