Month: July 2025

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Pirates Morning Report: Where Has All The Pitchers Gone? Who Will Stop The Scoring?

Final Score: Pirates 4 White Sox 10

Why The Pirates Lost: For the 2nd straight game, the Pirates gave up 10 runs. The Pirate offense did put 4 runs on the board. If the Pirates could have scored 4 runs in every game in June, they would have been 18-9. In last night’s game, the starter Mike Burrows did okay. He went 5 innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. He did not give up a hit in the first 4 innings. For the second straight night, the bullpen really stunk. Caleb Ferguson could only get 1 out; he gave up 4 runs on 4 hits. Isaac Mattson could only get 1 out; he gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk. Carmen Mlodzinski came in to clean up. In 2 and 1/3 innings, he gave up 2 runs on 4 hits with a walk. The Pirate offense did score 4 runs but was still inept. They were 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 runners. The Pirates continue to be punchless. Only 3 of the 13 hits were for extra bases. The Brewers had 13 hits with 6 doubles. The first two games after the All-Star break could not have gone worse for the Pirates. Not only do they get blown out twice, but it is the White Sox that are doing it.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates had just taken the lead 3-0 going into the top of the 5th. Luis Robert Jr. got an infield single with one out. He went to second on a throwing error by Nick Gonzales. Roberts then stole 3rd base. Burrows struck out the next batter. It looked like Burrows might work out of the jam. Lenyn Sosa singled in Roberts. Josh Rojas followed that with a double and the White Sox were right back in it 3-2. The Pirates added a run in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-2. Caleb Ferguson came in to pitch the 6th. He quickly got the first out on one pitch. Then the fun began. In the next 11 pitches, he gave up a double and 3 singles, tying the game up 4-4. Other than the double, nothing was hit hard. They were just placed perfectly. Isaac Mattson came in with runners on 1st and 3rd. On the 7th pitch of the at-bat, he hit Sosa to load the bases. He struck out the next batter. Again, you thought that Mattson might be able to get out of this jam. With the count 0-2 he threw the ball right down the middle. Mike Tauchman ripped it 370 feet for a bases-clearing double, and the score was 7-4. Mattson gave up another single, and the White Sox had a 6-run inning. The game was over.

Next Game: This afternoon, White Sox in Pittsburgh. The White Sox will go for their first series sweep of the season. Another great stat to mark down for this season. Who knows what is going on with the pitching? In two games, they have given up 20 runs, all earned, on 23 hits and 11 walks. This is against the White Sox, no less. The thing that keeps the White Sox from being the worst-hitting team in baseball are the Pirates. Wow! I can’t think of anything else to write.

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Pirates Morning Report: Welcome Back Pirates

Final Score: Pirates 1 White Sox 10

Why The Pirates Lost: It was a blowout. In every phase of the game the Pirates stunk. Poor baserunning, weak hitting, lousy pitching, and lackluster fielding. When the game was still in doubt, Oneil Cruz made a baserunning blunder. He failed to tag up on a fly ball to left that Michael Taylor made a diving catch on. He would have scored the first run of the game for the Pirates. They only had 5 hits. They were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. The last 20 batters of the game got 1 hit and 2 walks. The Triple P offense at its best. Bailey Falter gave up 4 runs on 6 hits. He walked one and gave up 2 home runs. Braxton Ashcraft gave up 2 runs on 2 hits. He walked 4 in just 1 inning. Yohan Ramirez gave up 4 runs on 2 hits. He walked 2. All told, the Pirates pitching gave up 11 hits and walked 7. Even though the Pirates weren’t charged with any errors, they were dropping and misplaying balls all night. The Pirates looked like they took 4 years off, not just 4 days. I think you would have seen better baseball if you watched a film of an old-timers game. Thank God they were playing the White Sox. It might have been 20-1.

