Author: vet4golfing51

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Pirate Morning Report: Synopsis Of The Season In One Game

Final Score: Pirates 3 Cubs 4

Why the Pirates Lost: In a game that the Pirates desperately needed to win, they put Oneil Cruz at the top of the order. He has not performed well in that role. They batted Konnor Griffin 4th for the first time in his career. It was not surprising that they went a combined 0 for 9 with 2 strikeouts. Nick Gonzales and Rafael Flores were on the bench while Henry Davis and Jacob Gonzalez played. It only got worse when it came to handling the pitching. Paul Skenes gave up 2 runs in 7 innings of pitching, throwing only 82 pitches. Skenes did not come out to pitch the 8th inning. In his last 3 innings, he faced just 9 batters thanks to a double play ball. Eight times this year, Skenes has thrown between 92 and 109 pitches, struggling through anywhere from 4 to 6 innings. What a philosophy. When a pitcher is struggling, let him throw a lot of pitches. When he is mowing them down, stop him at 82. Then the Pirates bring in Gregory Soto to pitch the 8th. Don Kelly just sits there, and watches Soto walk 2 batters and hit 2 batters to blow a 3-2 lead. All of this happened after 2 were out. The Pirates’ broadcast booth said that Luke Weaver and Mason Montgomery were not available; why, I do not know, as they did not pitch on Friday. Montgomery was warming up in the bullpen in the 9th in case the Pirates rallied, so I guess he was available. Available for nothing. Meanwhile, everyone got to see what a real manager does, as Craig Counsell made strategic move after strategic move. No move was better than taking out the left-hander in the 9th and bringing in a right-handed pitcher to face Bryan Reynolds. This mystified the Pirates’ booth. Reynolds’s OPS is 42 points lower when batting left-handed. I bet Counsell was the only one in the stadium who knew that. Reynolds struck out to end the game. The game that put the Pirates 7 games back of the last wild card spot in the loss column was a synopsis of the entire season: a poorly constructed starting lineup, not taking a pitcher out when he is struggling because no one is warming up in the bullpen, and taking out the starting pitcher when he is doing well, even though his pitch count is low. The sad thing is we are probably going to have to watch the same thing next year.

Key Moments of the Game: In a nutshell, handing in the lineup card, taking Skenes out after 7 innings, and sitting on your hands while watching a pitcher blow the game. Soto threw 31 pitches in the inning, finding the strike zone just 10 times. Kelly stood in the dugout and watched all of this. He did not get Ramirez warming up until after Soto hit a batter, making the score 4-3 Cubs. The Pirates have had some key injuries; make no mistake about it. Poor lineup construction and poor in-game management are the reasons this team is not going to make the playoffs. What the Pirates do makes no sense at all.

Next game: This afternoon, Cubs in Chicago. The Cubs will be going for the sweep. I am sure that Henry Davis and his .167 batting average will make his third consecutive start, since lefty Matthew Boyd is pitching for the Cubs. Davis hits .127 against lefties, but he does bat right-handed. I expect that Luke Weaver and Mason Montgomery will be able to pitch today but who knows? Stay tuned.

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Pirates Morning Report: Blown Away By The Cubs

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cubs 12

Why the Pirates lost: The Pirates failed in every phase of the game. They could not pitch, giving up 16 hits. They could not hit, managing only 7 hits, with 3 of those coming in the first inning when they got their only runner in scoring position for the game. Nine of the last 10 batters of the game made outs. Even though they were only charged with one error, it looked like a little league game in the field. Not only could they not catch pop-ups and fly balls, but they also struggled to stay on their feet while trying to make routine plays. On the rare occasions when they did catch a ball, they would fall over backward. This was not the support that three rookie pitchers needed. Needless to say, a team like the Cubs took full advantage of the Pirates’ circus in the field. The one oddity of this game was that there were only a combined 6 strikeouts. The Pirates struck out 4 times, and the Cubs 2. To make matters worse, Esmerlyn Valdez pulled up lame, apparently with a hamstring injury, and Billy Cook had to bat. Another winning streak was stopped before it could reach 6 games.

