Final Score: Pirates 4 Rays 2
Why The Pirates Won: God only knows. They still had a goofy lineup. Tommy Pham batted cleanup, go figure. They still could not score more than 4 runs. They have not gotten more than 2 hits an inning. They had only 8 hits for the game. They got key hits from Adam Frazier and Endy Rodriguez. Both of them did not play in the game before. Oneil Cruz hit a solo home run. He also hit a big sacrifice fly in the top of the 9th. These actions gave the Pirates a 2-run cushion going into the bottom of the 9th. It did not hurt that Paul Skenes was his normal brilliant self. He pitched 7 innings, giving up 1 unearned run and 3 hits. He “only” struck out six but walked no one. The bullpen was shaky as usual. They were able to protect the lead despite walking a couple of batters during the last two innings. Dennis Santana picked up the save. The Pirates did salvage something from the Rays series. They will go into the home opener 2-5. The Yankees are quaking in their boots.
The Key Moment Of The Game: Going into the top of the 9th, the Pirates held a slim 3-2 lead. The inning opened with Isiah Kiner-Falefa getting hit by a pitch. Adam Frazier blooped a single to center. Bryan Reynolds grounded into a force out at second, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Oneil Cruz, battling all the way, worked the count to 3-2 after falling behind 1-2. On the 8th pitch of the at-bat, he lifted a high fly ball to deep centerfield. This scored the runner on 3rd base, giving the Pirates a 4-2 lead. It was a cushion that made the 9th easier for Santana. The Pirates managed to put the Rays away to win 4-2.
Next Game: Friday, the home opener against the New York Yankees, game time 4:12. The Pirates will not be 1-9 Sunday night. It is really going to be tough waiting to see what the home opener starting lineup will be. You have to wonder how long the Pirates are going to go with Tommy Pham. Even though he got a hit his last at bat the same thing could be said of Jack Suwinski. He has struck out 6 of his last 8 at bats. It was finally revealed yesterday that Bryan Reynolds is dealing with an arm issue. This is the reason he is the DH. Maybe they should rest him entirely because he is not hitting. With the day off will the Pirates make any moves. Bae possibly gone. Will they make some bullpen moves? I can think of many. In my view the Pirates will do nothing which is their normal. An injury could change things. The home opener should be at the very least an interesting day.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 