Final Score: Pirates 5 Phillies 4
Why The Pirates Won: In an odd game where each team scored in the same inning, the Pirates eked one out. The Phillies scored one in the 1st, one in the 3rd, and two in the 4th. The Pirates did the same thing. The Pirates brought out the long ball for a change. Bryan Reynolds hit a solo shot in the 3rd. Henry Davis had a big game for the 2nd time after replacing the starting catcher. This time, he hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game 4-4. He went 2 for 4 for the game. Maybe that is the key for Davis: don’t bring him in until the 3rd inning. Barry Falter just did not have it. It took him 65 pitches to get through 3 and 2/3 innings. He gave up 4 runs on 5 hits while walking 2. He was constantly working from behind in the count. The bullpen did not give up a hit in the last 4 innings. They struck out 5, including David Bednar striking out the side in the top of the 9th. This evened their home stand record to 2-2. It was a hard-fought win that this team desperately needed.
Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates’ ability to come back every time the Phillies took the lead was remarkable. In the bottom of the 9th, Adam Frazier led off the inning with a little 68 MPH bloop single to left. Jared (They Know I Can’t Bunt) Triolo hit a 75 MPH blooper to right center field that fell in. This put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a perfect bunt down the 3rd base line. It had left-to-right spin on it. This kept the ball fair as it died just to the right of the third base foul line. The bases were now loaded with nobody out. This brought Oneil Cruz to the plate. He had already taken 4 balls for strikes in the game. This time he took two more to strike out. They were not even borderline pitches. Right then, you thought the Pirates were not going to score. Nick Gonzales worked the count to 2-2. You thought he was going to strike out, too. Instead, he lifted a fly ball that was plenty deep. It went to left field and scored Frazier with the winning run. The Pirates had good fortune in that inning. All I can say is it is about time. The Phillies have lost 8 out of their last 11 games. Let’s hope the Pirates can make it 10 out of 13.
Next Game: This afternoon, Phillies in Pittsburgh. It will be a couple of left-handers going. Ranger Suarez for the Phillies and Andrew (Falter Clone) Heaney for the Pirates. Let’s hope that Heaney does better than his clone did last night. Henry Davis is not going to go away quietly. He is trying not to be a major bust as an overall number 1 pick. With the Rodriguez injury and Bart on concussion protocol, he should get more playing time. One thing is for sure: this will be his last hurrah. You never know; he may just be able to snap out of a major batting slump. It could only do the Pirates some good if he could.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 