Month: July 2023

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Pirates Morning Report: Gift Wrapped Win For The Brewers

Final Score: Pirates 3 Brewers 6

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates did everything they could to make sure the Brewers won the game. The Brewers scored 3 runs in the third on one hit. Rich Hlll after getting the first 4 batters out then decided to hit a batter. He walked the next batter on 5 pitches. He served up an 89 MPH chest high fastball to William Contreras that he crushed for a 3 run 435 ft. homer. The scored stayed 3-2 Brewers until the top of the 8th. In the top of the 8th the first 2 Brewers batters made outs. Carmen Mlodzinski walks the next batter after getting ahead 1 ball and 2 strikes. He then gives up a single to put runners on 1st and 3rd. Derick(The Shadow) Shelton then decides to put the worse Pirate reliever in the most crucial part of the game instead of putting in the best reliever, David Bednar, who had not pitched since Thursday. Ryan Borucki did not disappoint. On a little chopper to the left of the mound he threw the ball away and the Brewers scored 2 runs to stretch their lead to 5-2. The Pirates scored a run in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 5-3, but Shelton leaves Borucki in the game to make sure that the Brewers score another run and Brewers win 6-3. Borucki left the game with a sparkling ERA of 9.82. Definitely the pitcher you want in the game when you are trying to win a series against your division rival.

Key Moment Of The Game: When the Brewers tried to give us some help we did not take advantage. In the bottom of the 5th Jared Triolo reached on a throwing error to start the inning. Then the Pirates had the pitcher, I mean Austin Hedges bunt him over to second. Jack Suwinski walked with Reynolds and McCutchen coming to bat. Two weak ground balls and the inning was over and the Pirates were on their way to their 2nd loss in a row. Shelton made sure of it.

Next Game: Tonight Dodgers in Los Angeles. This starts a 7 game road trip against the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks. I expect the Pirates to win only one game on this trip. I will be mildly surprised if they win 2 and shocked if they win 3 or more. Yesterday’s game was a horrible performance by all involved. I wrote yesterday that this game was so important on many fronts and the Pirates fell flat on their face. It was an awful managerial performance. There was no sense of urgency to win this game. When you leave your best reliever sitting in the bullpen when the game is on the line, all you can expect is a loss. This is the 2nd time he has done this in the last 10 days. It would be nice to see this team hold on until the All Star break but I do not see that, with managerial decisions that are so bad .

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Pirates Morning Report: Eight Runs Not Enough This Time

Final Score: Pirates 8 Brewers 11

Why The Pirates Lost: This was a complete pitching failure. Johan Oviedo and Roansy Contreras combined for 7 and 1/3 innings giving up 11 runs, 12 hits, and walking 4. Both pitchers just can’t seem to get any consistency going. At one point the Brewers led 10-0. The Pirates made it interesting scoring 2 in the 6th and 6 in the 8th to make it 11-8 but went quietly in the 9th to fall 4 games below .500.

Key Moment Of The Game: In the bottom of the 8th, the Pirates had a runner on 2nd base with 2 outs and had only scored 1 run to make the score 11-3. The Pirates went on a tear. Jack Suwinski hit a home run to quickly make it 11-5. Conner Joe walked, Henry Davis singled, moving Joe to third. Davis went to 2nd on a wild pitch. Tucupita Marcano tripled to make the score 11-7. Jared Triola doubled off the Clemente wall to get the Pirates within 3. Rodolfo Castro who has not looked good at the plate for the last 3 weeks struck out on a 3-2 pitch about 4 inches outside the zone and the inning was over. The Pirates made the Brewers sweat for a moment but it was not enough and the winning streak was over at 4.

Next Game: This afternoon, Brewers in Pittsburgh. I really look at this as a must win for the Pirates. They need this to win a division series. They need it for their psyche. A 5-1 home stand is a must after the hole they put themselves in. This has been the weekend of the veteran and you can’t get more veteran than Rich Hill. Hopefully he will have his at them ball working and the Pirates can pull out the win.

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Pirates Morning Report: Santana Walks It Off

Final Score: Pirates 8 Brewers 7

Why The Pirates Won: For the second straight game the Pirates fought back from a 4 run deficit and in this game they did it twice. The offense came alive for 8 runs and 11 hits. The Pirates were 5 for 15 with runners in scoring position. It was a big day for the veterans. Thirty six year old Andrew McCutchen and thirty seven year old Carlos Santana went 6 for 10 with 2 home runs and 5 RBI’s, on a day when the youthful Pirates were having a hard time. The game turned out to be an impromptu bullpen game for the Pirates, as Osvaldo Bido could only go 3 and 1/3 innings giving up 4 runs on 4 hits and a walk, while throwing 73 pitches. The bullpen gave up 3 more runs over the last 5 and 2/3 innings. It was Carmen Mlodzinski who shut down the Brewers the last 2 innings that enabled the Pirates to get back in the game.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Brewers had to go with the B squad for the bullpen and the Pirates finally made them pay. Leading 7-5 going into the bottom of the 9th, the Brewers had to rest closer Devin Williams and brought in Matt Bush to pitch. Ji Hwan Bae opened with a single. One out later McCutchen doubled him home to make it 7-6. Henry Davis grounded out. On the next pitch Carlos Santana blasted a home run into the Allegheny River and the Pirates had the walk off win to go to 39-42.

Next Game: This afternoon, Brewers in Pittsburgh. The big comeback win for the Pirates keeps the momentum going. They have now won 4 in a row and the last 2 have been come from behind victories from 4 runs down. The sweep of the Brewers is still in play and they need it. They need it to help erase the memory of the previous 13 games and give them confidence going into the tough 7 game road trip coming up.