Final Score: Pirates 2 Athletics 11
Why the Pirates Lost: The dynamic duo of Jared Jones and Camen Mlodzinski gave up 11 runs on a whopping 15 hits, walking 2 and striking out 6. Only 1 of Mlodzinski’s 6 runs were earned, but that was because all 5 runs in the 7th scored after 2 were out. It took Jones and Mlodzinski 75 pitches each to get through 7 innings. Looks like the Pirates have a 6-man rotation whether they want it or not. We won’t be seeing either pitcher for the next 4 games. We will see how the Pirates get along with an 11 man pitching staff the next 4 games. Great system, Pirates. The A’s were 7 for 13 with runners in scoring position. They hit 3 home runs and 3 doubles in their collection of 15 hits. The Pirates could only manage 2 runs despite getting 8 hits and walking 3 times. They were 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, leaving 9 men on base. The Pirates finally fell below .500 for the first time since the 5th game of the season. They did it in a big way. Maybe we can blame it on jet lag.
Key Moments Of The Game: Jeff McNeil, who started the game on a 0 for 20 streak, got the big hits early in the game. In the bottom of the 2nd, with a runner on 2nd and one out, he singled in the first run of the game. In the bottom of the 1st, the A’s had loaded the bases on 3 singles when Jones struck out the side. This got the A’s quickly off the schneid. After the McNeil single, Nick Kurtz hit an opposite-field home run to make it 3-0 A’s. In the top of the 4th, it looked like the Pirates might climb back into this one. Nick Gonzales started the inning by reaching base on an error. Endy Rodriguez followed with a single. Tyler Callihan hit a weak ground ball to first, moving the runners up. Jake Mangum hit a little 68 MPH blooper that scored a run. The Pirates had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Esmerlyn Valdez then hit into a 1-4-3 double play, with McNeil making a great throw to second, just getting Valdez in time. In the bottom of the inning, McNeil broke open the game, hitting a 2-run homer. It was only his 3rd home run of the season.
Next Game: Tonight, the A’s in Sacramento. Mitch Keller goes for the Pirates. In his last 3 games he has gone 12 and 2/3 innings giving up 18 earned runs on 24 hits. He did this throwing 274 pitches. The fact that he was allowed to throw this many pitches is mind boggling. He is giving up almost 1.5 runs per inning pitched. There is not any word that he has any physical ailment. He is going up against one of the best hitting teams in baseball. They have the 3rd highest OPS in baseball. Maybe Keller will have a Jeff McNeil night. We can only hope.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 