Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 3 CUBS 2

WHY THEY PIRATES WON: AS IN THEIR 3 PREVIOUS WINS IN CHICAGO, THE PIRATES GRABBED A LEAD IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME AND THE BULLPEN DID NOT RELINQUISH IT. IT HAS BEEN AMAZING HOW SIMILIAR THE 7 GAMES HAVE BEEN IN CHICAGO. THE 3 CHICAGO WINS HAVE BEEN BLOW OUTS AND THE PIRATE WINS HAVE ALL BEEN CLOSE GAMES WHERE THE CUBS FAILED TO SCORE OVER THE LAST 5 INNINGS. THE BATS CAME ALIVE, A LITTLE, COLLECTING 9 HITS, WITH 2 BEING EXTRA BASE HITS. YOU HAVE TO WONDER HOW LONG THE PIRATES ARE GOING TO KEEP PLAYING YOSHI TSUTSUGO? HE IS SLUGGING .219.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: TOP OF THE THIRD THE PIRATES SCORED 2 RUNS AFTER HAVING 2 OUT AND NOBODY ON. A SURPRISING BIT OF 2 OUT LIGHTNING. SUWINSKI HIT THE BIG HOMER IN 5TH AND THE BULLPEN WENT INTO CUB SHUT DOWN MODE. TOO BAD WE CAN’T PLAY THE CUBS 60 TIMES.

NEXT GAME: FRIDAY, CARDINALS IN PITTSBURGH. TODAY IS WHAT’S CALLED A DAY OFF. ALL PLAYERS WILL BE RESTED. DOES THE PIRATE MANAGEMENT TEAM UNDERSTAND THIS CONCEPT? I AM NOT TOO SURE. WITH OVER 24 HOURS TO THINK ABOUT IT, THE STARTING LINE UP SHOULD BE A GEM.