Final Score: Pirates 10 (NOT A MISPRINT) Cubs 9
Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates brought the home run ball out of a long hibernation to hit 5 that accounted for all of the Pirate runs. Connor Joe, 3 run homer, Oneil Cruz, solo homer, Michael Taylor, 2 run homer, Yasmani Grandal, 3 run homer and last but certainly not least Andrew McCutchen solo home run, that was the deciding run in the game. Paul Skenes had a little bit of nerves in his opening major league start and who could blame him, but he showed enough to see that he is the real deal. His next start will most likely be on the road which I think will be a good thing. The Pirate bullpen blew a 6-1 lead by walking in 6 runs in the top of the 5th. All told they hit a batter, threw at one point 16 straight pitches out of the strike zone, walked 6 batters in the inning and all of this happened after there were 2 outs. This turned a 6-1 lead into an 8-6 deficit going into the bottom of the 5th.
Key Moments Of The Game: In the bottom of the 5th there was a runner on 2nd base with two outs and Nick Gonzales came to the plate. He fell behind in the count 1 and 2 then battled to a 3-2 count. On the 7th pitch of the at bat he took a ball that just barely missed outside. In my view the call could have gone either way but this time it went the Pirate’s way. Yasmani Grandal took a 94 MPH fastball on the inner third of the plate belt high and blasted it into the right field stands to quickly give the Pirates lead again 9-8. McCutchen got a solo blast in the 6th and bullpen somehow held on to that lead going into the top of the 9th. David Bednar quickly gave up a double and a single to put runners on 1st and 3rd with no outs. A sacrifice fly, stolen base, and a ground out to the right side of the infield put a runner on 3rd with Cody Bellinger coming to bat. On a pitch that was very close to the same location that he hit the home run off Jared Jones the day before, he just got under it to fly it 337 feet to Jack Suwinski, to let the Pirates escape with a 10-9 much needed victory.
Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Pittsburgh. Was this the game that begins the turnaround for this anemic offense. Much maligned hitting coach Andy Haines was happy, but he did say he did not think McCutchen’s process was all that good on his game deciding home run. Can the Pirates win a series against a division contender? Who knows, only The Shelton knows. I can’t wait to see the goofy Sunday lineup. Will Tellez or Alika Williams bat clean up? Enquiring minds want to know. What aging veteran will get rested today, maybe Oneil Cruz, after all a right hander is pitching today. I can hardly wait.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 