Final Score: Pirates 3 Tigers 7
Why The Pirates Lost: For one of the few times this season, the Pirate pitching staff got lit up. Bailey Falter and Carmen Mlodzinski each gave up 2 home runs. This accounted for 6 of the 7 Tiger runs. Three of the four home runs were on pitches that were pretty much right down the middle. Javier Baez hit 2 home runs on pitches that were right down the middle. The Pirates’ Triple P Offense started out well but then really died. I may have to change their name to the Double P Offense. For the second game in a row, they were less passive. They took 16 pitches for strikes. The Tigers took 22 pitches for strikes. The Pirates were definitely pathetic and putrid. In the first 2 and 1/3 innings of the game, the Pirates scored 3 runs on 4 hits. One of the runs was unearned thanks to a Tigers error. The rest of the game, the Pirates got one hit. The last 4 innings, they went 3 up, 3 down. Pathetic and putrid may be too kind. The Pirates do nothing to help the roster. As a result, this will go on for the rest of the season. The road trip spirals downward to 1-4.
Key Moments Of The Game: The score was tied 3-3 after the 5th inning. Bailey Falter had thrown 78 pitches. The Pirates removed him from the game. Granted, he had not pitched great, but his line was not that bad. He had given up 3 runs on 5 hits while walking 1. In came Mlodzinski. In 6 pitches, he gave up a single, a fly ball out, and a triple. The score was quickly 4-3. In the next 6 pitches, he got a strikeout and a line out. In those 5 batters, he did not get a swing and miss. Why he came out for the 7th, I will never know, but it ended the game. Javier Baez took two called strikes. On a 2-2 pitch, he blasted it into the seats for his second home run. The score was 5-3. After getting the next two outs, one of which Gleyber Torres took 3 called strikes, he hit the next batter. Riley Greene homered on a 3-2 pitch that was low and inside. The game was over. The Triple P Offense did not disappoint.
Next Game: Tonight, Tigers in Detroit. The Pirates will be going against Tarik Skubal. He is the left-handed version of Paul Skenes. Here is his most mind-boggling stat: in 90 innings, he has struck out 111 and walked 9. The Tigers are going to see the Bailey Falter clone Andrew Heaney. They need to make no adjustments. If the Pirates win tonight, it would be the upset of the season. In fact, if you were ever going to bet that a no-hitter would be thrown, tonight’s the night. Welcome to the 1-5 road trip.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 