Key Moment Of The Game: Bailey (I’ve Tried Everything) Falter had another bad first inning. He got the first outs of the game on just 8 pitches. He gave up a home run to Edgar Quero on a 3-1 pitch that was pretty well grooved. That was followed by a walk and a double that scored the 2nd run of the game. Luis Robert Jr. singled and the score was 3-0. The White Sox got 2 out lightning to score 3 runs. The Pirates cut it to 4-1. It would have been 4-2 if Cruz had not made his blunder. From that point on, the White Sox kept adding on thanks to the generosity of the Pirates’ pitchers. By the 7th inning stretch, it was 10-1 White Sox. It was a laughable return home for the hapless Pirates.

Next Game: Does there have to be? Yes, I’m afraid so. Tonight, White Sox in Pittsburgh. Mike Burrows goes for the Pirates, bringing with him the hopes of a fan base eager for a standout performance. The offense remains dormant, leaving many fans frustrated as they watched another lackluster game unfold. Please start Liover Peguero tonight. Why bring him up if you are not going to play him? He can’t do any worse than what’s out there. There’s a strong case to be made for giving him a chance to play. One run on five hits. One run on five hits. One run on five hits. The Pirates’ formula for winning baseball.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Trade Deadline

This article is not going to speculate on what the Pirates might do at the trade deadline. Who knows what this organization might do? Mitch Keller remains the big chip that the Pirates have to offer at the deadline. I am advocating that the Pirates clean house. They can do this without trading Mitch Keller. If they do trade Keller, then they must clean house. You would hope that the Pirates would get at least two very good bats for Keller. If that is the case, then they would be on the team. You would have to get rid of Brian Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes. IKF and Tommy Pham would be rentals for some team. I feel that those four players must be traded no matter what. The other player that I feel is a must trade is David Bednar. I feel there are only four players that can’t be traded: Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz, Nick Gonzales, and, believe it or not, Henry Davis. That leaves 22 players that could go if the price is right. I feel Hayes, IKF, Pham, Reynolds, and Bednar must go. I do not think you will get much for any of the position players. Bednar should get you at least one solid major league hitter. I expect the return for the other position players to be much like what they got for Adam Frazier. They should get very good AAA players. The biggest plus of getting rid of these players is it will free up a lot of money. Despite the fact that Keller may give you the best return, I am not totally sure he should be traded. There is no question that right now he is the No. 2 starter on the team. We will see what teams are willing to give up to acquire him. You could move out Andrew Heaney. He won’t give you that big of a return. He will finally open up the spot for Bubba Chandler if he is gone. One thing is certain: this is a crucial trade deadline for the Pirates. It is one of the most important in about a decade. By the time August 1st gets here, the Pirates better have a whole new look. If they don’t, then it will sadly be the time to dump Paul Skenes this time next year. This is Cherrington’s last hurrah. He better make it a good one.

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Pirates Morning Report: Where I Was Wrong And Where I Was Right

Before I get into how accurate my thoughts were going into this season, there was news yesterday. The Pirates got rid of dead wood by trading Adam Frazier to the Royals. In return, they got 28-year-old Cam Devanney, a career minor league player. He has had a successful minor league career. This year, he is having a very good AAA season and is slugging over .500. If the Pirates get rid of more dead wood, he could be starting at shortstop. More on this tomorrow. Now let’s get to the topic. First, where I was wrong,

I thought Ji Hwan Bae might be an asset this year. He was very bad for just 2 games. As a result, the Pirates sent him down immediately. I don’t blame the Pirates for that decision. He was called up for a brief look but only got 1 hit in 11 at-bats. The whole experience seemed to have set him back. He usually posts very impressive AAA numbers. Not so this year. He has been a little better lately but is only slugging .397. In previous seasons, he has slugged over .500. I thought the starting rotation was being overrated, especially after Jared Jones was gone for the season. Despite having problems with the 5th starter, they are ranked the 5th best rotation at the All-Star break. The bullpen has found itself and pitched much better than I thought it would. I guess you could say I was wrong about the Pirate offense. I thought they would be bad, but I did not think they would be as bad as they are. I am surprised by how well the Pirates are playing defense. I thought, at best, the Pirate defense would stay the same. They finished right around 20th in defensive efficiency. This year, they are 2nd so far. Now, where I was right.

