Final Score: Pirates 3 Dodgers 0
Why The Pirates Won: Another great pitching staff performance led by Paul Skenes. Skenes went 6 and 1/3 innings giving up no runs on 5 hits. He struck out 9 and did not issue a walk. The only negative was he threw 108 pitches. The bullpen took over the game, going the last 2 and 2/3 innings without giving up a hit. I am not too sure about putting David Bednar back in the closing role so soon, but time will tell. The bullpen is now ranked 8th in all of baseball. The offense did just enough to get 3 runs across against one of the hottest pitchers in baseball. Oneil Cruz, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Enmanuel Valdez drove in the runs. The offense only had 6 hits but drew 5 walks. They only struck out 7 times. All of a sudden, this is an offense that is putting it in play. With the win, the Pirates will at least have a .500 road trip. I thought this was not possible when they left for the west coast.
Key Moments Of The Game: After the 1st inning, Paul Skenes never retired the side in order. In the bottom of the 4th, Freddie Freeman opened the inning with a double, moving to third on a Bryan Reynolds error. Skenes bore down and got the next 3 batters without allowing a run. He stopped all momentum that the Dodgers had if they had scored. Those last 5 innings Skenes pitched were a clinic in clutch pitching. The Pirates scored 2 of their 3 runs when 2 were out. Enmanuel Valdez got the big hit in the first, which gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. Ke’Bryan Hayes had the other big hit to make the score 3-0 in the top of the 5th.
Next Game: Tonight, Dodgers in Los Angeles. Mitch Keller goes tonight for the Pirates. Hopefully, the Pirates will finally score some runs for Keller. I hope to see two lineup changes: Joey Bart at catcher and Matt Gorski in left field. The rest of the lineup should be the same. For the first time all year, the Pirates have a little momentum. Having a stable starting lineup has been the key. Will the Pirates management team realize that? They had better, because they are going up against another tough pitcher, Roki Sasaki. We do not want to see Pham, Davis, Triolo, or Canario in the lineup tonight. Any chance the Pirates have depends on it.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 