Author: vet4golfing51

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Pirates Morning Report: A Tale Of Two Teams

Final Score: Pirates 1 Padres 2

Why The Pirates Lost: The Padres moved to 21-11. The Pirates fell to 12-22. The Padres have a manager. The Pirates do not. The Padres play the best players that are available. The Pirates do not. Matt Gorski, who was brought up on April 24th, has had 13 plate appearances in 9 games. Liovar Peguero, brought up May 2, has yet to make an appearance. The Padres play heads-up hustling baseball. The Pirates do not. The Padres position their players properly. The Pirates do not. The Padres can win games when they are having an off day. The Pirates can’t win games on one of their better days. In a game where the Pirates had 6 hits and 8 walks, they only scored one run. They left 10 men on base. This wasted another excellent start by Bailey (It’s Shelton’s) Falter. Falter has had his ups and downs this year, but when he is on, he is one tough pitcher. He gave up a Manny Machado home run and one other hit over 7 innings. The Padres only had 3 hits for the game but made them pay off for a 2-1 victory.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates were leading 1-0 going into the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Oneil Cruz. They made two quick outs to start the inning. Enmanuel Valdez singled and moved to second on a passed ball. Ke’Bryan Hayes lined a single to center field. Valdez, who is not the fleetest runner, was thrown out at the plate by 6 feet. Why he was sent only the Shadow knows. The Pirates loaded the bases in the bottom of the 5th with 2 outs. Alexander Canario, with his .132 batting average, struck out. What a shock. He swung at a pitch that went over the inside third of the left-hand batting box. The score was tied 1-1 going into the top of the ninth. Fernando Tatis Jr. took over the inning. David Bednar got ahead of Tatis 0-2 on two splitters that were low. He threw a third splitter that was right down the middle, thigh-high. That was some nice pitch sequencing plus terrible location. Tatis drilled it 107 MPH into left field between short and third. By the time Alexander (I Swing At Everything) Canario lumbered over to get the ball, Tatis had a hustling double. Luis Arraez grounded out weakly to third, not advancing Tatis. Tatis stole third by getting such a big jump there was no throw. Bednar struck out Machado. On the first pitch to Xander Bogaerts, it bounced about 6 feet away from Joey Bart. Without hesitation, Tatis scored to give the Padres the lead 2-1. In the bottom of the 9th, Oneil Cruz walked for the 4th time in the game with one out. Bryan Reynolds lined out to Machado, who easily doubled off the clueless Cruz.

Next Game: This afternoon, Padres in Pittsburgh. No matter what happens today, the home stand has been a disaster. You can’t sugarcoat this one. After having a nice West Coast trip, the Pirates have really laid an egg at home. Maybe we will get to see the young players today. Isiah Kiner-Falefa went on the IL yesterday. I am sure the Pirates will play the injury card, rationalizing this horrible record. Every team has injuries. The difference is that other teams replace the player with the best player available. The Pirates play the worst players on the team. I will write again. The Pirates have the players; they just don’t play them.

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Pirates Morning Report: Routine Loss

Final Score: Pirates 4 Padres 9

Why The Pirates Lost: It was strictly routine. Another lousy starting lineup. No Isiah Kiner-Falefa for the 2nd straight game. He is batting .280. Meanwhile, Jared Triolo and Alexander Canario started. They each did get a hit to raise their batting averages to .170 and .118. Even though they did score 4 runs, the Pirate offense was 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. One of their runs was a gift from Dylan Cease. They only had 7 hits to go along with 5 walks. They made 2 errors and generally were sloppy in the field. The pitching was even worse. Mitch Keller went 5 innings, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits. The bullpen continued the good work in the final 4 innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits. Colin Holderman was the best. In the 9th inning, he gave up a run without giving up a hit. He walked the first batter. He hit the second batter. A bunt moved them to second and third. A sacrifice fly made it 9-4. It was just another routine blowout loss for the Pirates. Manager Shelton must be furious because they can no longer be competitive. He set the bar very low for the Pirates after the first series of the year. They can’t reach that anymore.

