Final Score: Pirates 9 Cubs 3
Why The Pirates Won: Two words, Paul Skenes. It does not get better than this, 6 innings, no runs, no hits, 1 walk, and 11 strikeouts. The Cubs only put 7 balls in play. Only one of those made it to the outfield. Back in the late 40’s and early 50’s the Boston Braves had this dynamic pitching duo of Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain. In 1948 they won 39 games. In 1950 they won 41 games. During that time frame the phrase was coined, Spahn and Sain and then pray for rain. Even though it does not rhyme Pirate fans better start thinking the same way. Jones and Skenes and then pray for rain. Yes, the Pirates bats did come alive and scored 9 runs, which was more than enough, even with the B squad bullpen shakily finishing up. Connor Joe led the way getting 3 hits, with both Jared Triolo and Yasmani Grandal having 3 RBIs apiece. Tellez did get a couple of hits and hit the ball hard his last at bat, but he still stinks. Same for Suwinski. Overall, a great day for the Pirates, winning the first two games of the series and improving to 21-25.
The Key Moment Of The Game: It was that first inning, baby. First batter 4 pitch strike out the last pitch 100 MPH four-seam fastball. Second batter 6 pitch strike out the last pitch 100 MPH four-seam fastball. Third batter 3 pitch strike out the last pitch 100 MPH four-seam fastball. After that inning you knew it was going to be the Pirates’ day. The Pirate broadcast booths were wetting their pants. Joe Block on the radio side said that this was Skenes’s 2nd major league start 248 times. Greg Brown on the television side was almost dumb founded because he did not have to make up stuff to come up with something positive to say about the Pirates. It was just flat out a great day for Pirates baseball. Enjoy it because today……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Chicago. Today the Pirates may be facing the best pitcher in baseball, Shota Imanaga. At the moment, he leads all of baseball in ERA+ with a whopping 429 and FIP at 2.28. He is left-handed which means there is a good chance that both Suwinski and Tellez will be on the bench. The man faced with the challenge of going head-to-head with this guy will be Barry (No Luck) Falter. Can the left-handed journeyman defeat the left-handed ace. If that happens it could be considered the win of the year. Of course, there is always the possibility it could rain. Excuse me, while I go pray.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 