Category: sports

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Pirates Morning Report: Not Getting Hedges Out=Loss

Final Score: Pirates 9 Padres 4

Why The Pirates Won: If you cannot keep Austen Hodges off the bases you are going to lose. He got 2 hits(not a misprint), a walk, and on base by catcher interference. This will probably be the last time in his career that he gets on base 4 times in one game. The Pirate bats woke up hitting 3 home runs, by Suwinski, Santana, and Gonzales, who also added a triple. Overall the Pirates had 15 hits for their most offensive game in at least a month. Rich Hill got knocked around for 4 runs, 9 hits but had his at them ball working and was able get through 6 innings. Roansy Contreras had some shaky moments, but managed to shut out the Padres over the last 3 innings. The Pirates win the first game of the series to improve to 36-42

Key Moment Of The Game: It was the bounce back 2nd inning, after the Padres scored 3 runs in the top of the inning. The Pirates had scored 2 runs and had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Josh Polacios hit a line drive to center but was not deep enough to score the runner from third base. It looked like the Pirates were up to their old tricks and going to strand the runner on third base. However, Andrew McCutchen got the key 2 out hit allowing the Pirates to tie the game. The next inning they led off with back to back homers and the Pirates were on their way.

Next Game: Tonight, Padres in Pittsburgh. A good start to the home stand but cannot get too excited yet. Keller against Blake Snell who has been pitching well lately. Last night was the best game the Pirates have played in a long time. Can they get on a roll? Only time will tell.

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Pirates Morning Report: All Quiet On The Batting Front

Final Score: Pirates 0 Marlins 2

Why The Pirates Loss: The Pirates were shutout for the 10th time this season. What more can you say. They had some traffic in the early going but 15 of the last 16 batters made outs. Johan Oviedo pitched an excellent 7 innings giving up one run on 6 hits, no walks, while striking out 6 over 7innings. The Pirates have fallen to 7 games below .500 and things are just going to get tougher. They have 13 games before the All Star break finishing up with 4 games against the Dodgers and 3 with the Diamondbacks, out there. In the previous stretch of 13 games, I was hoping they would go around 7-6 or 6-7. They went 1-12 to pretty much end the season. I was wondering how this group would respond to meaningful games in August, but they collapsed playing meaningful games in June. They have a day off today, which proves there is a merciful God for everyone involved.

Key Moment Of The Game: In the top of the 2nd the Pirates had 2nd and 3rd and one out thanks to an infield hit, a walk and wild pitch. Eury Perez struck out Castro on 5 pitches the last one being called and Austin Hedges on 3 pitches the last one being called. Just like the short putt never going in, you are not going to get a hit unless you swing the bat. They never got another runner in scoring position the rest of the game. A real stressful game for the Marlins.

Next Game: Tomorrow, Padres in Pittsburgh. The Padres will be the worst team, record wise, the Pirates will play over the next 2 weeks. The only solace for Pirate fans is that the Padres have spent a ton more money than the Pirates, to play this bad. It’s hard to say what might be the trigger that will start this team hitting. Getting rid of Austin Hedges might be a start.

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Pirates Morning Report: Not Playing Basic Baseball

Final Score: Pirates 3 Marlins 4 11 innings

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates had a runner on 2nd base with no outs 3 times in the game and did not get him to third one time. They scored only once in the three times and that took a 2 out single by Ke’Bryan Hayes in the top of the 10th. In that same top of the 10th the Pirates asked Connor Joe to bunt, and he has not had a sacrifice bunt in his career. Do you think they knew that? You have to wonder. Contrast that with the Marlins who had a runner on 2nd with no outs twice and moved him over both times. If the Pirates would have been able to do that, they would have won the game 3-2 in regulation. Osvaldo Bido pitched decently spreading out 9 hits, some of them of the infield variety, giving up 2 runs, striking out 5, walking no one over 5 and 2/3 innings. The bullpen did a good job for a change and held the Marlins in check until they started playing basic baseball, something the Pirates couldn’t do.

