Final Score: Pirates 2 Diamondbacks 0
Why The Pirates Won: For the 2nd straight game, the Pirate pitching staff shut out the Diamondbacks for 9 innings. This is even more impressive against the Diamondbacks. They are top 5 in baseball in runs per game, slugging, on-base percentage, and OPS+. Last night, it was Andrew Heaney who gave up 2 hits in 5 innings. He struck out 4, walking none. The bullpen gave up only 2 hits and walked 1 over the last 4 innings. Oneil Cruz’s 17th home run with a runner on gave the Pirates their 2 runs. Tommy Pham was on base thanks to an error by Eugenio Suarez. Other than Cruz’s home run, the Pirates had just 5 other hits. They were retired in order in 4 of the 8 innings. The top 3 in the batting order went 1 for 12. Pretty much another Triple P performance. All is forgiven when you win.
Key Moment Of The Game; The Pirates took Heaney out after 5 innings. He had thrown only 71 pitches. They probably did not want to stretch their luck any further. Lefty, Genesis Cabrera started the top of the 6th. In 5 pitches, all strikes, he got 2 ground outs. He gave up a single to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Don Kelly then brought in Yohan Ramirez. He quickly gave up a single to Suárez, putting runners on 1st and 2nd. It would be the first and only time the Diamondbacks would get a runner in scoring position. Jorge Barrosa was frozen on a 1-2 curveball for a called third strike. In the last 3 innings, the Diamondbacks went Pirate-like and did not get a hit. The Pirates managed to get the win and set up the rubber match today.
Next Game: This afternoon, Diamondbacks in Pittsburgh. Paul Skenes will go for the Pirates. The Pirates will try to win the series and have a winning home stand. That should give them a boost. If the Pirates shut out the Diamondbacks today, it would make for an interesting stat. They would throw three straight 9-inning shutouts and lose one of the games. It would be something to see the Diamondbacks break out of their slump against the best pitcher in baseball. You have to feel that this won’t be the day the Diamondbacks’ offense gets healthy. It’s good that the Pirates are not in contention right now. They start a 7 game road trip to the Giants and then the Reds with no days off. Oh, those schedule makers of MLB. On the other hand, the Pirates are probably happy about this. It gives them a great excuse to give 20 years olds a day of rest. You also have to wonder how many Pirates will make the trip to Cincinnati. Probably more than you would like.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 