I was right that this team did not want to play for Derek Shelton. They were 12-26 under Shelton, and they looked worse doing it. It was not a sad day when he was let go. They quickly looked better under Don Kelly. Even with the 8-game losing streak, their winning percentage is .457. That’s a lot better than .316 under Shelton. I was right about the new Pirate additions being pretty much useless. Taking them in no particular order: Spencer Horwitz. Negative WAR, mainly because of a slash line of .232/.298/.329 for an OPS+ of 75. His fielding is slightly above average. Tommy Pham. Thanks to his recent surge, WAR is .9. His overall slash line is still mediocre at best, .250/.321/.346, giving him an OPS+ of 87. Another punchless Pirate. Surprisingly, he is having the best fielding season of his career. Adam Frazier. WAR is .2. Another below-average slash line, .255/.318/.336. Basically just an average fielder. He has been traded. Alexander Canario. Rinse and repeat. Slash line .222/.288/.329, OPS+ 72. Four acquired players all turning out to be incompetent clones. No power and do not get on base that much. Perfect offensive additions. We left off the list Emmanuel Valdez, who is out for the season. He performed like the others. However, he got to play first base for the first time in his major league career. Great thought process, Pirates. Andrew Heaney. He has had his moments. When the dust settles, he is a below-average starting pitcher. His Fielding Independent Pitching is 5.11. He is by far the worst of the starters. Of the 13 pitchers that have seen the most action, only Chase Shugart is worse. From the Pirates’ point of view, he did serve a purpose. He blocked Bubba Chandler from getting to the Major League level. Caleb Ferguson. By far their best signing. Cherrington, 1 for 7. Nice job. My other prediction that had nothing to do with the Pirates was about the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees. I wrote the Dodgers would make the playoffs but not the World Series. I wrote that the Mets and Yankees would not make the playoffs. As of right now, both teams would make the playoffs. Their leads are small at this point. There is still a lot of baseball to be played. I still feel they will not make it. We will see what happens. I will look at the trade deadline tomorrow.

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Pirates Morning Report: Don Hoak And The 1960 Pirates.

The Pirates took it all in 1960. Their World Series Championship ended with the greatest home run in Major League history. Bill Mazeroski swung at a 1-0 pitch from Ralph Terry. He lifted the ball over Yogi Berra and the left field wall. The Pirates walked off with a 10-9 win in Game 7 to beat the powerful New York Yankees. In 1960, the season was 154 games long. The Pirates wound up playing 155 games because one of their games ended in a 7-7 tie. It was stopped at 12:50 AM because of curfew. The team was famous for making comebacks. They played solid baseball and had a great pitching staff. The pitching staff was led by Bob Friend and Vernon Law. Together they threw 546 innings and won 38 games while losing 21. They had a combined ERA of 3.03. Roy Face, the Baron of the Bullpen, appeared in 68 games, tossing 114 innings. He had a 10-8 record with 24 saves while recording an ERA of 2.90. This team has always been underrated. They were 27-9 in blowout games. Blowout games are games that are decided by 5 or more runs. They were 12-5 in extra-inning games. They knew how to play winning baseball. Nobody knew how to do that better than their third baseman, Don Hoak.

