Final Score: Pirates 2 Cubs 7
Why the Pirates Lost: Paul Skenes pitched a solid 5 and 1/3 innings, but some poor defense and bad luck did him and the Pirates in. Of course, the bullpen stunk again. Skenes gave up 3 runs, with only 1 being earned. He struck out 10 but did walk 3, which contributed to his 103 pitch count. The Cubs did not hit a ball over 93 MPH off of him. This should have been the making of another Paul Skenes gem, but it was not to be. The bullpen made sure the Pirates would lose by giving up 4 runs on 4 hits, walking 3 while striking out 2 in 3 and 2/3 innings of “work”. Brandon Bidois and Yohan Ramirez were the Cubs’ players of the game. The Pirate offense was not much better, scoring only 2 runs while going 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. Apparently, Don Kelly gave an emotional speech after the 10-4 drubbing the Cubs had handed the Pirates the game before. I guess it didn’t work because the Pirates just went through the motions for this game.
The Key Moments Of The Game: The Cubs scored their 1st run of the game in the top of the 4th when Paul Skenes tried to field a weak comebacker with his bare hand but failed. This put runners on 1st and 2nd with two out. Seiya Suzuki hit a broken bat bloop over shortstop to drive in the run. The runner who scored had walked. In the top of the 6th with one out, Skenes walked another batter. Then newcomer Tyler Callihan and Jared Triolo decided to throw the ball around for errors on consecutive plays, and the Cubs had a 2-0 lead. Suzuki hit a double play ball that the Pirates couldn’t turn, and the lead was 3-0. The Pirates were able to cut the lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning. Bryan Reynolds homered, and The Password singled, followed by a Callihan double. The bullpen collapsed in the 8th and 9th, and the Pirates lost a very big game.
Next Game: Tonight, the Twins are in Pittsburgh. Derek (The Shadow) Shelton returns to Pittsburgh. Maybe the Pirates will get some spark to beat him. The last two days have been very disappointing for the Pirates. Injuries are starting to become prevalent. Konnor Griffin and Nick Gonzales seem to be banged up and will miss some time. According to WAR, the Pirate bullpen is ranked 25th in baseball. It will get a boost with Carmen Mlodzinski moving to the bullpen as Jared Jones will make his first start of the year coming off elbow surgery. If the Twins sweep the Pirates, they will have a better record than the Pirates. The Twins are in a rebuilding year. Nobody knows what the Pirates are doing, including the Pirates.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 