Author: vet4golfing51

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Pirates Morning Report: Pitching Continues To Take Over

Final Score: Pirates 3 Angels 0

Why The Pirates Won: Andrew Heaney continues to shine this year. Another great start going 6 innings, allowing no runs on just one hit. He struck out 9 and did not walk a batter. The bullpen took the game the rest of the way, allowing only one additional hit. Over the last 14 innings, the Pirates pitching staff has shut out the Angels on just 2 hits. While the offense was not quite as potent as the game before, it scored 3 runs on 11 hits. They were only 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position. They left 8 men on base. They kept their strikeouts in single digits again with 8. Oneil Cruz hit a long 463 ft. home run for one of the runs. Bryan Reynolds drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the 3rd. Of all people, Tommy Pham added an insurance run in the top of the 9th. He did it with a broken bat blooper up the middle. The Pirates are off to a surprising start on this road trip. If they can get the sweep, which is unlikely considering who is pitching, they will have a guaranteed .500 road trip.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates did indeed start the same lineup two nights in a row. This lineup played another solid game. Even though the Angels only had 2 hits, both were one-out doubles. After the double in the 5th, IKF dropped a soft liner for an error. This put runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. Luis Rengifo hit the ball hard but right at Oneil Cruz for the 2nd out. Heaney struck out the next batter to end the threat. In the top of the 9th, the Pirates had a 3-0 lead. Dennis Santana gave up a one-out double. IKF this time made a nice play on a ground ball by Zach Neto for the 2nd out. Santana got Mike Trout to hit a big pop out to short left field to end the game. A nice start to the west coast trip.

Next Game: Tonight, Angels in Anaheim. Carmen Mlodzinski goes tonight for the Pirates. Why, I do not know. The Pirates will be facing Tyler Anderson. Since he left the Pirates, he has been one of the better left-handers in baseball. He was an All-Star in 2022 and 2024. Other than Paul Skenes, he has had a higher ERA+ than any Pirate starter. If the Pirates win this game, it may give them momentum. This is true even though they play the next 3 games against the Dodgers. The lineup will probably have Henry Davis behind the plate (bad). Jared Triolo at first base (good). The rest of the lineup should be the same. The Pirates may decide that Tommy Pham needs a rest. After all he is older than McCutchen who the Pirates treat like he’s 50 years old. Even though a left-hander is pitching, Cruz should start in center field. Our biggest hope is that this Angels batting slump continues. I just have this bad feeling that tonight’s starting lineup will be a doozy. Could they start Jack Suwinski against a left handed pitcher? No way. Don’t bet against it.

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Pirates Morning Report: Starting The Best Players

Final Score: Pirates 9 Angels 3

Why The Pirates Won: They started their best 9 players. Only one starter had a batting average under .200. What’s harder to believe is that 6 starters had an OPS+ over 100. No one on the bench had a batting average over .160. The result was the Pirates’ biggest offensive production of the young season: 9 runs on 18 hits. Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit. They only struck out 6 times. Andrew McCutchen had a big 3-run home run. They added to their lead in the 5th and 9th innings. Barry Falter had an uneven 4 innings, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits. He had to leave the game with lower back tightness. The bullpen continues to shine. They pitched the last 5 innings without giving up a hit, let alone a run. The Pirates did not make an error and made many sparkling plays in the field. This was by far the Pirates’ most complete game.

Key Moments Of The Game: The lineup was the best of the year. I might have some issues with the batting order, but finally, the best team was on the field. In the top of the 4th, McCutchen had a great 7-pitch at-bat. It ended with him blasting a 3-run homer to give the Pirates a 5-1 lead. The Pirates broke the game open in the top of the 9th with 3 runs to take a 9-3 lead. This allowed the Pirates to take Dennis Santana out of the game after he threw only 3 pitches in the bottom of the 8th. The Angels had a chance to make a game of it that inning. Justin Lawrence had walked 2 batters to put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. Shelton actually made the move to bring Santana in. He struck out the next batter on 3 pitches.

