Final Score: Pirates 2 Rangers 3
Why The Pirates Lost: All 5 of my pregame questions were answered in the negative. Despite that, it was not a bad game for the Pirates. Just to go through them: both Triolo and Bart did not start. Cruz was not benched. Not only did Billy Cook not start, but he’s also not even on the team anymore. McCutchen did not lead off. The Triple P offense was on all cylinders. They took 21 pitches for strikes—Passive. They had no extra-base hits—Pathetic. They were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position—Putrid. They had 2 runs on 5 hits and walked 3 times. In the last 3 innings, they did not get a man on base. The fact that they sent down Billy Cook to AAA shows they have no interest in winning. Mitch Keller was the recipient of all of this firepower. He pitched decently, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits. He struck out 5 and walked 2. The bullpen shut out the Rangers the rest of the way on 1 hit and 2 walks. With the Pirates, that is simply not good enough. The Pirates have played more games than 26 teams. Yet, they have scored the fewest runs in baseball by a wide margin. They are 11 runs behind the Kansas City Royals, who have played one less game. They still do nothing.
Key Moments Of The Game; The Pirate outfield continues to look like the Keystone Cops. This time it was Adam Frazier who misplayed a ball that led directly to the Rangers’ 1st run. Keller walked the first batter who scored the run in the top of the third. The Pirates tied the game in the bottom of the 5th. In the top of the 6th, another walk would come back to haunt Keller. He struck out the 1st batter. Josh Smith singled to right field. Keller walked Sam Haggerty on 4 straight pitches. Corey Seager singled in the go-ahead run, sending Haggerty to third base. He scored on Marcus Semien’s sacrifice fly to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead. The Rangers then tried to give away the game in the bottom of the 6th. The Pirates refused the gift. After one out, Kumar Rocker walked Horwitz and Gonzales. He was replaced by Shawn Armstrong. He drilled Adam Frazier in the back on an 0-2 pitch to load the bases. Henry Davis hit a big chopper down to third, scoring a run. The third baseman got the force out at 3rd. Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a towering drive 203 feet that was caught to end the inning. The Pirates did not get a man on base the rest of the game.
Next Game: This afternoon, Rangers in Pittsburgh. The Pirates try to avoid being swept at home today. Bailey (It’s Not My) Falter goes for the Pirates. Can’t wait to see the Triple P offensive lineup today. Will we see Tommy Pham today? Will we see Alexander Canario? I don’t know why the Pirates just don’t make it obvious that they are trying to lose games. The outfield should be Pham, Canario, and Frazier. Henry Davis should DH and lead off. Hunter Stratton should be the first reliever out of the bullpen. The comedy continues. It’s not funny if you are a ticket holder.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 