Final Score: Pirates 7 Guardians 5
Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates finally had some breaks go their way in the pivotal 7th inning. They did hit better scoring 7 runs on 9 hits while collecting 4 walks. They were 5 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Rich Hill pitched his typical mediocre game giving up 4 runs on 8 hits, walking 1, striking out 1, in 5 and 2/3 innings. I can’t imagine any team really wanting this guy or giving up any highly rated prospects in return. Time will tell if there is some team that is really desperate. This was an afternoon game and after I got home from the golf course, I watched the game which I taped. I listened to most of the broadcast, and I am glad that I roll through a game quickly when it is at night so I can get to the blog. For some reason the producer of the game must think that it is more interesting listening to three individuals discussing hitting than the game itself. It is sooooooooooooooooooooo boring listening to those three droning on and on about how to hit. Meanwhile there is a lot going on in the game that they just ignore. Let me give you a big tip AT&T, if you want to create interest in your broadcasts take a listen to the San Diego Padre broadcast team as they go through the nuances of what is going down on the field, pitch by pitch. I get to listen to them when I am out in San Diego, and it is pure joy. No fast forwarding when that duo is on the air.
Key Moment Of The Game: The bottom of the 7th the Pirates put 5 runs on the board to go from a 4-2 deficit to a 7-4 lead. There were three huge plays in the inning. The Endy Rodriguez bloop single with one out to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Connor Joe got an infield single to load the bases. That brought up the laboring Bryan Reynolds. It looked like he grounded into an inning ending double play. The Pirates challenged both outs at 2nd and 1st and the Reynolds’s out call was overturned. It was so close that I felt they could have let the call stand. Instead of the inning being over, the Pirates had a run in, with runners on first and third with two outs. Carlos Santans drew a 6 pitch walk, after being behind in the count 1-2. For the final big play of the inning, Ji Man Choi lined a 1-1 pitch into right field to give the Pirates the lead 5-4. One walk later, Jared(I’m The Real Reason Hayes Is Unhappy In Pittsburgh) Triolo lined a single to left to score 2 more insurance runs that the Pirates would eventually need. The Pirates won 7-5 with Bednar closing out the win and the losing streak was over.
Next Game: Friday night, Angels in Anaheim. The Pirates embark on another western trip playing 3 against the Angels and 3 against the Padres. I feel they have a decent chance of playing .500 ball on this road trip. Both the Angels and Padres are in disarray for various reasons. It was a nice comeback win yesterday and there is a chance that the Pirates may feed off of it to get on a little bit of a run. Another week of late night baseball, with a couple of afternoon games thrown in. The late night games would be so much more tolerable with a few wins.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 