Month: June 2025

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Pirates Morning Report: The Pirates Return The Favor

Final Score: Pirates 3 Astros 0

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates returned the favor by shutting out the Astros. Mike Burrows pitched an outstanding 5 and 1/3 innings. He gave up 5 hits. He struck out 6 and walked no one. He threw only 70 pitches. The bullpen preserved the shutout. Braxton Ashcraft had another solid performance out of the bullpen. He struck out 3, giving up one hit in 2 innings of work. The Pirate offense put 3 runs on the board. They had 8 hits and 2 walks. You could say they scratched out those 3 runs. All the Pirate runs scored on outs. Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out to score the 1st run. McCutchen hit a sacrifice fly for run no. 2. Adam (I Was Surprised I Was Playing) Frazier was particularly bad. He came up with the bases loaded in the 1st and grounded weakly out. In the 3rd, with 1st and 3rd and nobody out, he grounded into a double play. This play scored the Pirates’ final run. In the bottom of the 5th, he grounded into another double play. Runners were on 1st and 2nd, and this ended the inning. Fortunately, in his last at-bat, there was no one on base. He hit a soft liner to centerfield. Thank God the Pirates won. He almost single-handedly destroyed the offense.

Key Moments Of The Game: Any time there was a hint of trouble for Burrows, he quickly resolved it. He gave up a two-out double in the 2nd. On the next pitch, he got Jake Meyers to ground out. In the top of the 4th, Jose Altuve led off with a single. On the next pitch, Christian Walker grounded into a double play. He gave up another single. He struck out the next batter. He gave up a leadoff double in the 6th. Three pitches later, Isaac Paredes lined out to left field. Chase Shugart came in. He walked Altuve. He struck out Walker. He induced Yainer Diaz to ground out to third. The Astros never had another threat the rest of the game.

Next Game: Tonight, Astros in Pittsburgh. Mitch Keller is going for the Pirates. Veteran starter Framber Valdez goes for the Astros. He is a lefty. This should be the starting lineup and batting order for the Pirates: McCutchen DH, Gonzales 2nd base, Reynolds RF, Endy Rodriguez 1st base, Oneil Cruz CF, Canario LF, Davis C, Hayes 3rd base, IKF shortstop. This puts Pham, Triolo, Horwitz (without the a), and Frazier on the bench. This will not happen. In fact, one or more of those four players will probably start. It is just so sad.

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Pirates Morning Report: Taking Strikes, The Best Way To Score Zero Runs

Final Score: Pirates 0 Astros 3

Why The Pirates Lost: You can’t hit the ball if you do not swing at it. The Pirates made a point of this last night. The Pirates took 27 pitches that were called strikes. The first 5 spots in the batting order took 20 strikes. They were led by Oneil (Throw It Down The Middle I Won’t Swing At It) Cruz, who took 6 strikes on his way to an 0 for 3 night, striking out twice. Bryan Reynolds took 5 strikes on his way to an 0 for 4 night with one strikeout. The top five in the order went 1 for 19 with 7 strikeouts. Just swing at the damn ball. It is not a mystery why they were shut out. Paul Skenes lost his 2nd 8-inning outing of the season. He gave up a home run and two other hits. He struck out 8 and walked one. Dennis Santana gave up a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th. Not that it would have made any difference in the outcome. This gave the Astros a nice cushion going into the bottom of the 9th. The Pirates were shut out for the 10th time this season. Not a good start to the home stand.

The Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates had 2 runners caught stealing in the bottom of the 7th and 8th. They had minor threats in the first two innings. Cruz was hit by a pitch in the 1st. He made it around to third but was stranded. In the 2nd, catcher’s interference and a walk put runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. IKF could not get the big hit. At least he did not take a strike. They did not get a hit until the 4th inning. They only got one more runner to 2nd base the rest of the game. In contrast, Christian Walker swung at the first pitch he saw in the strike zone. He hit a home run to give the Astros a 1-0 lead in the top of the 7th.

Next Game: Tonight, Astros in Pittsburgh. Mike Burrows goes for the Pirates. This must be his turnaround game, or it could be his last start as a Pirate for a while. The last two games for the Pirates have been major disappointments. The bullpen and the offense had major meltdowns. My suggestion for the Pirate batters would be to swing at practically everything tonight. You can’t do any worse. At times this offense has looked as bad as any in the history of baseball. It is not even a statistical thing; they just look bad. I do not see how this is going to change any time soon.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Sixty Game Report

The Pirates have played 60 games. That is 37% of the season. They have played better under Don Kelly. They still have not played the best players in their organization. Their record stands at 22-38. That is 16 games below .500. If they play .500 ball the rest of the way, their final record would be 73 and 89. They are 10-12 under Don Kelly. Before we explore the Pirates’ mysterious ways, let’s first review their performance in key offensive statistics. Then we’ll examine their defensive and pitching statistics.

