Final Score: Pirates 9 Reds 1
Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates brought out the long ball, and Mitch Keller pitched 7 strong innings as the Pirates buried the Reds to snap their 5-game losing streak. They hit 4 home runs, with 2 coming from the unlikely source of Henry Davis. Marcell Ozuna hit his 3rd home run of the season, while Bryan Reynolds hit a 443-foot blast in the first inning to get the Pirates rolling. They continued to tack on runs in innings 3 through 6, piling up 9 runs on 12 hits and 8 walks. Mitch Keller went 7 innings, giving up only 1 run on 3 hits. He struck out 6 and walked 1 while throwing 104 pitches. The Reds only managed to put 5 runners in scoring position and did not get a hit, leaving only 4 men on base. This was a dominant win for the Pirates, but can they keep the momentum going? Could a 2-homer game get Henry Davis to hit above his weight? The same could be said about Ozuna. The Pirates have to at least win this series now, and a sweep would be even sweeter.
Key Moments In The Game: In the bottom of the third, the Pirates had a runner on 1st with 2 outs. Bryan Reynolds, with a powerful swing, hit a triple to right where the right fielder almost made a spectacular catch. Ryan O’Hearn followed up with a well-placed single, enabling the Pirates to extend their lead to 3-0. It had been a while since we had seen some 2-out lightning that electrified the fans. The energy was palpable as the home team built momentum. In the bottom of the 5th, the excitement peaked when both Ozuna and Davis launched impressive 2-run homers, effectively breaking the game open at 8-0 and leaving the Reds in the dust. The Pirate pitching was relentless, never allowing the Reds off the mat, which solidified their dominance on the field and set the stage for an easy win.
Next Game: This afternoon, the Reds are in Pittsburgh at 4:05 PM. Carmen Mlodzinski goes today for the Pirates. Can he regain his form? The bullpen is at least well-rested. The Reds will counter with right-hander Rhett Lowder. He has been a solid starter, having only one bad outing this year out of six starts. The good news is that the Reds do seem to be in a bit of a hitting funk lately. Let’s hope that it lasts for two more games. Last year, Henry Davis had about five or six games with a hitting surge and then went back to looking horrible for the rest of the season. Last night could be more of the same. His lack of hitting at the MLB level has always been a bit of a mystery to me. He was drafted No. 1 strictly because of his bat. If he could somehow become an average hitter, it would give the Pirates an unbelievable boost.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 