Final Score: Pirates 6 Nationals 1
Why The Pirates Won: Barry Falter had a solid start for the Pirates. It was not his best start as a Pirate as Greg Brown kept repeating. Last year Falter took a no hitter into the 7th or 8th inning. I would say that would rank better. It is amazing how little a broadcaster knows about his team. He must not get any help from the truck. Falter had some other starts last year that were just as good. Thanks to two double plays and a caught stealing he did face just 21 batters over 7 innings. This seemed to mesmerize Brown. The offense was mesmerized for most of the game also. Through 6 innings they could only muster 1 run on 4 hits and a walk. The first four batters started the game by striking out. Then came the bottom of the 7th.
Key Moments Of The Game: Jorge Lopez came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th. In just 4 pitches he gave up 2 singles to IKF and Enmanuel Valdez putting runners on 1st and 3rd with no outs. Henry Davis, whose homer gave the Pirates their run, hit a broken bat ground ball to third driving in run no. 2 and putting a runner on 2nd. Hayes grounded out to short for the 2nd out. Then the fun began. Bryan Reynolds got nailed by the very first pitch. On the 3rd pitch to McCutchen, Lopez came dangerously close to McCutchen’s head. Apparently he did not like the home runs they hit off him in September when he was with Cubs. The benches cleared but no fisticuffs ensued. He was rightfully tossed from the game. McCutchen eventually walked to load the bases. Oneil Cruz wasted no time taking Eduardo Salazar’s first pitch and parking it into the right field seats for his first career grand slam. This broke the game open 6-0, allowing the Pirates to cruise to victory.
Next game: This afternoon, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. Andrew Heaney goes for the Pirates today. The Pirates have some interesting decisions to make concerning the bullpen. Since both Bednar and Holderman have left for various reasons the bullpen has been holding its own. Right now the Pirate bullpen is ranked 13th in the league. This is up 11 places from last year. Bednar has been tearing it up in AAA and Holderman is almost fully recovered from a knee injury. You know the Pirates are eventually going to add them back to the roster. What the Pirates should do is only use them in low leverage situations and not when the game is on the line. You know that is not going to happen. They will be plugged into their normal roles. Bednar may not close but he will be a setup man right away in tight games. Pirates always mess up a good situation. Right now the bullpen is performing well. Bednar and Holderman are going to get the opportunity to change that.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 