On the offensive side of the ball, they are tied for 28th in runs per game with 3.23 runs per game. They are 24th in On-Base Percentage. In the comparison stat of OPS+, which takes into account all aspects of offensive production, they are 28th at 81. Despite some recent improvement in the offense, they pretty much stink as a team. Right now, they have three players who are above-average hitters: Oneil Cruz is at 129, Andrew McCutchen is at 116, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa is at 106. At the other end of the spectrum, of the Pirates with at least 100 plate appearances: Jared Triolo is at 36, Tommy Pham is at 47, and Ke’Bryan Hayes is at 57. Hayes does the most damage to the team. He is second in plate appearances and is always batting in the middle of the lineup, even leading off at times. On the defensive side of the ball, the Pirates rank tied for 9th with the Atlanta Braves in defensive efficiency. This is surprising to me, but it is one of their highest rankings in about 15 years. The Pirates rank 15th with 4.20 runs per game allowed. Their fielding-independent pitching ranks 11th at 3.82. In the comparison stat of ERA+, which takes into account all aspects of pitching, including competition and ballparks, the Pirates come in 14th at 106. This is above league average, but it is not elite. The leading pitching staff is the Mets at 135. The Pirates have a ways to go. Their four starters are all above league average, with Paul Skenes leading the way at 194. The Pirates have not been capable of finding an effective 5th starter, but more on that later. Only Ryan Borucki and the now-defunct Tanner Rainey are below average out of the bullpen. Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is an overall player evaluation. It takes into account all of a player’s abilities: how he hits, fields, and runs the bases. WAR is a volume stat. The more you play, the more your WAR will fluctuate depending on how you are playing. Their worst positions at the moment are 1st base, 3rd base, left field, right field, and their bullpen, all ranking in the bottom 10. The rest of the positions are in the middle 10, including starting pitching, catching, 2nd base, center field, shortstop, and DH. Remember, this is just by position, not the player per se. Bryan Reynolds missed significant time in right field. There have been other players playing third base besides Ke’Bryan Hayes. It does show where the Pirates have been bad.

The Pirates have done nothing to handle these issues. At the end of last season, they needed a 1st baseman and a corner outfielder. They needed bullpen help. What did they do? They got damaged goods, a washed-up player, and two mediocre bullpen pieces with one of those out for the season. Jared Jones went down and eventually needed surgery. What did they do? Essentially nothing. The no-brainer move would have been to promote Bubba Chandler and make him the fifth starter. They still did not do it when Carmen Mlodzinski failed miserably as a starter. Now they have Mike Burrows up, and he has been lit up twice. What are they thinking? They are not. They do not do anything to try and improve the club and win games. As bad as they have looked at times this year, there is talent out there that needs to be developed. The Pirates do nothing to do that. They bring young players up and let them languish on the bench. Even when they get their few opportunities, they perform better than the bums they replace. Yet, they still get sent down to the minors. Even though they have played better under Don Kelly, these things have not changed. Who is chiefly responsible for all this? The owner, the GM, the manager, or even the scouting department? The only answer to me is that this organization needs to be completely gutted. Do you ever get the feeling that this team would do better if they were just left to their own devices? Do everything by proxy. I bet they would not have brought Tanner Rainey into a tight game in the 7th inning if it had been left up to a vote.

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Pirates Morning Report: When It Rainey It Pours

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.

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Pirates Morning Report: A Complete Win

Final Score: Pirates 5 Padres 0

Why The Pirates Won: Bailey (Just Get Me Through The First Inning) Falter survived another shaky first inning. Alexander Canario made a nice diving catch to save a run with Fernando Tatis Jr. on third base to end the 1st. From that point on, Falter and the Pirate pitching staff dominated the Padres. They gave up just 1 hit and 3 walks. They even did better than they did in the Diamondbacks game. This time they held the Padres hitless for 6 and 2/3 innings. The offense snapped out of a brief slump, scoring 5 runs on 12 hits. They scored single runs in the 1st, 4th, and 5th. They added 2 runs in the 7th. Only Canario and Davis did not get a hit. Davis did hit the ball hard but got nothing for it. He rejoined the 100 club, with his average slipping to .197. Triolo does not feel so alone now. McCutchen hit a solo home run. The Pirates did not commit an error and ran the bases well. It was a complete win. The Pirates are 3-2 on the road trip. It does not get much better than this.

Key Moments Of The Game: After the first inning, Falter pitched outstandingly. Still a little perplexed, he was taken out after 79 pitches, but maybe that is why he is successful. The Pirates never let his pitch count get too high. The Pirates, as usual, are pretty mum on the subject. There was a little concern when the Pirates scored a run in the first. They had 1st and 2nd with no outs but couldn’t score any more runs. The Pirates had 2-out lightning in the top of the 5th. Adam Frazier doubled. Ke’Bryan Hayes made rare contact with the ball and drilled a single to center to score Frazier. McCutchen hit a homer the next inning to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead. The Pirates added 2 more runs. The Padres never threatened to make a game of it.

Next Game: This afternoon, Padres in San Diego. Bailey Falter’s twin Andrew Heaney goes for the Pirates today. Can the Pirates do a 4-2 road trip? I know we will probably see the goofy Sunday lineup. Rodriguez will probably catch today, which is fine. Things that will not be fine: if they rest McCutchen. They play Triolo and Pham. Will they ever let Salak take the field again? How well is he going to do after this long of inactivity? No question it would be nice to see the Pirates do something special and win this series. Today’s starting lineup will be the first key. Remember, they have a day off tomorrow. It’s off unless they play that secret softball game.