Pirates Afternoon Report, That Was a Double Play

Final Score: Pirates 6 Diamondbacks 4

How The 2023 Pirates Did: Mitch Keller has pitched better games but still only gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and walk in 5.1 innings. Tucupita Marcano had a hit, got hit with a pitch and manufactured a run on shear speed in the top of the 4th. Rudolfo Castro had 2 hits and one of them a triple and was involved in the bizarre double play that squelched the potential ninth inning rally of the Diamondbacks. I thought Castro made a good play because he had the runner so dead to rights going to third. It was bonehead Kevin Newman who did not know it was not a force out at 3rd base. He should have just thrown the ball back to Castro right away to tag him out or a least get him in a run down. The bullpen did ok but again trying to get a 2nd inning out of Will Crowe proved to be disastrous. The 2023 team did contribute to 10 of the 12 times the Pirates struck out. Hayes and Reynolds just had so so games, with each getting one hit and scoring one run total. After the big pregame build up Michael Chavis hung an 0 for 5 collar with 3 strike outs.

Key Moment of The Game: The 2 out lightening in the 6th inning gave the Pirates the cushion that they would so desperately need. There were two outs and nobody on when Castro went triple, Greg Allen got a miracle double, and Marcano singled to give the Pirates 2 runs.

Next Game: In about 2 hours, Diamondbacks in Arizona. It will be so nice to see a game start and end on the same date. I just checked the starting lineup and Van Meter is back. This is so depressing that I just can’t type anymore. I was so hoping to see the 2023 infield. Good-bye.