Final Score Game 1: Pirates 7 Guardians 1
Final Score Game 2: Pirates 3 Guardians 5
Why the Pirates Won One and Lost One: The Pirates won Game 1 by going long ball three times, accounting for five of their seven runs. Newcomer Jacob Gonzalez hit a two-run blast in the second. Esmerlyn Valdez hit his two-run shot in the sixth, followed one batter later by Nick Gonzales’s solo home run to make the score 5-1 Pirates. They added two runs in the eighth. This was all backed up by good pitching. Jared Jones pitched five innings, Carmen Mlodzinski three innings, and Isaac Mattson one inning, combining to give up only one run on six hits. They struck out 13 and walked just one. Using Mattson instead of Dennis Santana in Game 1 when you had a 7-1 lead would prove costly in Game 2. The bats went fairly silent in Game 2. The Pirates could only get three runs on six hits, and one of those runs was very lucky. The Guardians lost a pop-up in the night sky, which allowed Nick Gonzales to score. Khristian Curtis, who was the 27th man call up, pitched an outstanding five innings after Mason Montgomery opened the game with a scoreless inning. Curtis gave up zero runs on two hits while walking two and striking out four. The Pirates had a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the eighth. The bullpen needed to get six outs. Technically, they only got three outs. They gave up five runs in one and one-third innings. Because management insists on using Mlodzinski in this ridiculous piggyback role and putting in better pitchers in low-leverage situations, that when the game is tight, all they have left to put in the game are their most ineffective relievers. This has cost them many games, including Game 2 yesterday.
Key Moments Of The Game: In game one, in the bottom of the 7th, the Guardians had a runner on second with two outs. The Pirates were leading 5-1. Patrick Bailey hit a wicked line drive down the first base line that Tyler Calihan made an outstanding catch on. That would have made the score 5-2. The Pirates added those 2 runs to make it 7-1. If the Pirates had taken Mlodzinski out to pitch the 8th, he would have only thrown 28 pitches instead of winding up with 41. In game 2, it was decided to put Dennis Santana in to pitch the 9th in a 3-3 tie. Weak-hitting Patrick Bailey fouled off two pitches, then hit a 97 MPH ground ball to right field for a base hit. Steven Kwan fouled a ball and then placed a line drive down the left line that went all the way to the corner. Bailey was waved home and was thrown out mainly because he did not slide. Travis Bazzana hit a 414-foot home run to right center field on the first pitch he swung at. Dennis Santana threw 9 pitches. All 6 of his pitches that were swung at, the Guardians made contact. Three foul balls, a single, a double, and a home run. If the home run had not been a walk-off, he may have pitched for the cycle. It is bad enough that he is even on the team, but why is he put in the game in key situations? The Pirates ended the game with 2 members of the bullpen with an ERA of over 6. This team is not going to make the playoffs.
Next game: This afternoon Guardians, in Cleveland. Thanks to the Pirates give away last night the Guardians now have a chance to win the series. Paul Skenes is going for the Pirates. Unless Skenes can come up with an 8 inning performance it is very unlikely the Pirates will win today. The Pirate bullpen can’t even protect leads against one of the weakest hitting teams in baseball who is missing their superstar Jose Ramirez. They are 29th in baseball in runs scored and OPS. Beginning of this week the Yankees are looking forward to late inning batting practice.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 