Final Score: Pirates 5 Diamondbacks 6
Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates lost 2 out of 3 to the Diamondbacks and the bullpen was responsible for all 3 results. Paul Skenes finally proved he was human, but it was not that bad of an outing. He was charged with 2 runs on 5 hits over 5 and 1/3 innings but needed 100 pitches to do it. The Pirate offense put up 17 runs in the series. The two games where they put up 8 and 5 runs, they lost. Colin Holderman continues to have his struggles, but it would be more correct to say that he just can’t get out of the messes he makes, unscathed anymore. He has appeared in 43 games and has had only 9 innings where he has set the team down 3 up and 3 down. This has been a pattern of his ever since he joined the Pirates. Most of time he has been able to get out of the inning with no runs scoring. In the last 3 games this has not been the case. Yesterday he came into the game with a 4-2 lead in the top of the 7th. He walked the 1st and 3rd batters he faced on 9 pitches. I will say this, the first two pitches of the Corbin Carroll at bat looked like strikes. On a 1-2 pitch, Joc Pederson took a 100 MPH fast ball that was belt high out over the plate and belted it 107 MPH and 410 feet to give the Diamondbacks the lead they never relinquished. The Pirate bullpen has been mediocre all year ranking anywhere from 22nd to 28th in baseball. The Pirates did nothing to bolster it at the trade deadline. It certainly looks like this is what is going to keep them from making the playoffs, not the offense.
The Key Moment Of The Game: The Diamondbacks added a run in the top of the 9th on a Ketel Marte homer to take a 6-4 lead. The Pirates tried to make a comeback scoring a run and having 1st and 3rd with one out when Oneil Cruz came to bat. The Diamondbacks brought in A. J. Puk the left hander to face Cruz. Many people might say that Cruz had a good 11 pitch at bat. In my view, it was a batter refusing to take a walk for the good of the team. Pitch 6, 9, and 10 were all well inside but Cruz swung, fouling them off. I know you have to protect the plate, but if it is that far inside you have to take it to load the bases. Instead, he struck out and Bryan De La Cruz made the last out on a little blooper that Corbin Carrol was ablet to track down.
Next Game: Tonight, Padres in Pittsburgh. Unless the Pirates can sweep the Padres then this season is over. After the Padres series, the Pirates go on the west coast to face them again and the Dodgers. It does not seem feasible that this team could win 7 out of 9 which is what they need to do to get back in the hunt. Every time it looks like this team is going to fade away, they do seem to manage to come back. Time will tell if they can do it one more time.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 