Pirates Morning Report: Well, At Least They Got To See A Concert.

Final Score: Pirates 2 Reds 9

Why The Pirates Lost: Simply put, the Reds came ready to play and the Pirates did not. Oviedo looked like he had not warmed up enough as his fastball was touching 95 MPH, he had no command, and looked tentative from the beginning. As a result, 4 batters into the game, the Reds had 3 runs and no outs. Contrast that with the Pirates, who went down in order through the first 3 innings, got one hit in the 4th that did not leave the infield and repeated the 3 up 3 down performance in the 5th. The first two batters were retired in the 6th, when Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a home run. Reynolds got a weird hop double followed by an RBI single by McCutchen. The Pirates got one more hit in the bottom of the 9th and were slaughtered like sheep 9-2. It was a very disappointing game considering how they had played against the Braves in the previous 4 games. They did not draw a walk the entire game. Let’s hope they are not developing the Ke’Bryan philosophy of hitting. For the fans that spent their hard-earned dollars to go to the game, let’s hope that at least they got to see a good concert, because they did not get to see a team than knew how to pitch and hit.

The Key Moment Of The Game: Oviedo seemed to be getting a little better in the 2nd and the 3rd innings. His fastball was ticking up to 97 MPH again, and did not allow a hit, only a hit batsman. In the top of the 4th, he got the first out on a nice play by Bryan Reynolds. He hit another batter and gave up a line drive single to left. Then on a 2-2 count, Oviedo grooved a slider right over the inside middle of the plate, that Luke Maile drove out of the deepest part of the stadium to give the Reds a 6-0 lead and you knew this game was over.

Next Game: Tonight, Reds in Pittsburgh. A very bad performance by the Pirates last night. Hopefully they will learn from the experience. We will see if they can rebound tonight, to at least have a chance at taking the series. It looks like a bullpen game tonight with Andre Jackson starting for the Pirates. Their bullpen games so far this year have been pretty successful. Jackson has had starting experience so maybe he will go longer than anticipated. The Pirates really need a win tonight.