Category: sports

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Pirates Morning Report: If Not For College Football I Would Have Gone To Bed

Final Score: Pirates 13 Reds 12

Why The Pirates Won: With the exception of Alika (I Am Looking To Buy A McDonalds In San Diego) Williams the Pirates bats boomed. The Reds built that 9-0 lead and I thought another 14 to whatever loss was coming to bookend the 3 game winning streak. There were lots of great College Football games on or I would have gone to bed. The Pirates scored a run in the top of the 4th to make it 9-1. Beginning in the top of the 6th the Pirates offense went crazy. Five in the 6th, three in the 7th, and four in the 8th to take a 13-9 lead. The Reds made a stirring comeback but just fell one run short to lose the game 13-12. In an exciting bottom of the 9th the Reds had the tying run on third with one out and could not push it across to send the game into extra innings. There were 25 runs, 32 hits, 9 walks in this offensive fest of a game. Alfonso Rivas went 3 for 5 with 5 RBI’s. Ji Hwan Bae was 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s. Bryan Reynolds only got one hit, but it was a big one, a 3 run homer to cut the lead to 9-6. This win will always be one for the ages, and I have this on my DVR. I will watch this on one of those cold winter nights when I am craving baseball once more.

Key Moment Of The Game: Despite the exciting bottom of the 9th, the big moment of this game came in the bottom of the 8th. Colin Selby was brought in to start the 8th. From the very first pitch you knew he was in over his head. On top of all that he did not have the best luck in world either. The Reds had 1st and 3rd with nobody out thanks to a walk, wild pitch and a bloop single to right field. The Pirates gave up a run to get an out at 2nd and the score was 13-10. Another infield hit put runners on 1st and 2nd. A solid single to center scored another run making the score 13-11 with runners still on 1st and 2nd and one out. Tyler Stephenson hit a hard ground ball right back up the middle that Ji Hwan ( I Know I Said He Can’t Play Second Base) Bae made a spectacular play on, getting up, stepping on second base, and throwing to first to complete the inning ending double play. What made this play so big was, despite all his problems, Colin Selby was not coming out of this game because of the overworked Pirate bullpen. Carmen Mlodzinski came up big in the bottom of the 9th after getting into trouble and the Pirates had one of their greatest wins of all time.

Next Game: This afternoon, Reds in Cincinnati. There is no truth to the rumor that the Reds are just going to forfeit today’s game. They have to be pretty well shell shocked after last night’s game. It will be interesting to see how they respond.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pirates Just A Little Bit Better

Final Score: Pirates 7 Reds 5

Why The Pirates Won: Where both teams had similar offensive lines, the Pirates were able to take advantage just a little better and they went long ball. The Pirates hit 4 solo home runs by Endy Rodriguez, Henry Davis, Jared Triolo, and Ke’Bryan Hayes. Each team had 7 walks, were 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, while the Pirates left 9 men on base and the Reds 10. The back end of the bullpen did the job, shutting out the Reds over the last 3 innings. The Pirates got a big insurance run in the 9th when the Reds gifted them the run with 2 walks and hit batter, that enabled the Pirates to score the big run without the benefit of a hit. It was another hairy bottom of the 9th, but David Bednar was able to get through it unscathed., The Reds had 1st and 2nd with nobody out when Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit into a double play. Bednar stuck out the next batter and Pirates won their 3rd in a row. Now the Pirates just need 2 more wins to get to 75.

The Key Moment Of The Game: It was the first 2 innings where the Reds had lots of traffic on the bases but could only manage to score 1 run. In the first, the Pirates walked 2 and hit a batter to load the bases with 2 outs but they could not get the big hit. In the bottom of the 2nd a single and 2 walks could only net them 1 run. They could have had two crooked innings and wound up having none. Every time the Cubs took the lead the Pirates were able to come right back and either tie the game or go ahead, beginning with the 4th inning.

Next Game: Tonight, Reds in Cincinnati. The Pirates are taking advantage of another team that is in unfamiliar ground. The Reds are fighting for that final playoff spot, just like the Cubs, and are feeling the pressure. The Pirates are young and loose, clearly enjoying their role as spoilers. The offense has come alive scoring 13, 8, and 7 runs the last 3 games. Let’s hope they can still put a hurtin on the Reds the rest of the weekend.

