Final Score: Pirates 4 Guardians 5 10 innings
Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates did not produce at the plate. They had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 9th but failed. They could have tied the game in the 10th but did not. This was by far the most competitive game of the series, which made Derek Shelton very happy. He stated after the opening series loss to the Marlins that he is satisfied that the Pirates can be competitive. Essentially wins are not important to him. This goes without saying with the starting lineups he puts on the field. Mitch Keller and the bullpen gave up two 2-run homers to account for the 4 runs the Guardians scored in regulation. In the top of the 10th, the Guardians were textbook in getting the runner home. They moved him over to third with a ground ball to the right side. The runner scored on a sacrifice fly. The Pirate offense was pretty much dormant until the 9th inning. They had scored 1 run on 8 hits. Emmanuel Clase, who was the premier closer last year, is off to a horrible start. Maybe he is not over his playoff meltdown from last year. The Pirates touched him up for 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game.
Key Moments Of The Game: With the score tied they had runners on first and second with one out. Andrew McCutchen was at the plate. He took a low outside 1/3 of the plate slider and tried to pull the ball. He grounded it right to the shortstop for an inning-ending double play. This was the first pitch of the at-bat. In the bottom of the 10th, the Pirates were trailing 5-4. The Guardians walked the first batter, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Oneil Cruz came to the plate. On a low outside corner slider, Cruz tried to pull the ball. He grounded right to the 2nd baseman for a double play. This was his first pitch of the at-bat. Both batters could have taken the pitch. Both pitches, even though they were in the strike zone, were located very well. At the very least, they should have tried to go with the pitch and send it to the opposite field. They paid the supreme penalty for the batting mistakes. Maybe they need new I pads. Enmanuel Valdez hit a hard line to right field to end the game. The Guardians had swept the series. At least the Pirates were competitive.
Next Game: Tomorrow night, Angels in Anaheim. The Pirates have a day of rest today. Of course, the Pirates do not count these as rest days. One of the best quotes from Derek (The Shadow) Shelton was that he wanted to keep Oneil Cruz off his feet for a game. That was the reason he was the DH and not McCutchen. West Coast baseball is always a pain in the ass. Some of the “Morning Reports” may be in the afternoon. Six games against the Angels and the Dodgers. This could get even uglier.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 