Category: sports

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Pirates Morning Report: WOW!!!!!!!

Final Score: Pirates 7 Astros 4

Why The Pirates Won: I really don’t know. This will be looked upon as one of the great wins of this season, but the Pirates really did not play that well. In fact, Ji Hwan Bae epitomized the entire game. In the 4 previous appearances, he had lousy at bats swinging at more balls than strikes, striking out twice, flying out once to short left field, and grounding out. He didn’t look that great in the final at bat until he got a low inside the plate change up and bombed it into the right center field stands to win the game in the bottom of the 9th. All this drama would not have been necessary if it were not for an error by Rodolfo Castro that later, allowed the Astros to tie the game on a double by Chas McCormick in the top of the 9th. The Pirates took the lead in the bottom of the 6th when Ji Man Choi hit his 2nd home run in as many nights. Later in the inning, Pirates manufactured another run when Ke’Bryan Hayes doubled and stole third. Then Canann Smith-Njigba who also did not have a good night at the plate, came through when it mattered and hit a fly ball to left, deep enough to score Hayes easily. Keller, not quite as sharp as his last outing, still pitched a solid 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 2 solo homers. He had few other balls that were scary deep, but the outfield corralled them to turn them into nothing but long outs. It was a great win over the defending champs and the Pirates are now 7-4.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates were down 2-0 going into the bottom of the 2nd, and other than the Ji Man Choi’s 2 out double, had not done much in the 1st. The 2nd started out quietly with a ground out by Hayes and a strikeout by Smith-Njigba. Then Rodolfo (Don’t Worry I Am Not Going To Make An Error Every Game) Castro got hit on the foot by the pitch. While the Pirate announcers were discussing how long it takes for the pain to go away, Jack Suwinski took a 1-0 fastball and crushed it over the right field stands to tie the game 2-2. This homer put the fire back into this team and was just what the doctor had ordered. Despite making numerous mistakes and bad at bats, the Pirates went on to win, and the season is back on again.

Next Game: This afternoon Astros, in Pittsburgh. Rich ( I Can’t Be This Bad) Hill will take the mound for the Pirates in another rubber match. Hill may have some success tomorrow, because the Astros could be overconfident and laughing too hard in the batter’s box to be able to make decent contact. This was a huge win last night and it insured that this was not going to be an Astro sweep. After this, it does not get easier as we go to St. Louis for a 4 game series. Every win is important, but this one may have saved the season.

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Pirates Morning Report: No More Cruz Control

Final Score: Pirates 2 Astros 8

Why The Pirates Lost: Another poor performance by a Pirate starter, this time Roansy Contreras. It was by far the worst start of his young career. From the outset you could tell he just did not have it. In 3.1 innings he gave up 7 runs, 9 hits, and walked 4. I am surprised that they even let him come out for the 4th inning. The bats weren’t much better getting only 3 hits, but the hitters did manage to get 5 walks. It was a lackluster performance, probably triggered by the Oneil Cruz injury. They will need to move on, because things are not going to get any easier.

Key Moment Of The Game: As bad as Contreras was, if he could have just gotten the 3rd out in the first three innings, the score would have been tied 1-1, instead of 5-1 Astros. The Astros got 4 out of the 5 runs after 2 were out. In fact, in the top of the 3rd inning, there was 2 out nobody on, when they added another run, getting 3 straight singles. Then the top of the 4th was a total melt down for Contreras. Some pitchers get off to a slow start, then all of a sudden something clicks, and they pitch a very good game. This was not the case for Contreras last night. Nobody on the Pirates bench seemed to notice this. It was just one of those nights for the young right hander. Hopefully he will be able to shake it off and come back strong his next outing.

Next Game: Tonight, Astros in Pittsburgh. The Astros are throwing another strong starter, Cristian Javier at the Pirates tonight. The Pirates will counter with Mitch Keller who had a great start the last time out. It is way too early in the season to look at any game as being critical, but the Pirates need to have a good game as a Cruzless team. It does not have to be a win, but they need to get back to being competitive. The Pirates brought up Mark Mathias to replace Cruz, who made an uneventful debut last night. Pretty much, a safe move by management, saying this season is over already. Maybe the players will prove them wrong.

