Final Score: Pirates 8 Cardinals 3
Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates started off with a bang. The first six batters got on base and the Pirates quickly had a 4-0 lead. Henry Davis hit a sacrifice fly to top off a 5 run 1st inning. The Pirates added 2 in the second on some loose Cardinal defense. In the top of the 3rd Henry Davis hit a solo home run to end the scoring. The AAA boys continue to have success going 4 for 12 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Of course the Pirate offense limped home in the last 6 innings getting 3 hits. They struck out 11 times including 5 straight outs in the 8th and 9th. Mitch Keller pitched well. He gave up 3 runs and 3 hits over 6 innings. It can be tough pitching with a big lead, but Keller got the job done. The bullpen shut the Cardinals down the rest of the way. The Pirates had a nice easy road win.
Key Moments Of The Game: After the Pirates put up 5 runs in the 1st, the Cardinals got two hard-hit singles with one out in the 1st, which created a sense of hope among their fans. Wilson Contreras hit a hard ground ball. It went right at Jared Triolo. Triolo made a nice play to end the inning with a double play, dousing the Cardinals’ momentum. If the Cardinals could have had a quick bounce-back inning, it may have made a difference in the overall atmosphere of the game, giving them the confidence they needed to close the gap. The score was 8-2 going into the bottom of the 6th. Keller started the inning by walking a batter and later hitting another. The Pirates traded 3 ground outs for a run, showing their ability to execute even in less-than-ideal situations. The Cardinals never threatened again after that, and their inability to capitalize on earlier opportunities continued to haunt them. The series is tied at a game apiece.
Next Game: Tonight, Cardinals in St. Louis. Carmen Mlodzinski will start for the Pirates. This will be a semi-bullpen game depending on how well Mlodzinski does. For whatever reason, the offense has come alive in St. Louis. Despite this, we are still well entrenched in last place in runs scored. Among teams with an equal number of games, the Pirates are 30 runs behind the next worst team. This is how bad this offense has been. In a nutshell, they have no power. They are last in home runs and slugging. It was a nice win last night, no question about it. You feel that they must win these next two in St. Louis if they are going to have any chance of playing close to .500 ball over the next 11 games.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 