Final Score: Pirates 4 Dodgers 6
Why The Pirates Lost: Poor starting pitching again contributed to a loss. Given a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the of the 4th inning, Osvaldo Bido decided to give the Dodgers 2 runs on a silver platter. He walked 2 and hit a batter to load the bases. A sacrifice fly scored one run and moved a runner to third, setting up the possibility that the Dodgers would score 2 runs without the benefit of a hit. Bido gave us some hope when he struck out the next batter, but then gave up a single and the score was 4-2. The Dodgers were right back in the game and virtually did nothing. Then Roansy Contreras came in the fifth inning to seal the deal. After getting one out, he walks the next 2 batters. Three pitches later, J. D. Martinez blasts one to left center field for a home run giving the Dodgers the lead 5-4. The Dodgers scored those 5 runs on just 2 hits. Make them work for those runs Pirates. Two pitches later, David Peralta homers and the Dodgers take a 6-4 lead. That would be the eventual final score. Late in the game the Dodgers decided they wanted to be gift givers, but the Pirates could not take advantage.
Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates loaded the bases in the 7th and 9th innings with nobody out and failed to score. The Dodgers returned the favor by walking 2 batters each inning to help load the bases. What makes this even more galling is that in the 7th the Pirates had the 2, 3, and 4 hitters batting and in the 9th the 3, 4, and 5 hitters. Bryan Reynolds hit a fairly hard 98 MPH line drive but right at the shortstop in the 7th. Henry Davis hit a soft 78 MPH line drive to the second baseman after taking 2 called strikes. His at bat was even worse in the 9th, as he took a called third strike to make the first out. Carlos Santana popped out twice once to end the 7th and make the 2nd out of the 9th. The Pirates could not take advantage of 2 golden opportunities and went down to their 2nd loss on the road trip.
Next Game: Tonight Dodgers in Los Angeles. The Pirates sent down Luis Ortiz yesterday to AAA and should do the same thing with Roansy Contreras. Both pitchers have lost considerable velocity on their fast balls, and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. They do not seem to be hurt. If this was something done by design, why keep it a big secret? It doesn’t seem to be working. This has to be one of the big coaching failures so far this season. Both pitchers looked so good last year. Johan Oviedo who is pitching tonight seems to be going in the wrong direction also. Why can’t the coaching staff seem to straighten these pitchers out. They are all 25 or younger and seem to be really talented. Player development in reverse. If it is not corrected soon, then the season could get very ugly.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 