Next Game: Tonight, Angels in Anaheim. The surprise pitcher of the year, Andrew Heaney, goes for the Pirates tonight. Tommy Pham seemed to injure his ribs making a great catch to end the game last night, which raises concerns about his availability. Other than that, there is no excuse for not starting the same lineup; consistency is key, especially when facing a formidable opponent like the Angels. The Angels are sending another right-hand pitcher to the mound, and it’s crucial for the Pirates to rise to the occasion. I feel this is the true test of whether the Pirates are genuinely interested in winning. I still would like to see McCutchen leading off, as his experience can set the tone for the game, and Cruz back in the 4th spot brings necessary power to the lineup. I will be satisfied if everybody that started last night will start again tonight, allowing the team to build momentum. However, my guess? It won’t happen, and that frustrates me. Damn.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Art Of Grounding Into Double Plays

Final Score: Pirates 4 Guardians 5 10 innings

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates did not produce at the plate. They had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 9th but failed. They could have tied the game in the 10th but did not. This was by far the most competitive game of the series, which made Derek Shelton very happy. He stated after the opening series loss to the Marlins that he is satisfied that the Pirates can be competitive. Essentially wins are not important to him. This goes without saying with the starting lineups he puts on the field. Mitch Keller and the bullpen gave up two 2-run homers to account for the 4 runs the Guardians scored in regulation. In the top of the 10th, the Guardians were textbook in getting the runner home. They moved him over to third with a ground ball to the right side. The runner scored on a sacrifice fly. The Pirate offense was pretty much dormant until the 9th inning. They had scored 1 run on 8 hits. Emmanuel Clase, who was the premier closer last year, is off to a horrible start. Maybe he is not over his playoff meltdown from last year. The Pirates touched him up for 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game.

Key Moments Of The Game: With the score tied they had runners on first and second with one out. Andrew McCutchen was at the plate. He took a low outside 1/3 of the plate slider and tried to pull the ball. He grounded it right to the shortstop for an inning-ending double play. This was the first pitch of the at-bat. In the bottom of the 10th, the Pirates were trailing 5-4. The Guardians walked the first batter, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Oneil Cruz came to the plate. On a low outside corner slider, Cruz tried to pull the ball. He grounded right to the 2nd baseman for a double play. This was his first pitch of the at-bat. Both batters could have taken the pitch. Both pitches, even though they were in the strike zone, were located very well. At the very least, they should have tried to go with the pitch and send it to the opposite field. They paid the supreme penalty for the batting mistakes. Maybe they need new I pads. Enmanuel Valdez hit a hard line to right field to end the game. The Guardians had swept the series. At least the Pirates were competitive.

Next Game: Tomorrow night, Angels in Anaheim. The Pirates have a day of rest today. Of course, the Pirates do not count these as rest days. One of the best quotes from Derek (The Shadow) Shelton was that he wanted to keep Oneil Cruz off his feet for a game. That was the reason he was the DH and not McCutchen. West Coast baseball is always a pain in the ass. Some of the “Morning Reports” may be in the afternoon. Six games against the Angels and the Dodgers. This could get even uglier.

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Pirates Morning Report: Over Before They Took The Field.

Final Score: Pirates 0 Guardians 3

Why The Pirates Lost: Even with Paul Skenes pitching, this game was lost before it started. The Pirates could not have put a worse team on the field if they tried. They had 4 players who did not have batting averages over .150. They had 2 players with batting averages between .203 and .194. Surprise, surprise, surprise, they got shutout. These illustrious 6 players went 3 for 21, with a pinch hitter hitting .100 adding to the cause. They struck out 6 times and did not walk. Why would they? Pitchers just threw the ball right down the middle. No IKF, McCutchen, or Joey Bart. They never pinch hit when a good opportunity arose. Someway, somehow, the Pirates were more pathetic yesterday than they were the night before. It would seem impossible, but they managed to do it. As you will see, Derek Shelton sat on his hands again.

Key Moment Of The Game: Even with this putrid lineup, the Pirates managed to threaten. Believe me, this lineup was enough to make a buzzard puke. In the bottom of the 6th, Oneil Cruz opened with a walk. Bryan Reynolds singled to left with Cruz hustling to 3rd. Ke’Bryan Hayes battled out an 8-pitch at-bat. He was called out on strikes on a ball that was outside. Enmanuel (I Like Scoring Meaningless Runs) Valdez walked to load the bases. At this point in the game, many players said they heard snoring in the dugout. This explains the absence of a pinch hitter for Tommy Pham. Pham has had 1 hit in his last 11 at bats and is hitting .127 overall. He promptly grounded into a double play on the first pitch of the at-bat. Valdez had the base running blunder in the 9th, getting thrown out at third when trailing 3-0. Everything about this game is questionable. From the starting lineup to base running failures, the question remains: what the hell were they thinking?