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Pirates Morning Report: Rundown 101

Final Score: Pirates 8 Cubs 6

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates were less inept than the Cubs. More on that at the key moment of the game. With the 14 runs last night the series totaled 49 runs for both teams. The first two games were the starter’s failures, but last night it was the bullpens that got rocked around. In only 3 innings of work, the Cubs bullpen gave up 5 runs and the Pirates bullpen 6. Johan Oviedo was the better Oviedo last night not giving up a run in 6 innings despite walking 5 batters. On offense each team got 6 walks and the Pirates collected 11 hits and the Cubs 10. Miguel Andujar had a big game, knocking in 3 runs, while going 3 for 4. About 10 days ago it looked like the Central Division could possibly have 3 teams in the playoffs. Now it is looking more like the it could be just the division winning Brewers who will make it. The Cubs have now lost 7 out of 8 and the Reds have lost 3 of their last 4 games. Both teams finish up on the road with Cubs playing 6 and the Reds 5 road games. The Pirates start a 3 game series with the Reds tonight and can put a big dent in their playoff hopes. Both teams have lousy managers so my guess is they both will miss the playoffs.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Cubs scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th to pull within 1 run of the Pirates at 5-4. Bryan Reynolds led off the top of the 9th with a walk. Ke’Bryan Hayes scorched a ball off the left field wall for a double with Reynolds trying to score from 1st base. Reynolds was thrown out at the plate and Hayes was undecided on whether to go to third on the throw. He got caught up in a rundown between 2nd and 3rd, and it looked like the Pirates were going to run themselves into a double play on a double. However, the Cubs came to our rescue by throwing the ball into right field and Hayes made it to 3rd. Jack Suwinski walked after falling behind in the count 0 and 2. Then up stepped Josh (I Will Never Say Another Bad Thing About Him) Palacios. For whatever reason, David Ross did not elect to go to a left hander to face Palacios. Maybe there was not a lefty available. Palcios hit a 3-2 slider for a homer into right center field, that proved to be the difference in the ballgame. David Bednar gave up a 2 run homer to Dansby Swanson in the bottom of the 9th. Instead of it being a dramatic walk off win for the Cubs, it just got them 2 runs closer to lose the game 8-6.

Next Game: Tonight, the Reds in Cincinnati. Another team with playoff hopes, but they are in must win situations. Can the Pirates take advantage of another team that may be choking their guts out. Only the Shadow knows for sure. The Pirates need to go 3 and 6 to get to 75 wins.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pitching Duel? What Pitching Duel?

Final Score: Pirates 13 Cubs 7

Why The Pirates Won: They simply just out hit the Cubs. This has been quite an offensive series. There has been a total of 35 runs scored combined in the 2 games, 21 by the Cubs and 14 by the Pirates. This game looked like it should be a pitcher’s duel with both clubs sending out their best pitcher. The Pirates got to Justin Steele in the 4th inning in a big way, getting 7 runs in the inning, with 6 runs being charged to Steele. He could not get an out in the 4th inning, giving up 6 singles in a row. Josh Palacios got the big hit a 3-run homer to make the score 7-1. With Keller on the mound, you had to have the feeling that this one was in the bag, especially after having such an easy 4th inning. Wrong, Josh Palacios hater. The Pirates added a run in the top of the 5th on a Jared Triolo solo home run. In the bottom of the 5th the Cubs just started hitting rocket shots, and I do mean rocket shots off of Keller. In order, home run, single, single, home run, double, with none of the hits under 103 MPH. There was on one weak ground ball that resulted in an out. Again, Oscar Marin came out in the middle of all this, probably setting a major league record. For two games in a row, shortly after one of his worthless trips to the mound, a grand slam home run was hit. I was surprised that the Shadow let Keller stay in the game, but I guess in his warped mind, it was more important for Keller to get a pitching victory, rather than the Pirates winning the game. Somehow, he did manage to get the last 2 outs to pick up his 13th win. Fortunately, the bullpen came through, shutting down the Cub offense, allowing the Pirates to beat the Cubs for only the 2nd time this year.

Key Moment Of The Game: The 4th inning explosion by the Pirates. The Pirates wasted a golden scoring opportunity in the top of the 1st when they had 2nd and 3rd and 1 out. Connor Joe, taking a page out of the Daniel Vogelbach hitting instruction manual, took 4 pitches in a row, with 3 of them called strikes. Two runners in scoring position and Joe does not take the bat off his shoulder. There is an old adage, if you let a good pitcher off the hook in the 1st inning you will pay the price. If looked like this was going to happen when the Pirates went up and down in order the next 2 innings. However, in the top of the 4th the Pirates’ bats came alive, resulting in the big 7 run inning that carried the Pirates to victory.