Key Moments Of The Game: The bottom of the 2nd showed how this game was going to go. Wilbur Dotel had retired the side in order in the 1st inning. Alex Bregman opened the inning with a single on a 0-1 fastball right down the middle. Ian Happ followed up with a ground ball that hit Dotel in the leg and stopped between him and 1st base for an infield hit. If he could have gotten out of the way, it most likely would have been a double play. Nico Hoerner singled to center to load the bases. The Cubs scored on a foul ball sacrifice fly that Jake Mangum stole out of the stands for the first out. Another Pirate pitcher failed to quickly cover 1st base, which may have cost them a double play chance. This left runners on first and third with 2 outs. If Dotel could have stopped the bleeding here, you never know what might have happened the rest of the way. Unfortunately for the Pirates, the Cubs started a catcher who can hit, and Carson Kelly came through with a big 2-out double that scored 2 runs to put the Cubs out in front 3-1. The Cubs added two in the third and four in the fourth as the Pirates made every fielding play an adventure. I am not saying the Pirate rookie pitchers pitched well, but they deserved better support than they got.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Chicago. It is Paul Skenes vs. former Pirate Clay Holmes. Holmes is another player the Pirates failed to develop. The best way to describe this is that in the 4 years he was with the Pirates, he had a WAR of -0.9. In his 7 seasons away from the Pirates, he has a WAR of 9.7. I would say he will have some incentive to pitch well today. Both the Padres and the Diamondbacks won last night. The Pirates are now 6 games back in the loss column with 14 games to go. If the Cubs sweep the Pirates, they are done. Stay tuned.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pirates Sweep White Sox, Stay 5 Games Back In The Loss Column.

Final Score: Pirates 2 White Sox 0

Why the Pirates Won: Jared Jones pitched another gem, not giving up a hit for 6 and 2/3 innings. In 7 innings, he allowed one hit, struck out 8, and walked 2. Luke Weaver pitched a clean 8th. Mason Montgomery gave up a leadoff single but no more for his 12th save. The Pirates played some nice defense. Brandon Lowe made two excellent plays in the bottom of the 9th to assist Montgomery. Oneil Cruz and Jake Mangum made two sliding catches in the outfield to help keep the no-hitter intact. Cruz provided the offense with a home run in the 4th and a big RBI single in the 8th that gave the Pirates a valuable insurance run. This was a significant win for the Pirates since the Diamondbacks and Padres had the day off. They remain 5 games back in the loss column with 15 games to go. They play their nemesis, the Cubs, next.

Key Moments of the Game: Both walks given up by Jones were leadoff walks. The first one occurred in the bottom of the 3rd, and he struck out the side after that. The second walk led off the bottom of the 4th, and that one made it to third with two outs due to a stolen base and a throwing error by Rafael Flores. Jones was able to get the batter to pop out to Brandon Lowe to end the inning. Cruz got the RBI single in the 8th off a left-hander. The two-run cushion provided a whole different perspective on the last two innings. The Pirates continue to win and make it interesting, but they still have only a 1.1% chance of making the playoffs.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Cubs in Chicago. The Pirates announced the bad news yesterday that Braxton Ashcraft will go on the IL with right arm discomfort. There is talk that he might come back for the St. Louis series, but I would assume that would happen only if the games are meaningful. The Pirates will send the youngster Wilber Dotel to the mound for his first major league start. I like the move. Give the youngster a shot in a big game. Again, for the Pirates to have any chance at all to make the playoffs, they must sweep the Cubs and hope for some big-time help. Matt Capps last night had the audacity to say that the Pirates control their own destiny. Wow. He also viewed it as a positive that the Padres and Diamondbacks finish the season against one another. That is about the worst thing that could happen. If the Pirates are two games behind both teams at that point, they are eliminated. Somebody is going to go 2-1. This is part of the reason the Pirates’ chances are so remote. Remote is still better than being eliminated. However, they are not close to controlling their own destiny. Stay tuned.

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Pirates Morning Report: A Gritty Win But Still 5 Games Back

Final Score: Pirates 4 White Sox 2

Why The Pirates Won: On a night where both offenses had some bad luck at times the Pirates were able to prevail and come away with a 4-2 victory. Another bullpen game for the Pirates was a big success. Eight Pirate pitchers held the White Sox to 2 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks while striking out 14 batters. I must say I was very critical of the Pirates when they brought up Brandon Eisert on September 1. However, he must have found something down in AAA. In his 3 appearances he has gone 4 innings giving up only one hit, striking out 6 with no walks. Last night he went 2 and 1/3 innings retiring all 7 batters he faced striking out 5 of them. The bullpen this year has had their bad moments, but they sure have made me eat a lot of crow. Unfortunately, the Pirates picked up no ground in the wild card race. They are still 5 games behind the Padres. The Padres leap frogged the Diamondbacks who lost last night. There are no teams between the Pirates and the two teams fighting for the final wild card spot. The Marlins and Cardinals have folded up their tent and are almost eliminated. There are only 16 games left. The Pirates must win tonight.

