Final Score: Pirates 4 Cardinals 5
Why The Pirates Lost: Another disappointing outing for Bubba Chandler. He went 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits and walking 4, pushing his ERA to nearly 5. He worked from behind most of the game. The Pirates went with the B squad in the bullpen, and it cost them. Evan Sisk and Chris Devenski pitched a combined 2 innings, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits and a walk. At one point in the game, the Pirates trailed 5-1 going into the bottom of the 7th inning. They scored 2 in the 7th and 1 in the 8th to pull within one run of the lead. They could have done so much more. In the bottom of the 9th, after Ryan O’Hearn singled to left, Marcell Ozuna had a typical frustrating Pirates at-bat. He took 2 strikes and swung at a ball out of the strike zone to strike out. The first pitch was a 97 MPH fastball sinker right down the middle. What are you waiting for? Nick Gonzales hit a high drive into left field that Nathan Church got a great jump on and caught right before it went over the fence to end the game. When you are on a losing streak, things just go this way. Maybe better luck this afternoon.
Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates had scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th. Then they loaded the bases with one out, now trailing by just 2 runs. Ryan O’Hearn was at the plate. He picked this time to have one of his worst at-bats of the season. Just like Ozuna was going to do, he took the first pitch right down the middle for a strike. He swung at the next pitch that was 6 inches inside and below the knees and fouled it off. He tried to check his swing on a sweeper, but the 3rd base umpire said he swung. Marcell (Rally Killing) Ozuna, on a 3-2 count, swung at a pitch about 3 inches inside and grounded out to third to end the inning. In the bottom of the 8th, Gonzales singled and Spencer Horwitz walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. Konnor Griffin struck out swinging on two balls outside the zone. Jake Magnum loaded the bases when his line drive one-hopper to short was booted, and everyone was safe. For the second straight inning, the Pirates had the bases loaded and 1 out. Oneil Cruz grounded out, scoring a run and putting runners on 1st and 3rd with two outs. Nick Yorke, who had gotten a big pinch hit in the previous inning, hit a soft liner to right to end the inning. The Pirates had the bases loaded with one out twice and could muster only 1 run. It was the difference in the ball game.
Next Game: This afternoon, the Cardinals are in Pittsburgh at 12:35 PM. Paul Skenes goes today for the Pirates, and let’s hope that he can help stop the skid. He has been almost unhittable since Opening Day. Keeping Ozuna in the 4th and 5th spots in the order has proved costly for the Pirates. I know that they cannot give up on him quite yet, but how about batting him 7th or 8th? I would assume that he will be rested tomorrow. You never know about the Pirates. Maybe they will bat him leadoff. They waste Cruz in that spot now. What an organization. Five easy ways to mess up a good team, written by the Pirate management team. I guess they are literate, maybe.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 