Final Score: Pirates 2 Rangers 6
Why The Pirates Lost: The Rangers brought the leather. The Pirates brought the lunacy. In the top of the 1st inning, the situation was laughable. The Pirates handed the Rangers a couple of runs to start the game. The Rangers opened the game with a single. Sam Haggerty hit a sharp line drive to centerfield for what appeared to be another single. Oneil Cruz completely whiffed on the ball as it whizzed by him. Then he turned around and just looked at it. This allowed Haggerty to go all the way to third, and a run scored. Mike Burrows wild-pitched the runner home on the third pitch to Corey Seager. Two batters, two singles, two runs. Nobody does it better than the Pirates. It was right here that Don Kelly could have made an impact. He should have benched Cruz after the inning was over. He did not. There is something up with Oneil Cruz. He has looked lousy at the plate for over a month. The Pirates have not addressed this as usual. It even got worse for the Pirates in the field. In the top of the 7th, Canario and Cruz put on quite a show. It was pretty much indescribable. It wound up with Canario falling on his back and having to flip the ball to Cruz to throw it in. You’re just going to have to watch on YouTube. Look for it under baseball at its worst. On the other side of the coin, the Rangers put on a fielding clinic. Adolis Garcia made two spectacular diving catches in the bottom of the 2nd and 3rd innings. He led off the top of the 4th by hitting a home run. There were other great plays by the Rangers to support Jacob deGrom. The Rangers had 13 hits. The Pirates were fortunate that this wasn’t more of a blowout. The Rangers were 1 for 11 with men in scoring position. They left 12 men on base.
Key Moments Of The Game: Start with the lineup. Again, the Pirates bring someone up and then do not play him. Billy Cook finally did get in the game, but why did he not start? After the two-batter circus in the first inning, you felt the game was over. That may have been harsh, but that is the way I felt. The Rangers managed to add on as the game progressed. They scored single runs in the 4th, 5th, 7th, and 9th. Despite getting 9 hits, the Pirates never really threatened to make a game of it. This is the worst the Pirates have looked under Kelly. It remains to be seen if anything will be done about it. We all know that nothing will happen. The Pirate way. It is such a simple equation. The Tampa Bay Rays have the blueprint for what to do. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the blueprint for what not to do. Major League Baseball should be grateful for how the Pirates have shown the way.
Next Game: This afternoon, Rangers in Pittsburgh. Mitch Keller goes for the Pirates today. Will Billy Cook get in the starting lineup? Will Oneil Cruz be benched? Will Andrew McCutchen lead off? Will Jared Triolo start his 2nd straight game at 3rd base? Will Joey Bart catch? After all, he went 3 for 4 yesterday. If all the answers to those questions are yes, then the Pirates have a chance. For every no, the Pirates’ chances of winning drop 20%. Stay tuned.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 