Key Moments In The Game: The Pirate offense had some bad luck early in the game. In the first inning they opened with 2 walks. Reynolds hit a line drive out and Nick Gonzales ground into a quick 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. Oneil Cruz opened the second inning with a single. On a 3-2 pitch to Esmerlyn Valdez, Cruz ran on the pitch. Valdez hit a 103 line drive that the White Sox 2nd basemen made a spectacular catch on and easily doubled up Cruz. Valdez hit a homer in the 5th to for the first Pirate run. Konnor Griffin got a big one out single to drive in runs 3 and 4 giving the Pirates a 4-0 lead in the top of the 7th. The Pirates almost paid the price for pinch running for Valdez in the 7th inning with Billy Cook, when the White Sox made a late inning rally. Camilio Doval came in to pitch the 7th. He loaded the bases with one out on a walk, a single, and a walk. Then he committed the cardinal sin of not even thinking about covering first base on a ball that Spencer Horwitz made a great play on. Who knows what he was thinking but the score was now 4-1 with the bases still loaded. This brought in Yohan (My Other Crow Eating Nemesis) Ramirez into the game. On the 4th pitch he got a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. In the bottom of the 8th Luke (Poison Ivy) Weaver came into the game and got lit up. The inning opened with a towering home run by true outcome king Munetaka Murakami to make the score 4-2. Weaver loaded the bases on a single, a strikeout, a double and hit a batter. Chase Meidroth took a thigh high middle in change up and lined it 100 MPH down the 3rd base line. Jared Triolo leaped and stretch that 6’3″ frame as far as it would go and made a spectacular grab, stepped on third to end the inning. On a night full of bad breaks for the offenses the Pirates benefitted the most in the 8th inning. Mason Montgomery shut the door again and Pirates came away with a hard earned 4-2 win.

Next Game: Tonight. White Sox in Chicago. Both the Diamondbacks and Padres are idle tonight. If the Pirates lose tonight, they will fall 6 games back in the lost column with just 15 games to go. The 1964 Cardinals came back from a 6 game deficit with 12 games to go when the Phillies collapsed down the stretch. If the Pirates lose, they will need for 2 teams to that. Not that good of odds. There is no margin for error. Stay tuned.

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Pirates Morning Report: Nice Blowout Win But Pirates Gain No Ground.

Final Score: Pirates 9 White Sox 3

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirate bats came alive, scoring 9 runs on 18 hits and 3 walks. They had 5 doubles and a home run by Rafael Flores Jr. They got off to a great start with the first seven batters getting on base and scoring 5 runs in the first inning. They did this against Sean Burke, who had an ERA of 3.20 going into the game. That is an ERA lower than any Pirate starter by a long way. Ashcraft has the lowest at 3.65. They scored 2 more runs in the 2nd inning, chasing Burke. Bubba Chandler knew how to pitch with that big lead, going 6 innings, giving up 2 runs, 4 hits, striking out 8, and — hold on to your hats — did not walk a batter. The bullpen gave up a run over the last 3 innings. I question using Yohan Ramirez for the 9th in such a blowout, but what the hell, no Pirate game is ever going to be perfect with Don Kelly managing. Once again, the bad news is the Pirates got no closer to the wild card. Both the Padres and Diamondbacks won with exciting one-run wins. The Diamondbacks gave up a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th to blow a 2-0 lead. They came back to win the game 5-3 in 11 innings. The Padres trailed the Nationals 4-1 going into the bottom of the 8th but put a 4 spot on the board to win 5-4. The Pirates are still 5.5 games out of the wild card. They did leap over both the Cardinals and the Marlins. There are 17 games left.

The Key Moments Of The Game: After scoring only 3 runs in the last 3 games getting off to such a great start was huge. Chandler challenged the White Sox hitters by pounding the zone and retired the first 12 batters he faced. I do not see how the road trip could have gotten off to a better start. It was good to see Konnor Griffin get 2 hits and a walk. Spencer Horwitz had 2 hits and 3 RBI’s. Overall, a great win. Now if the Padres and the Diamondbacks can only tank.

