Final Score: Pirates 1 Mets 2
Why The Pirates Lost: The offense painfully scored 1 run on 7 hits and 5 walks. They had a runner on 3rd base with one out 3 times and did not score. Once they had 1st and 3rd with no outs and did not score. The only run they did score came after there were 2 outs. A single and double followed by 2 walks allowed the Pirates to get a run. They were 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position. They stranded 12 runners. The hundred club came through with 4 hits. Alexander Canario had 2 hits. They now have a new member in Bryan Reynolds, whose average fell to .198. He has not gotten a hit in his last 19 plate appearances. Of course, almost all of this happened when Mitch Keller was pitching. He pitched 7 strong innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. He struck out 8, walked 1 while throwing 96 pitches. This offense is mind-boggling to say the least. The Pirates have played 43 games. They have scored over 4 runs 6 times. They have not done this in the month of May. In 12 games this month, they have scored 4 runs twice. They have finally done it. They are dead last in runs per game. They have managed to score fewer runs than the Colorado Rockies. They are a half a game ahead of the Chicago White Sox. Yet management does nothing to help and improve this team. There are at least 3 players in AAA that are better than what the Pirates have now. You could argue 4 or 5.
Key Moments Of The Game: In the top of the 4th, the Pirates had first and third with no one out. Alexander Canario, Jared Triolo, and Ji Hwan Bae all struck out. Canario struck out on three pitches, having swung and missed at all three. At least they were all in the strike zone. Triolo swung at all four pitches he saw, with only two in the strike zone. Bae took a strike, swung at a ball at the knees, and struck out on a pitch almost in the dirt. Kodai Senga struck them out on 10 pitches. In the top of the ninth, the Pirates had second and third with one out. Bryan Reynolds took a called third strike right down the middle of the plate. The Pirates are 2-3 under Don Kelly, and every game has been a one-run game. If there are no changes, I do not think this club will ever start hitting.
Next Game: Tonight, Mets in New York. The Pirates get to see tonight what can happen when you really coach players. Clay Holmes will start tonight for the Mets. Holmes, in 91 games with the Pirates, had an ERA of 5.57. In 119 innings, he walked 84 batters. His ERA+ was 76; in other words, he was a below-average reliever. He went to the Yankees. The Yankees, unlike the Pirates, have coaches. Pitching in Yankee Stadium, a hitter’s ballpark, half the time, his ERA dropped to 2.69 over the next 4 years. In 217 innings, he walked 69 batters. His ERA+ was 154. He was 54% better than a league-average pitcher. He signed as a free agent with the Mets, who turned him into a starter. He is now 5-1 with an ERA of 2.74. His ERA+ as a starter is 142. It’s not that the Pirates lose talent. Even when they have talent, they do not know what to do with it. The Pirates will get a firsthand look at that tonight.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 