Don Hoak was a fiery hard nosed player who played 11 years in the major leagues. He played 4 years for the Pirates from 1959 through the 1962 season. For the first 3 years he had OPS+ of 108, 120, and 123. Oh what would the Pirates give to have a third basemen who could do that today. Dick Groat that year was named the National League MVP. Roberto Clemente thought he should have been named the MVP. Groat was the WAR leader on the Pirates and the National League batting champion with a .325 average. The argument was that Groat had missed most of September with a broken wrist. How could he be the MVP when he hardly played doing this crucial month. Dick Schofield his replacement a .227 lifetime hitter had the greatest stretch of his career. In 19 games he hit .400 and had many big hits. Clemente and the baseball writers were both wrong. The true MVP on that team was Don Hoak. Vernon Law the Cy Young award winner that year summed it up best. “I’d say Don Hoak was the difference. He was the backbone of the team. He had the fighting spirit that rub off on everyone. He wouldn’t let us lose”. Hoak nicknamed “The Tiger” by Bob Prince did more than just be a clubhouse presence. He had one hell of an offensive year. He played in all 155 games. He led the Pirates in runs scored, walks, triples, and in runs created. He got the most significant hits. He was 2nd on the team in WAR, home runs, on base percentage, OPS and OPS+. He was third on the team in hits, doubles, RBI’s, and batting average. He did all of this batting 7th most of the season. He batted 6th in September when Groat was out. His season may have been even better, but he cut his foot on August 13th. A wound that required stitches, but Hoak swore the doctor to secrecy and played a double header the next day. He was in pain with that foot for the rest of the season. He did not have a great World Series being even more hampered by a groin injury. He did drive in 2 runs going 2 for 4 in the pivotal 5th game. This helped the Pirates to a crucial 5-2 win in Yankee stadium to take a 3-2 lead in the Series. Hoak’s life ended tragically when he died of a heart attack at age 41. He died the same day that Danny Murtaugh was named manager of the Pirates in 1969. Hoak was crushed that day when he was not the named the manager. His brother in laws car was stolen and Hoak went after the car thief. He had the fatal heart attack during the chase. He never really got the credit he deserved for his contributions to that 1960 championship team. There was no question that on that team, that year, he was The Man. Thank you Don Hoak. I am glad I got to see it.

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Pirates Morning Report: The 97 Game Disaster.

When this season started, I was pessimistic. I became more pessimistic when the Pirates made their final roster moves. I thought this was going to be a season where we would eventually see some young players get an opportunity. Instead, all we saw was them still languishing in AAA. Even when a few of them got called up, they rarely played. The Pirate philosophy of player development seems to be that observation and stagnation are better than participation. At the season’s start, who would have thought that Bubba Chandler wouldn’t appear by the All-Star break? Similarly, who would have thought that Nick Yorke wouldn’t appear by then either? As we will see, it is not like there was very good performances at the Major League level. After 97 games, the Pirates’ record stands at 39-58. What is amazing is that certain parts of the Pirates are performing better than they have in about a decade. However, all of this is being nullified by an offense that is performing worse than any offense in a century. I have stated this many times before; Pirate management does nothing about it. The offensive woes of the Pirates are nothing new. In 2023, they were shut out 16 times. This put them 10th on the all-time list of being shut out. This current crop of hitless wonders has been shut out 12 times already. They are threatening to crack the top 5. Let’s dive in and take a closer look at this historically bad offense.

They are last in baseball in runs scored per game. They are tied for last in the comparison stat of OPS+. They are dead last in all of these offensive categories: home runs, doubles, RBIs, and slugging. This team has absolutely no power. The best of the worst is they get on base just a little better. Their on-base percentage is .300, putting them 27th in the league. According to WAR, their best position player is the left fielder, ranking 18th in the league. Their worst players are their 1st baseman and right fielder, coming in at 26th in the league. Everyone else is in between. Yet the Pirates have not replaced one player. They finally sent down Jared Triolo and his OPS+ of 46 in 160 plate appearances. Ben Cherrington gave him a ringing endorsement, saying he is part of the Pirate future. The Pirates have complete faith in him. I do too. I have total faith that he will never hit above .200. The big disappointments this season are Bryan Reynolds, Spence Horwitz, and Joey Bart. At the moment, they are the worst three players on the Pirates. That is saying something when a team has Henry Davis and Tommy Pham on it. With Pham’s recent hot streak, he is the 3rd best performer that the Pirates have. Oneil Cruz and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are the only ones that have had a better season, but not by much. There have been some positive surprises with the position players this year. Henry Davis has improved his defense significantly. At the very least, he should share the catching duties with Bart. Nick Gonzales is becoming a very unique Pirate. He is the only Pirate in the last 3 years who seems to be improving. He is making progress at the Major League level. His OPS+ has gone from 66 to 96 to 106 in 2025. This, despite missing close to 60 games because of an undiagnosed broken ankle. He still needs to improve his fielding. Some of that could be due to the ankle still being in recovery mode. Of the 13 position players that the Pirates have, only 3 should have a future with the Pirates. They are Cruz, Gonzales, and Davis. I thought I would never be saying this about Davis. The only borderline case is Joey Bart. All the rest should be moved out one way or the other. Now let’s get to the good part of this team.