The Key Moment Of The Game: In the bottom of the 11th with the extra inning runner on 2nd base to start, Jason Delay elected not to try to get the runner going to third. You could clearly see on the replay that when he picked up the ball the runner was only about halfway to third base. That error in judgement most likely cost the Pirates the game. Maybe he thought the game was in Pittsburgh and the Pirates would get one more at bat. Even so they probably wouldn’t have gotten the runner over to third. He may have been thinking, why did the Pirates have Connor Joe bunt, and was just distracted. It is a little scary trying to get inside the Pirates’ brain.

Next Game: This afternoon, Marlins in Miami. Can the Pirates somehow someway get a split in this series? The Pirates are going up against the 20 year old phenom Eury Perez who in 8 starts is 4-1 with an ERA of 1.54. In similar situations this year the Pirates have been able to pull out the win. If they can do that today, it could turn the whole season around.

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Pirates Morning Report: It’s Over

Final Score: Pirates 3 Marlins 1

Why The Pirates Won: Luis Ortiz pitched one heck of a game. After giving up 1 run on 3 hits and a walk in the first inning, he shut out the Marlins for the next 7 innings on 4 hits and a walk. He kept the Pirates in the game as they struggled for 8 innings. In the top of the 9th, they rallied for 3 runs to take the lead. Josh Palacios started the 9th off with a little soft liner to left field for a base hit. One out later Andrew McCutchen hit a swinging bunt down the third base line for a hit. The Pirates immediately pulled off the double steal. Then Connor Joe hit a sharp ground ball to the shortstop, and he did not make the play to plate, which allowed the Pirates to tie the game 1-1. That was followed up by a solid base hit by Carlos Santana for the Pirates to take the lead 2-1. Henry Davis and Tucupita Marcano followed with singles and the Pirates had a 3-1 lead. David Bednar pitched a clean 9th for the save and the losing streak had come to an end. Going into the 9th the Pirates had only 2 hits and then got 5 hits to score the 3 runs. Do you believe in miracles?

Key Moments Of The Game: There were two deciding moments to this game. The Marlins had the bases loaded and 1 out in the top of the first with a run already in. They hit into a double play that ended the inning and Ortiz would go on to pitch his gem. Next was the hard hit ground ball to the shortstop in the top of the 9th by Connor Joe. The decision not to try to get the runner trying to score may have cost the Marlins the game. It is something we will never know but it looked to me that he would have thrown him out. Those two plays were the difference in the game.

Next Game: This afternoon, Marlins in Miami. The losing streak is over, but will the Pirates build any momentum off of this thrilling win. If they can get a split in this series, then I would say yes. I know it is a very very very small sample size, but Henry Davis looks like the real deal. He seems to have a focus and drive that this club really needs. I hope I am right about him.

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Bullpen Collapse

Final Score: Pirates 4 Marlins 6

Why The Pirates Lost: It was another epic bullpen failure. Duari Moreta faced 3 batters in the bottom of the 8th and did not retire one. To the first and third batter he threw 5 consecutive sliders and the 5th one in each at bat resulted in a double and a single. He threw 15 pitches and 13 of them were sliders. What kind of pitch sequencing is that? The Pirates brought in rookie Carmen Mlodzinski with the bases loaded and nobody out. Not the best position to put a rookie in. He quickly gave up a single on his very first pitch. He got a ground out on the next batter which advanced the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Garret Cooper hit the first pitch, which was about 6 inches above the ankles, for a 3 run homer and in the blink of an eye, the score went from 4-1 Pirates to 6-4 Marlins. The Pirates did not threaten in the top of the 9th, sending the Pirates to their 10 straight defeat. Until the bottom of the 8th there was so much to like about this game. Mitch Keller pitched a strong 7 innings to shut up the morons on Twitter that say he is back to his 2022 form. Henry Davis hit his first career home run to stretch the lead to 3-1. But in the end, the Pirates went down to defeat again.

Key Moment Of The Game: The decision to bring Mlodzinski in with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th. Why not bring David Bednar in? This was the high leverage moment of the game. He would not have to pitch the 9th unless he got out of the jam on just a few pitches. When will teams ever get over this closer mentality. I am not saying that closing is not important but with the game on the line, shouldn’t you want your best reliever in the game. If it did take him a lot of pitches and even if he gave up 1 run, then take your chances and bring someone else in to pitch the 9th. This is progressive thinking. Something the Pirates do not seem to be familiar with.

The Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Miami. After my blog rant of yesterday I am calmer after the 10th loss in a row. It is amazing what has happened to the bullpen. This was the first time the Marlins have seen the Pirates this year, but it made no difference. The bullpen has gone from being the strongest part of the team to the worst part of the team. That’s saying something, considering how bad the offense is. They have 3 games left with the Marlins. Could they lose 13 in a row? Don’t bet against it.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Pirates Got Two Hits

Final Score: Pirates 3 Cubs 8

Why The Pirates Loss: The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates Got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. The Pirates got 2 hits. Do you get the picture? The Pirates have lost 9 in a row and what makes it worse is that it has been against division opponents. How can an offense be this bad? God only knows. They bring up Cal Mitchell, who pretty much proved last year that he cannot hit major league pitching. They have 2 catchers that are horrible. They bring up a catcher and do not play him at the position. In the last 15 games Jason Delay has hit .185. Austin Hedges has not hit that high his entire career. Who gives a shit how good they pitch frame. Then there is the bullpen. Do you think that they will ever pitch 3 innings of shutout ball again? I know this team has had more than their share of injuries, but do they not have any pride? Do the coaches try to help them at all? A season that started with such promise has turned into one big debacle.

Key Moment Of Game: The Ke’Bryan Hayes throwing error that opened the door to allow 2 runs to score to make the score 5-1. This guy is never going to win a Gold Glove. Hopefully he will be traded by the end of July.

Next Game: Who knows, who cares. Can you tell, I’m pissed. Too bad the players don’t seem to be.

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Pirates Morning Report: 24 Innings And Counting

Final Score: Pirates 0 Cubs 4

Why The Pirates Lost: Again, the Pirates scored 0 runs, simple as that. They only had one inning where they had 2 base runners. They had 5 hits, and none were in the same inning. The one inning they had a hit and a walk. They tried to mix up the lineup a little but to no avail. The middle of the order went 0 for 12. The only good thing, these are easy games to analyze. No scoring, no win. The Pirates have not scored a run for 24 innings and fell behind the Cubs into 4th place. Johan Oviedo pitched a decent game giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, walking none and striking out 3 batters, over 6 innings of work. Despite the Pirates woes, the starting pitching has hung in there pretty well considering they get no run support. The bullpen gave up 2 more runs in the last 3 innings, essentially ending the game.

Key Moment Of The Game: When Derek(The Shadow Knows) Shelton filled out the lineup card giving Reynolds and McCutchen a rest. The lineup he put out there really never threatened to score a run. They only had 3 at bats with runners in scoring position. You kind of hope and pray that maybe this is the low point of the season. I am not sure it is, but it would be nice to see this turn this around. Optimism is not running high at this keyboard.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Pittsburgh. At least the Pirates will be getting it over with early today, and if you’re a Pirate fan your evening will be pleasant. Forget about winning, the big question is will they score a run or stretch the scoreless streak to 34 innings? Hell, I don’t know if I can wait till around 3pm to find out.

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Pirates Morning Report: Welcome Back Buccos

Final Score: Pirates 0 Cubs 8

Why The Pirates Lost: Another offensive disaster as the Pirates could not score any runs even though they had 5 hits and 6 walks. They loaded the bases twice and could not score. They were 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Osvaldo Bido had the so-called quality start, going 6 innings giving up 3 runs on 5hits, 2 walks, striking out 7, while throwing 96 pitches. The bullpen came in the 7th inning to seal the win for the Cubs by giving up 5 runs in 2 innings, aided by a throwing error by Ji Hwan Bae. The Pirates have lost 7 in a row and are now in third place 3.5 games behind the first-place Reds. They will have to snap out of this soon if they are going to salvage the season.

Key Moment Of The Game: This was not so much a key moment but a study in contrast as the Cubs scored their first 3 runs after 2 were out in the top of the 2nd inning. There was a runner on first with 2 out, when the Cubs went single, walk, single, single, to score the 3 runs which pretty much wrapped up the game. The Pirates had traffic on the bases through the first 7 innings but could do nothing with it. The last 2 innings they just said the hell with it and went 6 up 6 down to quietly end the game.