Next Game: This afternoon, Guardians in Pittsburgh. The Pirates will try to avoid getting swept today. They will send Mitch Keller to the mound. Keller has not seen the Pirates score a run in his last two outings. Will Jack Suwinski get his third straight start? Strike out three times in a game, you’re startin’ today. Hit a home run and a triple, you’re sittin’ today. You need a rest after all that hard swinging and running. What a thought process this team has. Easily explains why they are 8-14 and just getting worse by the day.

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Pirates Morning Report: Quite A Contrast

Final Score: Pirates 7 Guardians 10

Why The Pirates Lost: This one is easy. One team had a manager. The other team did not. Stephen Vogt, manager of the Guardians, made various moves throughout the game. I may not have agreed with every move he made, but he managed the game. Derek Shelton did nothing. He has that chart in front of him. I think it is a racing form, quite frankly. No pinch hitters when situations were screaming for them. He left Kyle Nicolas in to take a beating when the game was still in doubt. I have always been in Kyle Nicolas’s corner. For whatever reason, the Pirates did not think he should be on the opening day roster. They felt that his spring was not good enough to be on the team. At AAA Indianapolis, he had an ERA over 11.00. What made them bring him up in the first place? It had nothing to do with performance. The Pirate offense came to life after the game was pretty much over. They scored 7 runs on 11 hits. Everyone got at least one hit except Jack (Please Pinch Hit For Me) Suwinski. Suwinski had a stretch where, over the course of two at-bats, he did not swing at 5 strikes in a row. One of them was called a ball. The Pirates did the best they could, considering they don’t have a manager.

Key Moment Of The Game: Going into the top of the 7th, the score was 5-2 Cleveland. Kyle Nicolas came in to pitch. It was obvious to everyone but Derek Shelton that Nicolas just did not have it. He gave up a single and a walk. He did strike out the next batter, who swung at a pitch almost in the dirt. He walked the next batter to load the bases. This is when he should have been taken out of the game. The Pirates did not even have anybody warming up at this point. They could have brought in Justin Lawrence, who pitched a meaningless 9th. Nicolas gave up 4 runs. Tim Mayza then gave up a hit that scored the 5th run of the inning. This made the score 10-2. If the move had been made earlier, the Guardians might have scored only 2-3 runs. The late Pirate rally would have had more significance. Shelton was too busy trying to figure out how much to bet on the 6th race.

Next Game: This afternoon, Guardians in Pittsburgh. Paul Skenes pitches today on his own bobblehead game. I felt last night’s game was one of the most discouraging of the season. When will they get Carmen Mlodzinski and his 7.41 ERA out of the rotation? When will they send down Jack Suwinski? The Pirates want Bednar and Holderman back as soon as possible. Why? Other than Nicolas’s blowup last night, the bullpen has performed admirably over the last 3 weeks. This management team is atrocious. Enough said.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pitching Reigns Supreme

Final Score: Pirates 1 Nationals 0

Why The Pirates Won: Oneil Cruz took the second pitch of the game and smashed it 442 feet for a home run. It was the only run of the game. Trevor Williams and two other relievers gave up only 4 more hits while walking 4. Andrew Heaney gave up 5 hits and walked 2 but did not allow the Nationals to score over 7 and 1/3 innings of work. He struck out 4 batters. The bullpen of Ryan Borucki and Dennis Santana covered the final 1 and 2/3 innings without giving up a hit or walk. The pitching staff won this one for the Pirates.

Key Moments Of The Game: Both teams missed some golden opportunities to score. Since the Nationals lost the game, theirs were more significant. The Nationals open the 2nd inning with 2 singles putting runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Luis Garcia Jr. hit a ball right back to Heaney. He had trouble getting the ball out of his glove which cost him the double play. This put runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Jacob Young hit a liner but right at IKF for the 2nd out. Never hurts to be a little lucky. Riley Adams grounded out and the threat was over. In the top of the 6th the Nationals tried to get a little two out lightening going. Amed Rosario singled and Nathaniel Lowe doubled after two were out. Dylan Crews flew out to right to end that threat. The final threat came in the top of the 8th. Nasim Nunez walked on 7 pitches to start the inning. He was sacrificed to 2nd for some reason and the Pirates were glad to get the out. Borucki came on in relief. He got James Wood to ground out to shortstop with Nunez advancing to third. Rosario hit a ball down the 3rd base line that Ke’Bryan Hayes made a great play on to easily throw out Rosario. The Nationals went quietly in the 9th. The Pirates had their second series win of the season.