Next Game: Tonight, Cubs in Chicago. Let’s hope that anybody attending tonight’s game does not have to go to work early tomorrow. The Pirates are sending Johan (100 Pitch 5 Inning) Oviedo to the mound. If Kyle Hendricks is having control issues, which sometimes he does, this could be the longest 9 inning game of the year. The longest 9 inning game this year that did not go extra innings is 3 hours and 58 minutes. This could be broken tonight.

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Pirates Morning Report: Thank God, Just Two More Cubs Games

Final Score: Pirates 1 Cubs 14

Why The Pirates Lost: They were playing the Cubs. Even for a Cub game some of the game’s stats were mind blowing. The Cubs used 5 pitchers despite the score. The Pirates struck out 16 times. The offense produced only 4 singles and a home run for their only run. The Cubs had 8 extra base hits, including 4 home runs. The Pirate pitchers walked 6 and hit a batter along with giving up 12 hits. There was one good thing that happened in this blowout loss. Quinn Priester pitched 6 innings and gave up “only” 4 runs. He is off the run an inning schneid. His ERA has finally dropped below 9. Now we can say he is making progress. Then there was the major league debut of Kyle Nicolas. He showed he was a true Pirate pitcher by hitting the first batter he faced, and after getting one out, walked the next two. In the middle of all this Oscar Marin went out to the mound for another one of his worthless trips. He must have told him to just throw the ball over the middle of the plate, because that’s what he did, the result being a grand slam home run. Why did it have to stop raining?

Key Moment Of The Game: When it stopped raining.

Next game: Tonight, Cubs in Chicago. The Pirates are 1-10 against the Cubs this year. If they could have been 5-6 a .500 season could have been a possibility. Mitch Keller is going out on the mound tonight, but it is against their ace, Justin Steele. It would be nice to see Keller outpitch Steele tonight and get the win.

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Pirates Morning Report: One Is Better Than None

Final Score: Pirates 3 Yankees 2

Why The Pirates Won: The up and down pitching staff was up yesterday limiting the Yankees to 2 runs, 4hits and 3 walks. The Pirate offense was not much better but was good enough to push across 3 runs to eke out the win. The Pirates had a bullpen day with Selby 2 innings, Jackson 4 and 1/3, Borucki 2/3, Mlodzinski 1 and Bednar getting the save pitching 1 inning. On offense Andujar hit a solo home run, with Delay and Peguero getting the other 2 RBI’s. On a side note, the Pirates, continuing from the game before, did go 28 batters before they got a man on base. They did not quite make 30 in a row. The Pirates were able to salvage the final game of the series for a 4-3 homestand. Now, they head out for a difficult 9 game road trip playing the Cubs, Reds, and Phillies. The last 4 series the Pirates play are all against playoff contenders. The Diamondbacks are quickly becoming Pirate fans.

The Key Moment Of The Game: In the bottom of the 7th with the score tied at 2-2, the Pirates had a runner on 2nd base with two out and Jason (I Wish I Was AS Good As The Pirate Broadcast Booth Thinks I Am) Delay at bat. The count was 0 balls and 2 strikes when this happened on the next 3 pitches. The first pitch was a curve ball that just caught the inside corner of the plate just below the letters but was called a ball. The second pitch Delay fouled one down the right field line that just went out of play by about 2 yards. The third pitch Delay hit an 82 MPH ground ball toward 3rd that just hit the inside edge of the third base bag and went into the corner to score the go ahead run to make the score 3-2. The Pirates’ luck had returned, and the bullpen made it stand up the rest of the way for a victory over the Yankees.

Next Game: Tomorrow, the Cubs in Chicago. Naturally the Pirates do not know who is going to pitch on Tuesday. At the minimum the Pirates need to win 3 out of the 9 games to get to 75 wins. I don’t know why I am focused on 75 wins. It just sounds like a nice round number to get to as far as wins are concerned. The Pirates will play meaningful games in September. They are just meaningful to the other team. Go Bucs! Break somebodies’ heart.

