Pirates Morning Report: Another Offensive Explosion

Final Score: Pirates 10 Nationals 3

Why The Pirates Won: For the second time in 17 games the Pirate bats produced a lot of runs. The first time did not create a lasting effect. We can only hope that this time it will. For the first time this season everyone in the starting lineup that had an opportunity got a hit. Endy Rodriguez suffered a laceration on his finger and did not get to bat. The Pirates went 8 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Paul Skenes, stats wise, had a solid outing. However, he is developing a 6 inning jinx. Even when he went 7 innings the 6th inning was his worst inning. I know it is only 4 starts but I am going to keep an eye on that one. The Pirates scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th to squelch a potential Nationals’ comeback. The only negative of the game was the Pirates made 4 errors.

Key Moment Of The Game: The score was 5-3 going into the bottom of the 8th. The way this bullpen has been performing you felt the game was in jeopardy. The Pirates open the inning strong with a base hit and a walk. Enmanuel Valdez doubled in a run to make it 6-3. The Red Sox reject batting cleanup no less, went 2 for 2 with 2 walks. He drove in 3 runs and scored 1. He probably won’t start tonight. Even though the Pirates would go on to score 4 more runs, you felt a lot better when that 6th run crossed the plate.

Next game: Tonight, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. After the Pirates scored 8 runs in a game, they went on to score 9 runs in the next 5 games losing 4 of them. With the exception of Rodriguez the Pirates should start the exact same line up. You know it won’t happen. McCutchen won’t be able to play two games in a row on the field, which is ridiculous. Will Valdez get the start? He should since there is no one else to play first base. I can’t wait to see the starting line up tonight. It will be the key to the outcome of the game.