Final Score: Pirates 8 Royals 5
Why the Pirates Won: Led by Konnor Griffin, who went 4 for 5, the Pirates put 8 runs on the board. The game started out as if the Pirates might give one away. They had 3 hits in the 1st inning, with one being a double, and they did not score a run. In the 2nd inning they had a walk and a double with one out and could not score. They finally broke the ice in the 3rd scoring 2 runs on a Brandon Lowe 2 run homer. Griffin was not the only Pirate who had a big day at the plate; Bryan Reynolds went 2 for 5, with both hits being doubles. Oneil Cruz went 3 for 5 and scored 2 runs. Griffin, Brandon Lowe, and Spencer Horwitz each had 2 RBIs. Henry Davis went 1 for 3 to bring his OPS up to .585, and he may not be the worst hitter in the league anymore. Not all the news was good, as Paul Skenes got knocked around pretty well. He did finish strong, managing to go 6 innings and retiring the last 8 batters he faced. Before that, he had given up 5 runs on 6 hits, including 2 home runs. Skenes saw his ERA rise to 3.91. The Pirates remain 8 games out with 8 games to play.
Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates had just tied the game in the bottom of the 5th. Skenes breezed through the top of the 6th. The Pirates had a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the inning. They had runners on 1st and 2nd with one out but failed to score. Brandon Eisert came on to pitch the top of the 7th. He had not given up a run in his last 4 outings since his September call-up. The Royals got a bloop single off him that went off Nick Gonzales’s glove. He walked the next batter. The Royals gave the Pirates an out with a bunt that moved the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Eisert struck out Carter Jensen on a 3-2 pitch. This brought up Bobby Witt Jr. Then, lo and behold, Don Kelly made a move. It is a good thing I do not have a heart condition. Witt does hit lefties a little better, and by God, Kelly made the move bringing Yohan Ramirez to face Witt. He threw him 4 straight sweepers and got Witt to ground out to third to end the inning. In the bottom of the 7th, the Pirates had runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs, thanks to a single, a hit by pitch, and a wild pitch. Ryan O’Hearn struck out, and Ronnie Simon popped out. Spencer, who seems to have finally found his groove in the last 7 games, singled to left field to drive in the 2 runs. After the Royals committed the sin of walking Henry Davis, putting runners on 1st and 2nd, Konnor Griffin got his 4th hit of the game to make the score 8-5. Ramirez and Gregory Soto finished up the game, and the Pirates climbed back up to .500. Too bad the Pirates are not in the American League.
Next Game: Tonight Royals in Pittsburgh. Bubba Chandler will go for the Pirates facing left hander Noah Cameron. I was going to do an essay on the Pirate catchers today but with Henry Davis having his little hot streak I felt it would only be fair to hold off. There is plenty of time to evaluate this team position by position. We will see how he does the rest of the weekend. The Pirates have an off day on Monday. This could be elimination day for the Pirates. Stay tuned.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 