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Pirates Morning Report: Easy Loss

Final Score: Pirates 3 Yankees 6

Why The Pirates Loss: Another complete team loss. Poor starting pitching and batters that thought the game was only 3 innings. Luis Ortiz pitched a mediocre 4 and 2/3rds innings giving up 4 runs, 6 hits, walking 6, while throwing 88 pitches. The bullpen gave up the other 2 runs on 3 hits while walking just one. The last 21 batters for the Pirates did not get a hit or a walk. The only good news about that is they contributed heavily to the game only going 2 hours and 37 minutes. It will give us something to watch today to see how long they will keep this streak going. Could they go 30 some batters before they get a hit or walk? Do not bet against it. This was about as lackluster of a performance by Pirates as they have had all year. It was amazing to me how Derek Shelton stayed awake during the game. He must have because he made the big 9th inning move, with the score 6-3 and a runner on 1st base with 2 out, bringing in the left hander Jose (Do I Have To) Hernandez to face the left-hand hitting Estevan Florial. He was showing his team that this game is not over. This inspired the Pirates so much that they made 3 outs in 9 pitches, including a strikeout, to end the game.

Key Moment Of The Game: The first inning set the tone for the game. Three walks and 2 hits resulted in 3 runs for the Yankees with 2 of the walks scoring. The big hit was a 2 out single by Estevan Florial that made the score 3-0. The Pirates made a game of it for 3 innings but then the bats went to sleep, and the Yankees added insurance runs they did not need, to win easily. Another way of putting it, the Pirates had an easy loss.

Next Game: This afternoon, Yankees in Pittsburgh. No matter what the Pirates do today the homestand will be disappointing. Maybe they will surprise on this tough 9 game road trip they are about to embark on. There are 13 games to go. They have to win 6 to get to the 75 win mark. You do not want to hold your breath.

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Pirates Morning Report: Their Luck Runs Out

Final Score: Pirates 5 Yankees 7

Why The Pirates Lost: A disastrous 9th inning where the Yankees scored 4 runs thanks to some horrible pitching and fielding by the Pirates. Up until the 9th the game had gone the Pirates way thanks to a less than stellar outing by Gerrit Cole. Johan Oviedo was able to basically survive one of his typical ridiculous outings. Oviedo gave up only 1 run, on 4 hits, 5 walks, striking out 7 in 5 excruciatingly slow painful innings. For the 2nd time in 3 games the opposing pitcher got hit in the head with a ball. This time off the bat of Ji Hwan Bae that went off pitcher Anthony Misiewicz’s head out into right field, to tie the game at 3-3. Later in the inning Ke’Bryan Hayes got a low hop single to drive in 2 runs to give the Pirates a 5-3. It looked like at that time the breaks were continuing to go the Pirates way and the 4th win in a row was about to happen. Colin Holderman came in to pitch the 9th inning.

Key Moment Of The Game: Simply put, Holderman was horrible. He showed everybody how not to pitch. He threw 4 straight sinkers to D J LeMahieu. The 4th one on a 1-2 count was ripped into right field for a single. He throws a 5th sinker to Aaron Judge, a sweeper not close to the plate, then a sinker that gets ripped to left field for a single. He walks Gleyber Torres on 5 pitches, 3 of them being sweepers that don’t come close to the plate. He does get Stanton to pop up for the 1st out. Next, he walks in a run after getting ahead of Estevan Florial and his .167 batting average 0 and 2. The score is now 5-4. Despite all that, the inning would have been over on a double play, if anybody on the Pirates realized that Bae cannot play second base. He threw the ball into the dirt that got by Alfonso Rivas and the Yankees had the lead 6-5. Rivas should have made sure the ball did not get by him, but as it turned out it probably would not have made a difference, since Holderman got lit up for 2 more singles and the runs would have scored anyway. Holderman pitched 1 inning giving up 4 runs, 4 hits, and 2 walks. Mercifully the Pirates went down quickly in 9th to bring the game to a close at the 3-hour 15-minute mark.

Next Game: Tonight, Yankees in Pittsburgh. We will see if the Pirates can bounce back from such a disastrous game. In order to have that 5-2 homestand they will need to win the last 2 games of the series. It has been a while since the Pirates blew a game like this, but they kept flirting with it, and this time they fell to defeat.