Key Moment Of The Game: The poor lineup that Shelton brought out to home plate. The Pirates had just tied the game in the bottom of the 4th. Keller got the first out in the top of the 5th. He fell apart after that. In the span of 13 pitches, Keller gave up a single, a double, a single, and a single. Before you could say Mitch Keller is an average Major League pitcher, the Padres took the lead 5-2. Surprisingly, the Pirates pecked away with single runs in the 5th and 6th against the vaunted Padre bullpen. The score remained 5-4 going to the 8th inning. After one out, Caleb Ferguson replaced Chase Shugart. He gave up two singles in 5 pitches. The runner from first advanced to third on a throwing error by Jared (I Thought It Was A Home Run) Triolo. Ferguson struck out the next batter, and it looked like he would keep the game close. It was not to be. He gave up 2 more singles, and it was 8-4 Padres in the blink of an eye. The Pirates went quietly away the last 2 innings. Another loss was in the books.

Next Game: This afternoon, Padres in Pittsburgh. The Pirates are 1-3 on the home stand with 2 games remaining. I guess we won’t be seeing the good lineup anymore. In the last 2 games, there were 5 batting averages under .170. It is amazing. The Pirates have the players. They just do not play them. You have to wonder, will they ever put Liover Peguero in the starting lineup? Matt Gorsky has seen limited action. The Pirates have very bad players that are playing. Losing is not a mystery.

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Pirates Morning Report: Skenes 2025

Final Score: Pirates 3 Cubs 8

Why The Pirates Lost: I will say it. Paul Skenes is not the pitcher he was in 2024. When he first came up, his fastball regularly touched 100 MPH. He had one fastball yesterday that was clocked at 99.6. He threw 25 four-seam fastballs. The vast majority of them were right around 98 MPH. He had two as low as 96 and one at 95. He is not the first Pirate pitcher to go through this. Roansy Contreras, Luis Ortiz, and Jared Jones all had decreases in velocity the longer they pitched for the Pirates. In just 5 innings of work, Skenes threw 86 pitches, with 37 out of the strike zone. He walked 4, including 3 in a row in the 3rd inning. In the top of the 5th, he gave up 3 solo home runs. Two of the pitches were right down the middle, letter high. The third one was belt high over the outer third of the plate. I know his ERA is still under 3, but where is the velocity and, more importantly, where is the command? The Pirates started 3 players with batting averages of .163 or less. The 100 club, even though they did not light it up, did not do too bad considering they can’t hit. They went 2 for 9 with a walk. They scored 2 runs but had no RBIs. The entire team had 5 hits. The bullpen got ripped open for 5 runs over the last 4 innings. It was another disappointing but surprising blowout loss.

Key Moment Of The Game: Even though he struggled for 4 innings, Skenes had shut out the Cubs with 1 hit and 4 walks. Then the bombs started coming. One out, Dansby Swanson, 102 MPH, 392 ft. home run. Two outs, Kyle Tucker, 103 MPH, 395 ft. home run. Next batter, Seiya Suzuki, 104 MPH, 392 ft. home run. Before you could say what’s wrong with Paul Skenes, the score was 3-2 Cubs. Suzuki hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 7th. The Pirates squeaked out a run in the bottom of the 8th. The score was 5-3 Cubs going to the top of the 9th. In came Hunter (Please Don’t Put Me In Meaningful Situations) Stratton. He did not disappoint, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits in one inning of “work.” The game was over.

Next Game: Tonight Padres in Pittsburgh. The San Diego Padres come to town to start a weekend 3-game series. The Pirate starting pitchers are set. The .100 club is anticipating playing in all 3 games. Can the Pirates win one game of the series? Pham, Canario, Davis, and Triolo are guaranteeing a 3-game sweep. They are ready to break out. Derek Shelton just knows it. It is supposed to rain a lot this weekend. We can only pray.