Next Game: Tonight, White Sox in Chicago. With only 17 games left there is no room for error. It is another bullpen game for the Pirates tonight. The bullpen games have been very successful for the Pirates. The only negative is the Pirates have a pre-game plan and will not vary from it no matter how a particular pitcher is doing. The Pirates must keep winning and hope. At least they are making it interesting. Stay tuned.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pirates Win Another 1-0 Game But No Good News After That

Final Score: Pirates 1 Angels 0

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirate pitching staff threw another shutout and had to since the Pirates scored just 1 run for the third consecutive game. This time it was the quintet of Paul Skenes, Gregory (Well Rested) Soto, Carmen Mlodzinski, Camilo Doval and Mason Montgomery who shutout the Angels on 5 hits and 3 walks. The Angels only had one at bat with a runner in scoring position. They left 8 men on base. The Pirates were worse than that only getting 3 hits and 1 walk. One of their hits was a solo home run by none other than Henry Davis. That got his slugging up to .304. What a guy. It was the only run of the game. It was a nice win for the Pirates to finish off the homestand 4-2. The bad news is that all four teams ahead of the Pirates won. The Pirates still stand 5 games out of the wild card. There are just 18 games to go. The other bad news is no more games against the Giants and the Angels.

The Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates led 1-0 going into the top of the 5th. Skenes got the first two outs but hit the next batter. Mike Trout hit a line drive to left center field that Oneil Cruz got to quickly and sent the relay to Brandon Lowe. He threw on home to nail the runner at the plate. The play was not that close. It was a bad send by the third base coach of the Angels. The Angels could only get one man to second base for the rest of the game even though they got a man on first for 8 of the 9 innings. The bullpen hung tough to preserve the win as the Pirates never threatened to extend the lead.

Next Game: Tomorrow night, White Sox in Chicago. The Pirates embark on a 6 game road trip against the White Sox and then the Cubs. A 4-2 road trip would be excellent under any other circumstances. In this case it will be not good enough. They have just come off a 4-2 home stand. They only moved one game closer to the wild card from 6 games back to 5. At that rate they would fall 2 games short. In 7 of their last 13 games the Pirates have scored 1 run or less. The next 9 games are against the White Sox, Cubs and Brewers. It would be shocking if the Pirates even come that close to the playoffs. Stay tuned.

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Pirates Morning Report: Losing To The Worst

Final Score: Pirates 1 Angels 6

Why The Pirates Lost: For the second straight game, the Pirates scored only one run, and this time it was not nearly enough. They could only get that one run on a home run. They had seven other hits and four walks but produced zero runs. They were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. They grounded into two double plays after the leadoff man got on base. With the Pirates trailing 6-1 in the bottom of the 8th, Oneil Cruz got a single with two outs. He then stole second base, which you could question, considering they were trailing by five, but at least that put him in scoring position. However, he then decided to make the bonehead play of the year by trying to steal third. He was thrown out to end the inning. In my view, he should not be in the starting lineup today or for the opening game of the road trip. Of course, Don Kelly should not be managing the Pirates either. If the Pirates are trailing by two or more runs going into the sixth inning or later, Kelly always puts in his worst available reliever. He could have put in Soto (three days rest), Doval (two days rest), or Ramirez, which he eventually did. He brings Isaac Mattson in for the sixth inning. He is lucky enough to get a clean inning out of him. He allows him to come out for the seventh and of course, Mattson gets racked for three runs on two doubles and two singles. Every ball hit was over 95 MPH. He did not bring in Soto even when a left-handed batter came up. Kelly is the king of giving up. It is the main reason that the Pirates have the fewest comeback wins in the division and it is not even close. The Pirates have 21 comeback wins. The Brewers 38, the Cubs 40, the Cardinals 29 and even the Reds have 36. Just another reason the Pirates are not making the playoffs.

Key Moments of the Game: It was another pathetic lineup that was put on the field. No Brandon Lowe, even though he has been hitting left-hand pitching better. Even for the season, his OPS against lefties is .614. That is a lot better than Nick Yorke, who is .570 against lefties and a lot worse overall. Taking out Ashcraft after just 67 pitches was a mistake. In the top of the 4th, there was a pop-up double that scored on a 2-out single. He gave up the home run in the 5th and some hard-hit singles to make the score 3-0, but he finished the inning strong with a ground out and strikeout. That is when Kelly decided that this game was over.

