Month: June 2023

Final Score: Pirates 9 Giants 4

Why The Pirates Won: I asked two questions at the end of yesterday’s report. Could the Pirates win the series and could they squeeze 4or 5 runs out of this pathetic offense. They did both in a big way. They scored 9 runs on 14 hits and 3 walks. They took the lead in the top of the 2nd and added on nicely the rest of the way. Mitch Keller for the 2nd straight game did not pitch all that well, but the Pirates gave him great run support and the manager finally took him out at the right time. Despite the nonsense that comes from Pirate broadcast booth, the fact of the matter is he has given up 10 runs in his last 12+ innings of work. I am not worried about these last 2 performances, but let’s say what they are, even if he does strikeout 8 or more batters. They are poor performances for your so-called ace of the staff. The bullpen shut the Giants down over the last 3 innings, with even Robert Stephenson having a nice 1,2,3 inning in the bottom of the 8th. I would be remiss in not mentioning that Chris Owings had another great game. He popped bunted into a double play and struck out 3 straight times. He did manage to hit some foul balls. The Pirates pulled themselves over .500 at 28-27 and are one game out of first place heading into June.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates had 9 singles and many of them just got by the Giant’s infielder. None were bigger than Bryan Reynolds’ 2 out single in the top of the 4th to make the score 6-2 that, was just out of the reach of the Giant’s second baseman. The Pirates were ahead 8-3 going into the bottom of the 6th when the Giants got two singles to put runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Casy Schmitt barely missed a home run that Bryan Reynolds made a nice catch on, up against the left field fence. It did score a run, but if he had pulled it just a touch for a home run the score would have been 8-6. You never know what might have happened after that.

Next Game: Tomorrow, the Cardinals in Pittsburgh. The Pirates open a 9 game homestand tomorrow, with the Cardinals, the A’s and the Mets coming to town. It would be nice to see at the very least, a 6-3 homestand. So far, the Pirates have not really been tearing it up a home. They are 12-13 at home and this is not an acceptable record for a team that may contend for a playoff spot. This would be the perfect time to turn this around with a successful homestand. It was a rough May to say the least. The Pirate web site said they “stumbled a bit”. They stumbled all right, but unfortunately, they were at the edge of the Grand Canyon. They did come out of May with some momentum. We will see if they can carry it into June.