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Pirate Morning Report: An Amazing Win

Final Score: Pirates 4 Cubs 3

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates scored 3 of their 4 runs after 2 were out. They were able to survive a disastrous 5th inning. They managed to survive Tommy Pham making 5 outs in 4 at-bats. They overcame another Carmen Mlodzinski start. This time he managed to pitch 4 innings while giving up 2 runs on 6 hits. He struck out 4 and walked 1. The Pirates were 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position. The Cubs were 1 for 6. After the 5th inning, the Pirates’ bullpen was solid, with David Bednar picking up the save. Over the last 4 innings, the bullpen only gave up 2 hits and did not walk a batter. After being outscored 26 to 6 in their last 3 games, the Pirates pulled out the close one. With Paul Skenes pitching today, they have an excellent chance of taking this series.

Key Moments Of The Game: This game had many big moments. The Pirates scored in the 1st with a big 2-out single by Ke’Bryan Hayes. In the bottom of the 4th, the Pirates loaded the bases with no one out. Thank God Tommy Pham struck out and did not hit into a double play. Jared Triolo hit a fly ball to mid-center field. Joey Bart tried to score but was ruled out at the plate. Replay reversed the call and the Pirates had their second run. The Pirates got away with sending two batters up in a row with batting averages below .180. In the top of the 5th, Mlodzinski gave up a single and a walk to start the inning. Shelton brought in Ryan Borucki. Ian Happ was the next hitter, who is a switch hitter. He hits .229 left-handed and .361 batting right-handed. Why bring in a left-handed pitcher to face Happ? I know Kyle Tucker is on deck but he hits left handed pitching just fine. On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Happ hit a ground ball single up the middle to make the score 2-1. Thanks to two wild pitches and a ground out, the Cubs took the lead 3-2 without getting a hit. The score remained 3-2 until the bottom of the 7th. IKF reached base on an error by the third baseman, with one out. Cruz struck out for out no.2. Bryan Reynolds singled to left, putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Andrew McCutchen hit a 92 MPH ground ball up the middle. Dansby Swanson deflected it out to short right-center field. This allowed Reynolds to score all the way from 1st base. This was a fortunate break for the Pirates, giving them a fortunate win. The bullpen protected the lead, snapping an embarrassing 3-game losing streak.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Pittsburgh. As mentioned before, Paul Skenes will start today. He will probably have to endure a very poor starting lineup. I am willing to put up with Henry Davis catching today if Tommy Pham is not in the starting lineup. The Cubs pitcher, Colin Rea, is right-handed, so it is possible that Pham may not start. The Pirates had a lot of lucky breaks in yesterday’s win. Despite all my criticism of Pirate management, the Pirates have not had a lot of good fortune this season. Maybe yesterday’s game will turn that around. Just like a .500 Californian road trip, a series win today will be a surprise after the 9-0 shellacking in the first game of the series.

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Pirates Morning Report: Morning Report And Pirates Felled

I did not get to see the 9-0 shellacking the Pirates took last night thanks to a power outage that lasted from 5:30 PM to 2:00 AM. I never like to write about a game that I did not see. The box score tells a story. For the third straight game, the Pirate pitching staff got blasted. Andrew Heaney had his first bad outing. He went 4 and 1/3 innings, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits and walking 3. One unique thing about the game is that the Pirate staff did not strike out a batter. The bullpen, with the exception of Kyle Nicolas, pretty much stunk. In 3 innings of work, they gave up 5 runs on 5 hits and a walk. For the game, the Cubs hit 4 home runs, 1 triple, and 3 doubles. Seiya Suzuki missed hitting for the cycle by not getting a single. The sad total read 9 runs on 13 hits and 5 walks. The Pirates could not score even though they did collect 7 hits to go along with 3 walks. They only struck out 6 times. They were 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left 9 men on base. They did load the bases in the bottom of the 5th. Bryan Reynolds took 2 of 3 strikes to end the inning. In the bottom of the 6th, they had 1st and 3rd and one out. This time it was Matt Gorski who took all 3 strikes. He is quickly adapting to the Pirate philosophy of not swinging at strikes. It looks like I did not miss much. Tonight they go at it again with you-know-who starting again. Why? PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME WHY? Maybe I will get lucky and we will lose power tonight.

