Final Score: Pirates 4 Padres 6
Why The Pirates Lost: They must have wanted to. Why else would you put Tanner Rainey into a tight ball game? Rainey should not even be on the team. After this debacle, he has an ERA of 10.57. He threw 23 pitches, and there were 6 in the strike zone. What makes matters even worse is that there were lots of other options. Chase Shugart could have stayed in the game. Obviously, Caleb Ferguson and Braxton Ashcraft could have pitched because they did. Joey Wentz was available. You have to be wondering who is calling the shots. Hopefully, it is not Don Kelly because he certainly pulled a Shelton on this one. The Pirate offense went to sleep the last 5 innings, getting only a hit and a walk. There is not a lot more to say here. This one was a head scratcher.
Key Moments Of The Game: It all boiled down to the top of the 4th inning. The Pirates were rolling. Adam Frazier opened the inning with an opposite-field home run to give the Pirates a 4-1 lead. Of all people, Tommy Pham singled to center field. The rusty Endy Rodriguez struck out. IKF hit a soft liner to left for a single. Oneil Cruz walked to load the bases with one out. Andrew McCutchen, who homered with a man on in his earlier at-bat, came to the plate. He saw four straight changeups and struck out on one that was way low and outside. Bryan Reynolds, on the first pitch, hit a swinging bunt down the third base line. Martin Maldonado made a great play and threw Reynolds out by half a step. The Padres nicked starter Andrew Heaney for another run to make the score 4-2. The Pirates were ahead 4-2. Still, you knew the game was over when Tanner Rainey started the bottom of the 7th.
Next Game: Tomorrow night, Astros in Pittsburgh. The Pirates open a 9-game home stand. They play the Astros, Phillies, and Marlins. It was a shame that the road trip ended on such a sour note when it didn’t have to. Still, it was a 3-3 road trip against two quality clubs. It just seems this organization has no interest in winning. They can talk all they want. When it comes to the Pirates, actions speak louder than words. I am not sure that it will ever change. As much as he stinks, it is not Tanner Rainey’s fault. It is an organizational failure.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 