Final Score: Pirates 8 Reds 14
Why The Pirates Lost: The offense finally did something, but the pitching was awful. On Saturday, the Pirates lost 2-1. Yesterday, 14-8. This is what bad teams do. Instead of one aspect of the team picking up the other, they just bring each other down. Compared to everybody else, Mike Burrows did not have that bad of a game. He went 5 innings, gave up 4 runs on 3 hits, struck out 6, and walked 1. He threw just 74 pitches. It makes you wonder why he did not come out for the 6th inning. This was one of many questionable decisions the Pirates made with the pitching staff. Why did Yohan Ramirez come out for the 7th when he was blasted in the 6th? The Pirates made a nice comeback to make it 9-8. Why did Cam Sanders come out for the 9th in a one-run game? Why was he not taken out before the game got out of hand? Mattson, who came in eventually, and Santana were available. It was a bad day for Don Kelly. The offense had a good game led again by the AAA boys. They went 4 for 11 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored. That was another questionable decision. Kelly decided to pinch-hit for Davis with the slumping Andrew McCutchen. In his last 15 games he is hitting .200. Davis was having a good day. He also pinch-hit for Horwitz with the score 14-8. Why not let him face the left-hander? Oh well, who cares. The Pirates certainly don’t.
Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates had come back from a 4-run deficit to tie the game. Burrows had retired 7 batters in a row. After 74 pitches, he seemed to be getting stronger. They took him out. They brought in Yohan Ramirez, who has been with 8 teams in less than 6 seasons. In 4 pitches, he gave up 2 singles. He struck out the next batter. He then gave up 2 doubles, making the score 7-4. Why was he not taken out after the first double? Not only did they keep him in, but he also returned for the 7th inning. This ensured the Reds would score some more. Just to seal the deal, Cam Sanders was brought out to pitch the 9th. The Pirates ended up with a 3-4 homestand.
Next Game: Tonight, Brewers in Milwaukee. The Pirates start a six-game road trip against the Brewers and the Cubs. You would expect that this could get really ugly. It seems that every time I expect this, the Pirates start to play decent baseball. Andrew Heaney goes for the Pirates tonight. The Pirates will play the last four games of the trip during the day. Paul Skenes will pitch on Tuesday night. It should be the only game worth watching. The big question is when Canario will play next. It could be tonight against the lefty Jose Quintana. After all he is hitting .167 against left hand pitching. Be still my beating heart.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 