Without a doubt, the most surprising thing about this team has been their defense. Their defensive efficiency rating is .717, which is second in all of baseball. This is the best defense the Pirates have had in over a decade. Combine that with a pitching staff that is ranked 6th overall in baseball. Their bullpen is ranked 5th and the rotation is ranked 5th. The rotation could be better if the Pirates ever did anything with the 5th starter. You would think that this should be a team that would be in the playoff hunt. After all, it is the old baseball saying that pitching and defense is what really wins games. This is what makes the offensive situation even more frustrating. If just a little bit had been done to strengthen this team offensively, they actually might be in contention. Will the Pirates finally move out what I call the dead wood: Reynolds, Hayes, Frazier, IKF, Horwitz, and Pham? I am all for giving Jack Suwinski one last shot. What have you got to lose at this point? If they get two powerful bats who can hit above the league average, they could start a run. Bring up Nick Yorke and you get a third improved bat. That does not seem like much, does it? It must be, though. The Pirate management team sure can’t seem to do it. Tomorrow, I am going to go to more pleasant times. I’ll revisit 1960. I’ll look at the season when Don Hoak helped lead the Pirates to their 3rd World Series title. I call it the season that time forgot.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Pitchers, Of Course, Snap The Losing Streak.

Final Score: Pirates 2 Twins 1

Why The Pirates Won: Mitch Keller went 6 innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits and did not walk anyone. The bullpen of Ferguson, Santana, and Bednar nailed down the last 3 innings, holding the Twins scoreless on 3 hits. The bullpen did not walk a batter either. This performance was just good enough to edge the Twins 2-1. Tommy Pham hit a solo home run in the top of the 2nd for the first Pirate run. They barely scratched out a run in the top of the 9th to win the game. The losing streak ends at 8. It is nice to get a win with the next game 4 days away. The Pirates will start a 6-game home stand on Friday. Isiah Kiner-Falefa led the way with 4 hits. It was the Pirate pitching staff that won this one. I really don’t think the offense will ever get better in its current form. Can’t wait to see what happens at the trade deadline.

Key Moments Of The Game: Keller danced through some raindrops in the early going. He gave up a leadoff double in the 2nd. He held the Twins in check after that. He gave up a single and a double in the bottom of the third to allow his only run. After the double, he retired 11 of the next 12 batters. In the bottom of the 8th, Dennis Santana gave up 2 singles in a row after one was out. On a little dribbler out in front of the plate, Henry Davis made a nice play to get the lead runner at third. Santana got the next batter to fly out to center field to end the inning. As usual, the Pirates got some help to score the go-ahead run in the 9th. After one out, Ke’Bryan Hayes singled to centerfield. Oneil Cruz pinch-hit for Henry Davis. Cruz hit a little dribbler just to the left of the pitcher. He botched the play, and everybody was safe. IKF singled to center to load the bases. Spencer (There Is No O In My Name) Horwitz was the next batter. He hit a sharp ground ball to the left of second baseman Brooks Lee. He made an outstanding diving stop. He was thinking of trying to get a double play. With Horwitz running, it had a good chance of success. It became a moot point when he could not get the ball out of his glove. He was turned and threw Horwitz out at first. The Pirates had their cherished 2nd run. Bednar saved it in the 9th. He gave up a leadoff single. He struck out the next 2 batters on two great curveballs. He got the last batter to ground out, and the losing streak was over.

