Final Score: Pirates 4 Cubs 3
Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates scored 3 of their 4 runs after 2 were out. They were able to survive a disastrous 5th inning. They managed to survive Tommy Pham making 5 outs in 4 at-bats. They overcame another Carmen Mlodzinski start. This time he managed to pitch 4 innings while giving up 2 runs on 6 hits. He struck out 4 and walked 1. The Pirates were 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position. The Cubs were 1 for 6. After the 5th inning, the Pirates’ bullpen was solid, with David Bednar picking up the save. Over the last 4 innings, the bullpen only gave up 2 hits and did not walk a batter. After being outscored 26 to 6 in their last 3 games, the Pirates pulled out the close one. With Paul Skenes pitching today, they have an excellent chance of taking this series.
Key Moments Of The Game: This game had many big moments. The Pirates scored in the 1st with a big 2-out single by Ke’Bryan Hayes. In the bottom of the 4th, the Pirates loaded the bases with no one out. Thank God Tommy Pham struck out and did not hit into a double play. Jared Triolo hit a fly ball to mid-center field. Joey Bart tried to score but was ruled out at the plate. Replay reversed the call and the Pirates had their second run. The Pirates got away with sending two batters up in a row with batting averages below .180. In the top of the 5th, Mlodzinski gave up a single and a walk to start the inning. Shelton brought in Ryan Borucki. Ian Happ was the next hitter, who is a switch hitter. He hits .229 left-handed and .361 batting right-handed. Why bring in a left-handed pitcher to face Happ? I know Kyle Tucker is on deck but he hits left handed pitching just fine. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Happ hit a ground ball single up the middle to make the score 2-1. Thanks to two wild pitches and a ground out, the Cubs took the lead 3-2 without getting a hit. The score remained 3-2 until the bottom of the 7th. IKF reached base on an error by the third baseman, with one out. Cruz struck out for out no.2. Bryan Reynolds singled to left, putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Andrew McCutchen hit a 92 MPH ground ball up the middle. Dansby Swanson deflected it out to short right-center field. This allowed Reynolds to score all the way from 1st base. This was a fortunate break for the Pirates, giving them a fortunate win. The bullpen protected the lead, snapping an embarrassing 3-game losing streak.
Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Pittsburgh. As mentioned before, Paul Skenes will start today. He will probably have to endure a very poor starting lineup. I am willing to put up with Henry Davis catching today if Tommy Pham is not in the starting lineup. The Cubs pitcher, Colin Rea, is right-handed, so it is possible that Pham may not start. The Pirates had a lot of lucky breaks in yesterday’s win. Despite all my criticism of Pirate management, the Pirates have not had a lot of good fortune this season. Maybe yesterday’s game will turn that around. Just like a .500 Californian road trip, a series win today will be a surprise after the 9-0 shellacking in the first game of the series.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 