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Pirates Morning Report: Keller Mows Them Down

Final Score: Pirates 2 Nationals 0

Why The Pirates Won: Mitch Keller pitched a dominant 8 innings giving up only 2 hits and a walk while shutting out the Nationals. The last 22 batters for the Nationals did not get a hit. Both pitchers pitched well with each team getting only 3 at bats with runners in scoring position, with no hits for either team. It would have been nice to see Keller pitch a complete game but the consensus was that he was done, so they brought in the overworked David Bednar to pitch the 9th. Fortunately, he only took 10 pitches to preserve the win. It makes you think that the Pirates do not have any long term use for Bednar. Just use him up and let him go. We will see if they use him tonight if the situation dictates. The Pirate bats weren’t much better getting only 5 hits but 2 of those left the ballpark. Home runs by Jack Suwinski and Alfonso Rivas would give the Pirates the 2 runs they would need.

The Key Moment Of The Game: Right in the top of the first it did not look like that this was going to be such a good day for Keller. He gave up a soft liner for a single on the first pitch of the game. On the 2nd pitch of the game a ground ball to short was dropped by Liover Peguero and the Nationals had runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out. One fly out later, CJ Abrams was picked off 2nd for the second out and Keller struck out the next batter ending the inning. The Nationals never really threatened again the rest of the game getting only one more hit.

Next Game: Tonight, the Yankees in Pittsburgh. Gerrit Cole will start for the Yankees tonight, facing Johan (Dr Jekyll Or Mr. Hyde) Oviedo. You can always hope that Cole will have an off night, but the key to the game will be which Oviedo will be on the mound. The dominant Oviedo, or the uncomfortable, I have gas build up Oviedo. These Yankees are barely above .500. It is not unreasonable to expect the Pirates to take 2 out 3 games, but this game will be the key. Win here, and a sweep is very possible.

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Pirates Morning Report: Foul Lines Are The Pirates Friends

Final Score: Pirates 7 Nationals 6 Whew!

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates knew how to use the foul lines, while putting up an early 7-1 lead after 4 innings. Quinn Priester had just pitched a solid 3 innings retiring all 9 batters he faced. The top of the 5th he gave up a solo home run, no big deal, easily retiring the other 3 batters. But in the top of the 6th an all too familiar pattern raised its ugly head. He could not get anybody out. Walked the first batter. A 100 MPH double was next. Next pitch a 105 MPH home run. Two pitches later a 93 MPH ground ball single to left. In a blink of an eye the score was 7-5, with no outs. Out of the game went Priester with his 9.00 ERA intact. According to the Pirate web site he had made progress. In came Ryan (Who Is Definitely Better Than I Thought He Would Be) Borucki to shakily put out the fire, thanks to a double play ball. Then there was the debut, of Nationals pitcher Jackson Rutledge. He gave up 4 runs in the first inning on 6 hits, but two of the hits were pop flies down the left field line that were fair by no more than 6 to 12 inches. He gave up a 2-run home run to Bryan Reynolds in the bottom of the 4th that hit the right field foul pole. If those 3 balls are just 1 foot left or right, he may have given up only 2 runs instead of 7. To top things off, in the 4th inning, his catcher hit him in the head trying to throw a runner out at 2nd base. The ball went off Rutledge’s head out to shallow right field. It is an understatement to say that this was not his night.

Key Moment Of The Game: David Bednar came into the top of the 9th with the score 7-5. After Alika (You See Why Tampa Bay Let Me Go) Williams dropped a foul pop up, Bednar quickly got into trouble. He walked that batter, who should have out, gave up two singles and the score was 7-6 with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out. A chopping ground ball that the Pirates could only get the runner going to second put runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Then the battles began. Pinch hitter IIdemaro Vargas worked a 7-pitch walk to load the bases. This brought up C. J. Abrams. Bednar blew a 97.5 MPH fastball right by him over the heart of the plate on a 3-2 count. Mercifully, Lane Thomas swung at the first pitch, flying out to center field, and the Pirates had a very fortunate 7-6 win.

Next Game: This afternoon, Nationals in Pittsburgh. The Pirates need to do better than this but the worst thing that will happen is they will get a series split. Mitch Keller will start today. Do you think he will be alright pitching in less than a week? Frankly, I think his arm is literally going to fall off in the bottom of the 4th. I think the guy that needs the rest is Bednar. Bednar should not pitch for a least 2 games in a row, no matter what the circumstances, for the rest of the season. Of course, we all know that the Shadow knows best.