Pirates Morning Report:

Final Scores: Game 1 Pirates 4 Reds 2 Game 2 Pirates 1 Reds 5

Why The Pirates Split: The Pirates got great starting pitching in both games. The great pitching could not overcome the silent bats and shoddy defense in game 2. The Pirate bats have been asleep for the last 3 games. They have produced 5 runs on 16 hits and 6 walks. Some teams do that in one game. They struck out 30 times. Even the Dodger pitching staff would probably be 1-2. It was nice to see Roansy Contreras get back on track with a very nice 90 pitch 6 inning outing. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits, only walked 1 while striking out 7. In game 2 our recently brought up “accomplished” major leaguers gave the Reds 5 outs in the bottom of the 7th which open the floodgates for a 4-run inning. The always unreliable Chris Stratton also contributed to the Reds win. The other rare occurrence happened in the bottom of the 8th. The Pirates brought in a left-handed reliever, and he pitched an entire inning without giving up a run.

Key Moments of The Games: In game 1, the Michael Chavis one out double in the top of the 7th to drive in 2 runs that gave the Pirates a 3-1 lead. In game 2, the Josh and Ben comedy act, which allowed the Reds to extend the inning and score 4 runs to secure the win.

Next Game: Tonight, Brewers in Milwaukee. The pitching is only going to get tougher for those Swiss cheese bats. The Brewers staff is 6th in baseball in ERA+. We can only hope that the accomplished major league players that have recently joined the team, understand that the purpose of batting is to make contact with the ball and in order to do that, you have to swing at strikes. It does seem simple enough doesn’t it.