Final Score: Pirates 13 Giants 3
Why The Pirates Won: After a slow start, getting only two hits over the first four innings, the Pirates picked up 18 more hits over the last five innings to blow out the Giants 13 to 3. Joey Bart and Nick Gonzales led the way, each getting 4 hits. Brandon Lowe had 4 RBIs, and the Pirates were 10 for 22 with runners in scoring position. The Pirates were kings of the foul balls. I do not know how many they exactly hit, but they forced the Giants’ pitchers to throw 222 pitches for the game. It took Landen Roupp 94 pitches to get through 4 innings and one batter. No problem for Braxton Ashcraft as he tossed another 7-inning gem. He gave up 1 run on 6 hits. He struck out 6 and walked no one, throwing only 80 pitches. His ERA is now down to 2.77. I would be remiss if I did not mention Cam Sanders’ performance in the bottom of the 9th. The Giants had given up at that point, using a position player to pitch in the top of the 9th. The Pirates scored 3 runs to extend their lead to 13 to 1. Someone must have forgotten to tell Cam Sanders the score. In an embarrassing performance, he walked 3 batters, hit a batter in the head, and gave up 2 runs on 1 hit. He threw 34 pitches, with only 12 in the strike zone. This put his ERA at 10.80. This guy is on the team in a supposedly pitching-rich franchise. This was only comical because the Pirates won the game by 10 runs.
Key Moments of the Game: You would think a game like this would not have a key moment, but this was a tight game through six innings. The Pirates had taken a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning. Jung Hoo Lee opened the inning with a blooper to left field for a single. Luis Arraez hit another blooper that Konnor Griffin made a nice running catch on in short left field. Heliot Ramos singled to right, putting runners on first and third with one out. Ashcraft got the big strikeout against Rafael Devers on three pitches. He then got Bryce Eldridge, who had sent one into McCovey’s Cove in his previous at-bat, to fly out to rather deep left field. The Giants could help thinking what might have been. In the top of the seventh, the Pirates broke it open by scoring six runs. They were helped along by a line drive lost in the lights and an error by Willy Adames. The Pirates are assured of a .500 road trip, but it would be nice to go 4-2.
Next Game: This afternoon, the Giants, in San Francisco at 4:05 PM. Bubba Chandler will start for the Pirates; will he finally come out of his funk? The Pirates need him to get back on track. I am sure Joey Bart will be out of the lineup tonight, despite the fact that the Pirates have a day off, and Paul Skenes will pitch on Tuesday, meaning we will see Henry (No Hit) Davis for the next two games. Bart is red hot. If this is the case, he will not catch again until Wednesday, leaving plenty of time to cool off. The Pirates just continue to amaze. They will amaze me if Bart starts today. Let’s at least hope we don’t see Triolo.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 