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Pirates Morning Report: Off Day Thoughts

The Pirates were off yesterday, but the Pirate management team does not consider these rest days. After all, the Pirates have to travel, and as we all know, this can be exhausting for people in their mid-20s. The Pirates stand at 11-18 right now. They are in last place, 6 games out of first place. Baseball Reference has listed their chance of making the playoffs at 0.2%. Quite frankly, I feel that is optimistic. Most of the Pirates’ problems have been on offense. Surprisingly, they have played pretty good defense. They are currently ranked 14th in Defensive Efficiency, which is in the top half of the league. The pitching has been good, giving up an average of 4.43 runs per game. This places them 15th in the league. In any important offensive statistic, the Pirates ranked as high as 23rd and as low as 28th.

Here is one interesting fact about the Pirates offense. The Pirates have 4 players: Joey Bart, Oneil Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, and Enmanuel Valdez that have OPS+ over 100. This means they are all above league-average hitters. Cruz leads the way with an impressive OPS+ of 154. Until they had recent slumps, Bryan Reynolds and Isiah Kiner-Falefa were above league average. At the present moment, these are the 6 best Pirate hitters. They have not seen the most action. In fact, McCutchen, Bart, and Valdez are 7th, 8th, and 9th in plate appearances, respectively. Who is ahead of them? Of course, Tommy Pham and Adam Frazier. They have OPS+ of 41 and 79. Tommy Pham has come to the plate 11 more times than McCutchen. He has come to the plate 24 more times than Valdez. Frazier has come to the plate only 5 fewer times than Pham. This dynamic duo has combined for a batting average of .216 and has slugged .273. The third member of this hitting trifecta is Ke’Bryan Hayes. His OPS+ is at 73. He carries the robust average of .235 and is slugging a whopping .306. The excuse for playing him is his great glove, but he is playing a corner infield spot that is usually reserved for a big bat. The only reason Frazier and Pham are playing is so management can justify signing them. They do not care that these two are basically out machines. Pham has even batted leadoff. It’s not really like the Pirates don’t have players that can hit. They are just not given the opportunity to hit.

For the next 18 games, with the exception of the Cardinals, the Pirates are going to play teams that are over .500 or made the playoffs last year. They have 9 games at home and 9 games on the road. The only way this team is going to make any headway during this time is by playing the best players. That means we should not see much of the following players: Tommy Pham, Adam Frazier, Henry Davis, Alexander Canario, and Jared Triolo. Triolo playing against left-handed pitching is ok. I would rather give Valdez a shot at left-handed pitching than see Frazier on the field. The starting lineups on this last road trip, with the exception of Frazier and Pham, were pretty solid. We have to get rid of the exceptions if the Pirates have any chance of salvaging this season.

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Pirates Morning Report: Dodger Blowout In Game 3

Final Score: Pirates 2 Dodgers 9

Why The Pirates Lost: It was the Dodgers being the Dodgers. They lit up Pirate pitching for 9 runs on 14 hits. They had 5 walks and only struck out 3 times. It was an awesome offensive show: two home runs and one double. They scored in 4 of the 8 innings they batted. This is what made Derek Shelton’s decisions on Saturday night so bad. The top of the bullpen did not even need to be used yesterday. On Saturday, the Pirates had a legitimate chance to win the game. Shelton did not use his top bullpen guys in a tie ballgame. Holderman pitched yesterday. This should have been his first appearance since coming off the IL. He should not have appeared Saturday night in the bottom of the 8th in a 4-4 tie. Even though they hit two home runs in the top of the 1st, you knew the game was over by the bottom of the second inning. The Pirate offense digressed as this series went on. Yesterday, they went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position. They struck out 12 times, stopping their single-digit strikeout streak.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates had 2 home runs in the top of the first. Andrew McCutchen and Enmanuel Valdez hit the home runs. This allowed them to take a 2-0 lead. Just like in the previous game, the Dodgers fought back in the bottom of the inning. This time they did it with a vengeance. Barry Falter walked Shohei Ohtani, which was almost the smartest thing he did. The next 5 batters did not hit a ball under 94 MPH. After the dust cleared, the Dodgers had taken the lead 4-2. They had a runner on 1st base with one out. Max Muncy grounded into a double play on the first weakly hit ball of the inning. The Dodgers just kept adding on with one in the second. They scored 3 in the 5th and 1 in the 6th to build the 9-2 lead. The Pirates ended the road trip 3-3, which is a miracle in itself.