Next Game: Tonight, the Guardians in Pittsburgh. Luis Ortiz will face his old teammates tonight. He has not been lighting it up with an ERA over 6. The same could be said about Carmen Mlodzinski, who carries an ERA over 6. If these team weren’t so bad offensively I would expect to see a lot of scoring. Most likely we will see very few runs scored. Despite winning the last two games the offensive woes continue. Cruz’s long balls and great pitching were the difference. I don’t see this offense picking up. I hope I’m wrong.

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Pirates Morning Report: Falter, Cruz Lead The Way

Final Score: Pirates 6 Nationals 1

Why The Pirates Won: Barry Falter had a solid start for the Pirates. It was not his best start as a Pirate as Greg Brown kept repeating. Last year Falter took a no hitter into the 7th or 8th inning. I would say that would rank better. It is amazing how little a broadcaster knows about his team. He must not get any help from the truck. Falter had some other starts last year that were just as good. Thanks to two double plays and a caught stealing he did face just 21 batters over 7 innings. This seemed to mesmerize Brown. The offense was mesmerized for most of the game also. Through 6 innings they could only muster 1 run on 4 hits and a walk. The first four batters started the game by striking out. Then came the bottom of the 7th.

Key Moments Of The Game: Jorge Lopez came in to pitch the bottom of the 7th. In just 4 pitches he gave up 2 singles to IKF and Enmanuel Valdez putting runners on 1st and 3rd with no outs. Henry Davis, whose homer gave the Pirates their run, hit a broken bat ground ball to third driving in run no. 2 and putting a runner on 2nd. Hayes grounded out to short for the 2nd out. Then the fun began. Bryan Reynolds got nailed by the very first pitch. On the 3rd pitch to McCutchen, Lopez came dangerously close to McCutchen’s head. Apparently he did not like the home runs they hit off him in September when he was with Cubs. The benches cleared but no fisticuffs ensued. He was rightfully tossed from the game. McCutchen eventually walked to load the bases. Oneil Cruz wasted no time taking Eduardo Salazar’s first pitch and parking it into the right field seats for his first career grand slam. This broke the game open 6-0, allowing the Pirates to cruise to victory.

Next game: This afternoon, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. Andrew Heaney goes for the Pirates today. The Pirates have some interesting decisions to make concerning the bullpen. Since both Bednar and Holderman have left for various reasons the bullpen has been holding its own. Right now the Pirate bullpen is ranked 13th in the league. This is up 11 places from last year. Bednar has been tearing it up in AAA and Holderman is almost fully recovered from a knee injury. You know the Pirates are eventually going to add them back to the roster. What the Pirates should do is only use them in low leverage situations and not when the game is on the line. You know that is not going to happen. They will be plugged into their normal roles. Bednar may not close but he will be a setup man right away in tight games. Pirates always mess up a good situation. Right now the bullpen is performing well. Bednar and Holderman are going to get the opportunity to change that.

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Pirates Morning Report: World Back To Normal

Final Score: Pirates 0 Nationals 3

Why The Pirates Lost: Once again the Pirates proved that their offensive outburst the game before was just a fluke. Last night they were shut out on just 4 hits. No extra base hits. They struck out 10 times, with 1 walk. They only had 2 at bats with runners in scoring position. The only players that got hits should not have been playing. Jack Suwinski Tommy Pham and Henry Davis had the 4 hits. In the top of the 9th there were 6 players on the field that had batting averages of .200 or less. Despite getting hits Davis and Pham brought up the rear with .154 averages. Cruz, Reynolds and IKF had awful nights going 0 for 11 with 7 strikeouts. The defense committed one error but overall was just horrible. Every fly ball in the outfield was an adventure. The beneficiary of all of this “great” play was Mitch Keller. The Pirates have not scored in his last 13 innings of work. They fell to 6-12 very quietly.