Next Game: This afternoon Angels in Pittsburgh. The saddest thing about this pathetic performance was that 3 of the 4 teams ahead of the Pirates lost last night. Only the Diamondbacks won. This means the Pirates are in the same place where they were when the Angels series started, which is 5 games out of the wild card. There are only 19 games left. Even if they win today and with Skenes pitching that is not a given, they would wind up being 4-2 at home against the Giants and the Angels. Another opportunity lost. After today they are headed for Chicago to play the White Sox and Cubs three games each. That trip should put everyone out of their misery.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pitching Staff Wins This One

Final Score: Pirates 1 Angels 0

Why The Pirates Won: Jared Jones pitched one of his best games of the year. He went 6 innings, giving up just 3 hits, walking 1, and striking out 9 batters. Wilber Dotel pitched a solid 2 innings, not giving up a hit and walking one while striking out 2. Mason Montgomery survived a leadoff single by Mike Trout to preserve the 1-0 win and get his 9th save of the year. Konnor Griffin started his first game in over two months. He did not get a hit but still made a huge impact by scoring the only run of the game on a Jake Mangum double. He flew around the bases and scored all the way from 1st base on a bang-bang play at the plate. He made a great slide and barely touched the plate with his left hand. Thank God for those big sliding gloves. Otherwise, it was a 50-50 night for the Pirates, with the Diamondbacks and Marlins losing while the Padres and Cardinals won. The Pirates find themselves 4.5 games out of the wild card but 5 games in the loss column. They did pull themselves up to 2.5 games above last place. Obviously, they need to sweep the Angels.

Key Moments of the Game: It was the gritty inning that Wilber Dotel pitched in the top of the seventh. He had just come in for Jared Jones. He opened the inning by issuing a walk on six pitches. It took him another six pitches to get a force out at second. Christian Moore worked the count to 3-2. He took a 99 MPH fastball and laced a low line drive at 106 MPH to center field. Oneil Cruz had to come in quickly and made a great sliding catch on the ball. Dotel struck out Josh Lowe on another six-pitch at-bat to end the inning. Jones survived a first and third with no outs situation in the top of the second. He was able to induce a pop-up and struck out the next two batters on eleven pitches. This was a great pitching duel that the Pirates were able to win. They have to find a way to win two more.

Next Game: Tonight, Angels in Pittsburgh. The Angels are starting lefty Yusei Kikuchi, who is making only his second start since going on the IL in late April. In his last start, he held the Phillies to 2 runs, going 7 innings. Braxton Ashcraft is going for the Pirates. I have the feeling another shutout may be needed, given the problems the Pirates have against lefties. I wonder if Billy Cook will start. Is this one of Oneil Cruz’s “scheduled” days off? Will Nick Yorke get a chance to start? Will Konnor Griffin get a rest so his body can recover from that exhausting run from 1st base last night? I am sure Don Kely and the “brain trust” are actually considering this. Do the Pirates even know they still have a chance at the wild card? Stay tuned.

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Pirates Morning Report: Giants Gift Wrapped This One

Final Score: Pirates 5 Giants 2

Why The Pirates Won: The Giants made sure they did, especially the pitching staff. The Pirates only got 5 hits but were walked 7 times and hit by a pitch once. Starting in the first inning after an opening single by Spencer Horwitz and a fly out by Brandon Lowe, the Pirates received 3 straight walks, and Jake Mangum got hit with a pitch to make the score 2-0. The bats went really silent for four innings, getting only one hit. In the bottom of the 6th, Oneil Cruz walked, stole 2nd, and scored when Mangum’s bunt was thrown away by the pitcher. One out later, an infield hit moved Mangum to third. He scored when Jared Triolo beat out a double play ball. He was ruled out, but replay overruled the call, and the Pirates had a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the 8th, the Pirates got a leadoff walk and a single. They went small ball again with a sacrifice bunt and sacrifice fly to make the score 5-2. Not one run scored on a hit. The Pirates were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, leaving 8 men on base. They only got 5 hits, all singles. If you looked at those stats, you would have thought the Pirates lost. The Giants’ pitchers could not find the plate, and the Pirates were able to score those five runs. The bullpen game went well. The Pirates only gave up 2 hits, even though they walked 5 it was not as bad as the Giants. At this stage of the season, the Pirates will take wins any way they can. Hopefully, the Angels will be as generous.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates took a 4-0 lead into the 7th inning. Khristian Curtis had pitched a solid 3 innings in relief. You could see he was laboring in his 4th inning of work. Maybe it was the heat, but he struggled mightily to get the ball over the plate, walking the first two batters in the inning on 11 pitches. He gave up a double, and the score was 4-1, with runners on second and third and no one out. His laboring was obvious to everyone, except Don (Looking At My Shoes) Kelly. He did not get Yohan Ramirez up in the bullpen until the end of the second walk. The Pirates went into major stall mode. It was after the double that Ramirez came in. He was able to get out of the jam with only one more run scoring. The A-team of Weaver and Montgomery shut the Giants down in the last two innings, not allowing a base runner.

