Final Score: Pirates 4, Marlins 5
Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates did not shine defensively, they only got 4 hits, Paul Skenes only pitched 5 and 1/3 innings, and the bullpen imploded. The Pirates were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. They left 9 men on base. They struck out 11 times, with 7 of them being called 3rd strikes. They did not take advantage of 7 walks. The Pirate pitchers weren’t much better walking 7, although one was intentional. Skenes walked the last 2 batters he faced. The bullpen did implode, but it was not helped by the defense. Colin Holderman ran into some really bad luck not getting a called 3rd strike that would have ended the inning. In the bottom of the 9th, Oneil Cruz misplayed a line drive into a triple. He made a bad decision in the bottom of the 8th. He threw home, allowing a runner to get into scoring position. The runner scored on a game-tying single. It was not a good opening day for Cruz, topping in off by looking bad at the plate.
Key Moments Of The Game: Colin Holderman took over in the bottom of the 8th with the Pirates leading 4-2. He committed the cardinal sin by walking the first batter. It seemed that Holderman would escape his own mess. He got the next two batters out. A runner moved to second on the first out. Then, on a 1-2 count, Otto Lopez looped one into centerfield to score the 3rd run. Cruz made an ill-advised throw to home, and Lopez went to second base. The next batter, Dane Myers, took a 98 MPH fastball high and outside, well within the strike zone on a 1-2 count. The umpire called it a ball. The next pitch, Myers singled to centerfield to tie the score. Neither ball was hit over 86 MPH. The bottom of the ninth was another defensive disaster. The Marlins walked it off on David Bednar without making an out.
Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Miami. The Pirates did not have a lot of luck going for them yesterday. For the last two years, they have won on opening day. Maybe this will be a good omen that they didn’t. The Marlins sure didn’t beat them; the Pirates gave it away. Their weaknesses were exposed in the very first game of the year: shaky defense and a weak bullpen. Tonight, Mitch Keller will go for the Pirates, facing Connor Gillispie. Gillispie has thrown only 8 innings in the Major Leagues. The Pirates will have to do better tonight. Can they get more than 4 hits. Let’s hope for win No. 1 tonight.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 