Final Score: Pirates 3 Mets 4
Why The Pirates Lost: It is a broken record, but the offensive struggles continue. The sad part is that the Pirates are doing next to nothing about it. Why is Henry Davis still on this team? Not only is he bad at the plate, but he still cannot make a tag. Bryan Reynolds is mired in the worst slump of his career. The Pirates continue to bat him 2nd in the lineup. Why? All of this contributed to 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position, leaving 8 men on base. On top of all that, the Pirates’ luck is even bad. In the bottom of the ninth, Francisco Lindor hit a ground ball up the middle that was going to be the 2nd out. It hit the edge of the 2nd base bag and scooted under the glove of Isiah Kiner-Falefa. They called this an error. This led to the Mets eventually getting the walk-off win. Paul Skenes had a solid outing, but it was no gem, as some people liked to call it. He only had one 3 up, 3 down inning. He gave up 6 hits and walked 3. It is the same old same old with Skenes anymore. No pitches touching 100 MPH and not sharp command. He essentially danced through the raindrops. The bullpen pretty much failed. They gave up 3 runs in 2 and 2/3 innings. This was another tough loss to start the Don Kelly era.
Key Moments Of The Game: In the bottom of the 7th, Caleb Ferguson enterrd the game with the Pirates leading 2-1. He promptly hit a .239 hitter with his third pitch. The runner stole 2nd. The next batter hit the ball 77 MPH but beat it out to put runners on 1st and 3rd. Lindor struck out. Juan Soto hit a ground ball 76 MPH right down the first base line, and the run scored with the runner moving to 2nd base. Colin Holderman entered the game. Pete Alonso hit a hard ground ball off the glove of Ke’Bryan Hayes. IKF retrieved the ball and threw it home. The runner scored because Henry Davis didn’t know how to position himself to make a tag. The Mets had not hit a ball out of the infield and scored 2 runs. They took the lead 3-2. More bad luck for the Pirates. The Pirates tied the game 3-3 in the top of the 9th. With the score tied 3-3, they had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Up stepped Bryan Reynolds. He had not hit a ball over 88 MPH and struck out in 4 at-bats. True to form, he hit his 4th ground ball under 88 MPH for a double play, ending the inning. Pinch hitting for him would have been a bold move at that time. It was not to be.
Next Game: Tonight, Mets in New York. The Pirates will face Kodai Senga and his 1.16 ERA. Do you think the Pirates’ bats will get healthy tonight? Maybe this will be a surprise night for the Pirates. They will break out against one of the hottest pitchers in baseball. They should give Bryan Reynolds a couple of days off. This is one time where rest could be helpful. You have to wonder if that shoulder may still be bothering him. To add to the offensive pessimism, Mitch Keller is pitching for the Pirates. They don’t score runs for him at all this season. Look out for the shutout.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 