Next Game: Tonight, Angels in Pittsburgh. Here is how the Pirates stand going into tonight’s game. They are 5 games out of the wild card, with the Diamondbacks holding down the last spot. They are 4.5 games behind the Padres, 2 games behind the Marlins and 1 game behind the Cardinals. Of these 5 teams the Pirates have the best record, which is not saying much, over the last 10 games at 6-4. Greg Brown would call them the red hot Pirates. More good news is that the Angels are worse than the Giants and have lost 9 out of their last 10. Konnor Griffin will be returning tonight. The Pirates do not have any room for error. Can they get a series sweep against the worst team in baseball? Stay tuned.

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Pirates Morning Report: A Lack Of Fundamental Baseball

Final Score: Pirates 4 Giants 5 in 10 innings.

Why the Pirates Lost: This team does not know how to play fundamental baseball. The Pirates have scored a lot of runs this season. There have been too many games where they could have scored more runs if they had run the bases better or had performed situational hitting at a given moment. Last night was a perfect example. Brandon Lowe led off the bottom of the sixth with a double. Bryan Reynolds hit a line drive to deep right-center field that Drew Gilbert made a solid running catch on, taking him even further to right field. Lowe did not tag up. If he had, he would have easily made it to third base and scored on the Nick Gonzales ground ball. If everything else had played out, the Pirates would have won the game 4-3 in nine innings. Instead, they lost 5-4 in ten innings. In the bottom of the tenth, Oneil Cruz and Esmerlyn Valdez had two typical Pirate strikeouts. Cruz struck out on two pitches that were not in the strike zone. That is somewhat better than Valdez, who took 2 called strikes that were 95 MPH right down the middle and slightly above the knees. You have to wonder what he was looking for—something out of the strike zone. Again, more failures in baseball fundamentals, plate discipline, and knowledge of the strike zone cost the Pirates scoring opportunities. Whether this is just the type of players the Pirates have or it is a coaching staff failure makes no difference. Besides the reason why they lost last night’s game, it has also cost them from being in the playoffs.

Key Moments Of The Game: Bubba Chandler pitched well for 5 innings. However, the walk came back to haunt him again in the top of the 5th. With a runner on second and one out, Chandler walked Gilbert. The Pirates lost a pop-up in the sky that fell between Triolo, Cruz, and Valdez to load the bases. Chandler threw an 0-2 pitch right down the middle to Bryce Eldridge, who hit it deep enough to center field to score run number two. Turner Hill took the first pitch and ripped it into right field to make the score 3-1. The Pirates were able to tie the game to send it into extra innings. The Pirate broadcast booth was bemoaning the fact that both Bryan Reynolds in the 8th and Jacob Gonzalez in the 9th just missed home runs by about a foot. They called it a game of inches. They were right to some degree; luck was not on the Pirates’ side last night. If they had played good, solid fundamental baseball, they would have won despite the bad luck. They are now 5.5 games out of the wild card with 22 games to play. I guess you could call these games meaningful, but just barely.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Giants in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are going to have a bullpen game today. They have been pretty successful when they have gone that route. It will be fun to watch the Pirates stick to their “game plan” rather than let the game determine how long to use each pitcher. The lineup should be interesting today also. We will be waiting with anticipation to see what baseball fundamental the Pirates fail at today. The win streak was stopped a 3. Unfortunately, it was stopped by the Pirates themselves. They are one game out of last place. Stay tuned.