Next Game: Friday night, White Sox in Pittsburgh. Over the All-Star break, I will take a look at this disastrous season. I will see what I said about this team in late March. I will see where I was right and where I was wrong. I will go back in time to 1960 and look at Don Hoak. He had the season that I say time forgot. Finally, we will look at what the next 65 games might bring. At least, I will look at what I hope they will bring.

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Pirates Morning Report: Burrows Blasted, Pirates Blown Out For 8th Loss In A Row

Final Score: Pirates 4 Twins 12

Why The Pirates Lost: Mike Burrows had a horrific outing. In 1 and 1/3 innings, he was blasted for 6 runs on 5 hits. He walked 3 and threw 56 pitches. The rest of the staff got rocked for 6 more runs on 9 hits. It took them 7 and 2/3 innings to give up those runs. I would be remiss if I did not mention the day Byron Buxton had. He went 5 for 5, hitting for the cycle. He drove in 2 runs and scored 3. The Pirates did manage to score 4 runs, but you know how that is. When a team gets a big lead, giving up a few runs is not a big deal. They definitely had the B squad going out of the bullpen. Through 7 innings, the Pirates had scored 3 runs on 3 hits. This was no offensive breakout for the Pirates. Jack Suwinski hit a home run. Overall, this was just a simple and total blowout win for the Twins. Thank God for the All-Star Break.

Key Moment Of The Game: The bottom of the 2nd was the blowout inning. Mike Burrows had escaped the bottom of the 1st unscathed. He was not so lucky in the bottom of the 2nd. He got the first out of the inning. It would be the last out he got that day. He walked Royce Lewis on 7 pitches. The four balls were nowhere near the plate. To speed up the game, he hit Ty France on the fourth pitch. Oscar (The Grouch) Morin came to the mound to impart some wisdom. He must have told him to groove a curve ball on the first pitch. That’s what he did, and Cody Clemens smashed it into the seats. It was 3-0 Twins. Buxton then took the 3rd pitch of the at-bat and ripped a triple. Willi Castro hit a little dribbler toward the mound that scored Buxton. Burrows showed his control issues are not just in pitching. He threw the ball away, sending Castro to second. It was 4-0 Twins. He walked the next batter on 5 pitches. All four balls were more than a foot outside the strike zone. Only a Pirate would have swung at any of them. Ryan Jeffers singled on the first pitch he saw, and it was 5-0. Mercifully, Burrows was taken out of the game. Seven batters in a row reached base safely. The Twins added another run to make it a 6-run inning. They did not need to, but added 3 more in the third, and the rout was on. The Pirates did score 4 runs, but the Twins did not really care.

Next Game: This afternoon, Twins in Minnesota. Mitch Keller is supposed to start for the Pirates today. Rumor has it that he has prayed to God that they may change their minds and let someone else start. This team has hit a new low. They have lost 8 games in a row to teams that most likely will not make the playoffs. All three have a chance, but right now the Mariners barely have the last spot. It would be nice to see them snap the streak today. It is not likely to happen. What a season.

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Pirates Morning Report: Triple P Offense Leads The Way For 7th Straight Loss

Final Score: Pirates 1 Twins 2

Why The Pirates Lost: The Triple P Offense was in full force. They were passive, taking 24 strikes. They got 8 hits, with only one being an extra base hit. Pathetic. They went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, leaving 8 men on base. Putrid. They struck out 9 times. Bryan Reynolds struck out 3 times. Tommy Pham led the way by taking 5 pitches for strikes. With a runner on third, he took all 5 pitches he saw, striking out. They hit 3 balls over 100 MPH. One of those was by Pham, but he got thrown out at 2nd base. Paul Skenes gave up a 2-run home run and took the loss. In 5 innings of work, he struck out 6 and walked 0. There really is not much else to say. I can’t wait for the All-Star break just to take a break from watching this. Even though this was a one-run game, you felt the Pirates never had a chance.