Next Game: Does there have to be? I guess so, because tonight the Cubs in Pittsburgh. Everything must come to an end, but I don’t know if tonight the losing streak will be one of them. Marcos Stroman is pitching for the Cubs, and it would not be surprising to see the scoreless streak stretch to 24 innings. Even when the Pirates were trying to lose games the offense was better than this.

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Team Effort

Final Score: Pirates 2 Brewers 5

Why The Pirates Lost: Even though the this was a team effort the offense outdid themselves in this game. After the Bryan Reynolds home run to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning, the next 12 batters went down in order. Jason Delay, our “offensive” catcher had a particular “good” day. His first at bat he came up with the bases loaded with 2 outs and did not swing at 6 pitches to be called out on strikes. The Daniel Vogelbach philosophy of hitting emerges once again. The next time up he stuck out on 3 pitches but at least he fouled one off and swung at the last one, but of course, it was out of the strike zone. The Pirates got their last 2 hits of the game in the 7th inning and Delay came up with 1st and 2nd and 1 out. He did not waste any time, swung at the first pitch out of the strike zone and grounded into a double play. If they did such things in baseball, the Brewers would have given him the game ball. On the pitching side of the ledger Luis Ortiz pitch an ok 4 and 2/3 innings before being removed in the 5th, for another right handed pitcher, after he had just recorded an out. He had only thrown 84 pitches and with the bullpen struggles you would have thought they would have given him a little more, leeway before taking him out. The bullpen went out and handed the game to the Brewers but at least they pitched ok for 2+ innings.

The Key Moment Of The Game: The bottom of the 8th is just too depressing to go into detail, but the bullpen was instrumental in helping the Brewers win the game. Thanks to 3 walks, the Brewers scored 4 runs on just 2 hits and both were singles. The Pirate staff gave up 6 for the game, but those 3 won the game for the Brewers.

Next Game: Tonight, the Cubs in Pittsburgh. After losing 6 in a row the Pirates find themselves in 3rd place 2.5 games behind the Brewers. They are 2 games below .500. Henry Davis is being bought up. They will need more help than that, but it can’t hurt. Will they snap out of it tonight?

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Pirates Morning Report: The Return Of The Hitless Wonders

Final Score: Pirates 0 Brewers 5

Why The Pirates Lost: If you do not score any runs you will not win, as the Pirates were shutout for the 7th time this season. They only had 4 at bats with runners in scoring position and 2 of those were in the first inning. They went 0 for 3 with a walk. Five of the 9 innings they only sent 3 men to the plate. The Pirates had 6 hits and 2 of those did not leave the infield. Mitch Keller had another mediocre performance, but he could have been Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson all rolled into one and the Pirates would not have scored, even if the game went into extra innings. The only good news was Roansy Contreras pitched a nice 2 innings, retiring all 6 batters he faced, with one strikeout. The score was 4-0 Brewers when he came in, so it’s not the same as coming into a tight game. He had to know that the Pirates were not going to score, and game was over.

Key Moment Of The Game: In the top of the 7th with the Pirates trailing 4-0 they somehow managed to load the bases with 2 out, and the Pirates allowed Austin Hedges to bat. I would have rather seen a left handed batter come to the plate, rather than Hedges batting in that situation. He had already struck out and grounded into a double play. Naturally, he popped out for the 3rd out, ending any chance the Pirates had, which I admit was slim, of making a comeback.

Next Game: This Afternoon, Brewers in Milwaukee. Luis Ortiz takes the mound today. Another young Pirate pitcher that seems to be going backwards rather than progressing. The Pirates have lost 5 in a row and have fallen one game below .500 for the second time this season. The last time this happened, they reeled off 6 wins in a row. I would not mortgage the house on that happening this time. I am not too sure that this team will come back. As I wrote before, this is not the same as the May downturn. All phases of the Pirates’ game are awful. They cannot hit, pitch, or field, with no end in sight. Management does not seem inclined to make any moves to right the ship. If they don’t, it will be a long hot depressing summer if you’re a Pirate fan.