Next Game: Tomorrow night, Cubs in Pittsburgh. The Pirates open a 6-game homestand. They will play 3 with the Cubs and 3 with the Padres. They have not announced Tuesday’s starting pitcher. That could be scary. Again, the Pirates bring up someone and then do not play him. Matt Gorski has not been in the starting lineup for the last 3 games. The man he would have played for is hitting .184 with an on-base percentage of .265. The league average is .314. He is only 49 points worse than the league average. But please do not start Gorski. Just let him develop on the bench while a washed-up player plays. Pirate thinking at its best.

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Pirates Morning Report: Shelton Loses Another One.

Final Score: Pirates 4 Dodgers 8

Why The Pirates Lost: Why do you bring in a guy in the bottom of the 8th of a 4-4 game who just came off the IL? This pitcher was not pitching well before he went on the IL. You are playing the World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Your team is playing well. You won the first game of the series. Your bullpen has not been overly stressed thanks to some great starting pitching. Welcome to that hollow space between Derek Shelton’s ears. In walks Colin Holderman to the bottom of the 8th when there were many other options. The results were horrendous. He gave up a home run, a double, and a walk. He was pulled, but it was too late; the damage had been done. Joey Wentz came in and promptly gave up a 3-run homer to pinch hitter Enrique Hernandez. The game was essentially over. All of this wasted a pretty good performance by the Pirates. Adam Frazier did have a bad throwing error that allowed the Dodgers to take a 2-1 lead in the 1st. The offense had an acceptable game, scoring 4 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks. They did have 9 strikeouts, their highest total of the road trip. They were in this game until Derek Shelton decided to lose it.

Key Moments Of The Game: It was the ability of the Dodgers to break back in the bottom of the inning that the Pirates took the lead. Oneil Cruz hit his 4th leadoff homer of the season, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the 1st, the Dodgers scored 2 runs. The Pirates took a 3-2 lead in the 5th when Oneil Cruz singled in 2 runs. Tommy Pham, who is starting to hit a little bit, almost had a baserunning gaffe. He stopped at 3rd base for some unknown reason but went home when the throw went to 2nd. In the bottom of the 5th, the Dodgers tied the score. Freddie Freeman got the big 2-out hit. The Pirates took the lead 4-3 in the top of the 7th. They had the bases loaded and no one out but could only muster one run. In the bottom of the 7th, the Dodgers tied it 4-4. The Pirate players put in a solid effort. Unfortunately, their effort was wasted by one of the worst managers in baseball, Derek “The Shadow” Shelton.

Next Game: This afternoon (Thank God) Dodgers in Los Angeles. The late-night baseball is over for a while. Barry Falter goes against Tyler Glasnow. The Pirate lineup should be a doozy today. I will not even speculate. They are off on Monday. I wonder if Shelton even knows that. Holderman has said that he is ready to go since he only threw 14 pitches. Shelton said, “That’s great, there’s not much on the line anyway. Just a series win against the Dodgers on the road.”

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Pirates Morning Report: Ensuring A .500 Road Trip

Final Score: Pirates 3 Dodgers 0

Why The Pirates Won: Another great pitching staff performance led by Paul Skenes. Skenes went 6 and 1/3 innings giving up no runs on 5 hits. He struck out 9 and did not issue a walk. The only negative was he threw 108 pitches. The bullpen took over the game, going the last 2 and 2/3 innings without giving up a hit. I am not too sure about putting David Bednar back in the closing role so soon, but time will tell. The bullpen is now ranked 8th in all of baseball. The offense did just enough to get 3 runs across against one of the hottest pitchers in baseball. Oneil Cruz, Ke’Bryan Hayes, and Enmanuel Valdez drove in the runs. The offense only had 6 hits but drew 5 walks. They only struck out 7 times. All of a sudden, this is an offense that is putting it in play. With the win, the Pirates will at least have a .500 road trip. I thought this was not possible when they left for the west coast.