Key Moment Of The Game: It all boiled down to the 4th inning. Isiah Kiner-Falefa got a big 2-out double to knock in a run. He made it to third on the play at the plate. Then Tommy Pham had his magnificent at-bat. He took the first two pitches for balls. He then took 3 straight strikes. All three pitches were well inside the strike zone. None were considered borderline. Looks like he needs another eye exam. Paul Skenes had been perfect through 3 innings. Byron Buxton was awarded a hit on a ball where Ke’Bryan Hayes should have thrown him out. Two batters later, Trevor Larnach took a hanging curve ball on a 3-2 pitch and knocked it into the seats. It was 2-1 Twins and the Pirates laid down and died for the rest of the game. It was an unsuspenseful 7th loss in a row.

Next Game: This afternoon, Twins in Minnesota. If the pattern of this road trip continues, the Pirates will score 1 run in the next game. They will also score 1 run in the game after that. In the first series against the Mariners, they were shut out 3 straight times. In the 2nd series against the Royals, they scored 3 runs in each game. At least Mike Burrows and the rest of the pitching staff know that they have to throw a shutout. Nine losses in a row looks like a lead pipe cinch. The only positive thing. Jared Triolo is no longer on the team.

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Pirates Morning Report: Sixth In A Row Just Like The Fifth.

Final Score: Pirates 3 Royals 4

Why The Pirates Lost: In a game that was very much like the game before, the Pirates lost their 6th in a row. The score was the same, 4-3. The Pirates tied the game at 3-3. In the previous game, the Royals had a walk-off. This time, they scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 8th. In the game before, 3 of the 4 runs came by way of the home run. In this game, all of the runs came via the long ball. There was a little more hitting in last night’s game. The Royals collected 3 more hits and the Pirates had 2 more hits. Falter did a little better than his clone did two nights ago. He pitched 4 and 2/3 innings. He gave up 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. Isaac Mattson gave up the go-ahead home run. Salvador Perez hit 2 home runs, including that game-winner in the bottom of the 8th. The Pirate offense still did not muster a very effective attack. They got back into their passive mode by taking 25 strikes. They had 2 doubles and the rest were singles. Pathetic. For the season, they are last in home runs, slugging, OPS, and OPS+. Putrid.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates scored all of their runs in the top of the 6th. They could have scored a lot more. They had the bases loaded and nobody out. It took a big 2-out single by Ke’Bryan Hayes to knock in the last two runs. Are you watching Yankees? In the other 8 innings, the Pirates only had 5 hits. After the 6th inning, the Pirates had a 2-out double by Tommy Pham, who was stranded. This hot streak by Pham may yet make him a trade commodity. In the top of the 9th, Adam Frazier singled with one out. However, the Pirates could not advance him into scoring position. The Royals were saved by the home run ball, which they have found over the last 6 games. They were worse than the Pirates, going 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position. They left nine men on base. All of this kept the game close for the Pirates. The inability of the Royals to break the game open could have cost them. The ineptitude of the Pirates saved them.

Next Game: Friday night, the Twins in Minnesota. The Pirates get a day off today. They need it as they limp to the All-Star break. Paul Skenes will start for the Pirates. This will make him a leading candidate to start his second straight All-Star Game. I will tell you one thing: this trade deadline can’t come soon enough. The big talk is around trading Keller and Bednar. Of the two, Bednar has to go. The Pirates should get a good return for both if they make the deals. I think it is more important for the Pirates to get rid of the dead wood. I really don’t care what the return is. Hayes, Reynolds, Pham, and IKF should all be wearing different uniforms by Aug. 1. I think the fans need this day off more than the Pirates. I know I sure do.