Key Moment Of The Game: The lineup was just as bad as I thought it would be with no McCutchen. However the bad players did have some production. In the top of the 6th Keller quickly got the first 2 outs on just 7 pitches. Unfortunately he hit Paul DeJong right in the face. Keller was visibly upset. I think he responded well but you can’t control luck. Keller’s was all bad. Dylan Crews hit an 86 MPH blooper for a single sending pinch runner Amed Rosario to 3rd. Dylan Crews stole 2nd uncontested. After a 10 pitch battle, Nasir Nunez sent an even softer 81 MPH liner to shallow center field scoring both runners to make the score 3-0. This game was over.

Next Game: Tonight, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. Barry (Can They Make The Strike Zone Bigger) Falter will go for the Pirates tonight. Hopefully he has solved the control issues he had in Cincinnati. The Nationals are throwing a lefty so there will be some heavy thinking by The Shadow to come up with a goofy lineup. Maybe Pham leading off. IKF batting cleanup. McCutchen batting 9th or again not playing. I bet he was up all night. The big question with a lefty pitching will be, who’s on first?

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Offensive Explosion

Final Score: Pirates 10 Nationals 3

Why The Pirates Won: For the second time in 17 games the Pirate bats produced a lot of runs. The first time did not create a lasting effect. We can only hope that this time it will. For the first time this season everyone in the starting lineup that had an opportunity got a hit. Endy Rodriguez suffered a laceration on his finger and did not get to bat. The Pirates went 8 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Paul Skenes, stats wise, had a solid outing. However, he is developing a 6 inning jinx. Even when he went 7 innings the 6th inning was his worst inning. I know it is only 4 starts but I am going to keep an eye on that one. The Pirates scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 8th to squelch a potential Nationals’ comeback. The only negative of the game was the Pirates made 4 errors.

Key Moment Of The Game: The score was 5-3 going into the bottom of the 8th. The way this bullpen has been performing you felt the game was in jeopardy. The Pirates open the inning strong with a base hit and a walk. Enmanuel Valdez doubled in a run to make it 6-3. The Red Sox reject batting cleanup no less, went 2 for 2 with 2 walks. He drove in 3 runs and scored 1. He probably won’t start tonight. Even though the Pirates would go on to score 4 more runs, you felt a lot better when that 6th run crossed the plate.

Next game: Tonight, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. After the Pirates scored 8 runs in a game, they went on to score 9 runs in the next 5 games losing 4 of them. With the exception of Rodriguez the Pirates should start the exact same line up. You know it won’t happen. McCutchen won’t be able to play two games in a row on the field, which is ridiculous. Will Valdez get the start? He should since there is no one else to play first base. I can’t wait to see the starting line up tonight. It will be the key to the outcome of the game.

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Pirates Morning Report: You Can’t Steal First

Final Score: Pirates 0 Reds 4

Why The Pirates Lost: They only got 2 hits. They had 10 hits for the entire series. The last 23 batters did not get on base. At the end of the game, 7 of the 9 starters did not have a batting average over .200. This could be one of the worst offenses in the history of baseball after it is all said and done. They have 6 players on their active roster that have batting averages under .150. You have heard of the Mendoza line. This is the the Pirate line. As long as you can hit over .125 you can play for us. The rest of the Pirates’ game was not bad. They did not commit an error. The bullpen threw shutout ball over the last 3 and 2/3 innings. The Pirates are solidly in last place with a less than 1% chance of making the playoffs. It is April 14th. Congratulations to the Pirate organization.

Key Moments Of The Game. In the first two innings the Pirates had scoring opportunities. In the 1st they had runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. In the 2nd they had a runner on 3rd with one out. Hunter Greene was able to keep the Pirates from scoring. Little did we know at the time that the Pirates would not get a man on base the rest of the game. The Reds scratched out 2 runs in 3rd and 2 runs in the 5th. For the third consecutive game walks haunted the Pirates’ pitching staff. Every game the Pirates offense haunts this pitching staff.

Next Game: Tonight, the Nationals in Pittsburgh. I am sure the Pirates will be happy to get home to a packed house of their adoring fans. Paul Skenes will pitch tonight. For the first time in his career he will have to have a bounce back start. How long will it take the Pirates to get their first man on base. What ridiculous lineup and batting order will The Shadow cook up tonight. Let’s start with the leadoff hitter. Let me make one suggestion. ANDREW MCCUTCHEN. You don’t even have to pay me for that no brainer suggestion.