Key Moments Of The Game: After the 1st inning, Paul Skenes never retired the side in order. In the bottom of the 4th, Freddie Freeman opened the inning with a double, moving to third on a Bryan Reynolds error. Skenes bore down and got the next 3 batters without allowing a run. He stopped all momentum that the Dodgers had if they had scored. Those last 5 innings Skenes pitched were a clinic in clutch pitching. The Pirates scored 2 of their 3 runs when 2 were out. Enmanuel Valdez got the big hit in the first, which gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. Ke’Bryan Hayes had the other big hit to make the score 3-0 in the top of the 5th.

Next Game: Tonight, Dodgers in Los Angeles. Mitch Keller goes tonight for the Pirates. Hopefully, the Pirates will finally score some runs for Keller. I hope to see two lineup changes: Joey Bart at catcher and Matt Gorski in left field. The rest of the lineup should be the same. For the first time all year, the Pirates have a little momentum. Having a stable starting lineup has been the key. Will the Pirates management team realize that? They had better, because they are going up against another tough pitcher, Roki Sasaki. We do not want to see Pham, Davis, Triolo, or Canario in the lineup tonight. Any chance the Pirates have depends on it.

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Pirates Morning Report: It Was Just One Of Those Games

Final Score: Pirates 3 Angels 4

Why The Pirates Lost: Other than starting Carmen Mlodzinski, the Pirates did not do a lot wrong. Mlodzinski had his typical start. He threw 3 strong innings, giving up just one hit. In the last 2 innings, he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits. He brought his ERA down to a sparkling 6.95. How to turn a solid reliever into a mediocre starter 101. When will this disaster end? The offense had its moments but could not get the big hit. They were 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position. Overall, it was not a bad offensive performance. They struck out only 5 times. Matt Gorski hit a solo home run in his first major league at-bat of his career. He started at first base, but it would be nice to see him get a lot of action in left field. Oneil Cruz opened the game with a home run for the third time this year. Don’t look now, but the Pirates have a .300 hitter in Joey Bart. The brightest spot of the game was the bounce-back outing of Kyle Nicholas. He came in the 6th inning with the score tied 3-3. He pitched two innings of hitless ball with no walks and 3 strikeouts. Even though Greg Brown wouldn’t say it, I will write it: way to go, Kyle. This was by far the best loss of the season for the Pirates. They just were not destined to win this game. It’s too bad because they are headed for the big bad Dodgers.

Key Moments Of The Game: Another solid starting lineup for the Pirates. Canario in left field could be argued, but it was a lefty going. Hopefully, he will be the next player sent down to Triple-A. After Cruz’s home run in the first, the Pirates had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. They could only manage 1 run. In the top of the third, the Pirates had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. They were unable to score. Hayes popped out, and Alexander Canario struck out swinging at 3 balls out of the strike zone. Remember, the Mets are not stupid. The Pirates went through a stretch where 11 straight batters were retired. With one out in the top of the 9th, Adam Frazier got a gift single. The Angels botched a pop-up down the right field line. IKF struck out. Oneil Cruz rocketed a Kenley Jansen cutter at 119.6 MPH to right field. Mike Trout took only a couple of steps to his left. He made the catch that ended the game. This was a tough one.

Next Game: Tonight, Dodgers in Los Angeles. If the Pirates can salvage one of these 3 games, they would have a .500 road trip. Paul Skenes goes tonight for the Pirates. He has been solid but certainly no Cy Young so far this year. Maybe he can have his best game of the year. He probably will have to because the Dodgers are pitching Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He is 3-1 with an ERA of 0.93. One thing in the Pirates’ favor is that the Dodgers have been floundering just a bit. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Hopefully, the Pirates will continue to put their best players on the field. Miracles do happen.