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Pirates Morning Report: Devastating Win

Final Score: Pirates 1 White Sox 0

Why The Pirates Won: It was a surprising game in that both teams scored a combined 38 runs in the first two games of the series. Then boom, the pitchers took over the game yesterday and the Pirate pitchers were just a little bit better. Johan Oviedo pitched a strong 6 and 2/3rds innings giving up 0 runs, 5 hits, and did not walk a batter. The bullpen came on strong again to complete the shutout and the Pirates had another series win and improved to 6-3.

Key Moment Of The Game: You could say this may be the key moment of the season, the Oneil Cruz injury in the bottom of the 6th. It was the perfect example of indecision causing the most severe outcome. I don’t think he knew whether to come in head first or make a hard slide, resulting in him making an awkward move, with a broken ankle as the result. All fractured ankles are not created equal, so until more is known he could be back at the All Star break(no pun intended) or miss the entire season. It will be interesting to see who the Pirates bring up and how they will do. As the title says this was a devastating win.

Next Game: Who cares the season is over. Just kidding, we play the Astros in Pittsburgh tonight. This team’s resiliency is going to be tested early. The blog feels gloomy this morning. Roansy Contreras will get the start tonight and I do feel he will be up to the task of facing the mighty Astros.

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Golf Diary

The Round: Played at South Park. Score: 81 Greens in Reg: 8 Putts: 34

The Good: Putting on the back nine (14) Iron play improved somewhat. Drove the ball at times really well but that was off some today as well.

The Bad: Putting on the front nine (20). The short game was mediocre all day as I could not get the ball close on chips and pitches. The difference between the nines was I had 4 one putt greens. A 2 footer on 10 for a birdie, a 10 footer on 11 to save bogey, 4 footer on 12 to save par and a 10 footer on 15 to save another par. I finished with 4 straight pars as my iron game improved as I hit the last 3 greens in regulation.

Luck Of The Round: Coming off a 3 putt double bogey on 9, I hit a duck hook on the easy par 5 10th hole. I had an opening through the trees to get back in play and I hit driver off the deck to keep it low. I missed it right and the ball just missed two trees and rolled out to the fairway 105 yards from the pin. I hit the gap wedge in about 2 feet and made birdie. The biggest problem was that my bad shots were really bad.

Next Round: Tomorrow Rolling Green Golf Course. Some improvement but will see if can continue on a fairly easy course.

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Pirates Morning Report: 19 Hits Will Do It Every Time

Final Score: Pirates 13 White Sox 9

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirate bats really came alive to easily overcome a very poor performance by Rich Hill. The Pirates had 3 doubles, a triple, and 2 home runs to put 13 runs on the board. Bryan Reynolds had a huge game going 3 for 5, with a double, triple, and a home run, driving in 6 runs. Six Pirates had 2 or more hits. It was simply a hitters and bullpen win. I am sure you would have to go back a long way to find the last team that scored 9 runs against the Pirates but lost the game.

Key Moment Of The Game: After 4 and a half innings the score was tied 7-7 in a back and forth slugfest. Then after one out in the bottom of the 5th the Pirates started. Double by Conner Joe, Ji Hwan Bae singles, Jason( I’m pounding the ball), Delay singles, Joe scores, Oneil Cruz walks, and then Bryan Reynolds laces a ball down in the right field corner for a triple, driving in 3 runs and then scoring himself on a throwing error. This made the score 12-7 and you really felt the Pirates had finally taken over the game. The bullpen came through with Will Crowe pitching the last 3 innings, having a shaky ninth but sealed the deal and the Pirates are now 5-2.

Next Game: Tonight, White Sox, in Pittsburgh. The other free agent pitcher Vince( I hope they score 13 runs for me because I am going to need them) Velaquez will make his second start of the year. Hopefully he will fair a little better than Hill did yesterday. Not much negative you can say about this team right now. There are some individuals who are struggling right now but it makes all that struggling a lot easier to take when you are winning. 5 and 2 feels real good.

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Pirates Morning Report: DUJ Gets The Save

Final Score: Pirates 4 Red Sox 1

Why The Pirates Won: Another great starting pitching performance, this time by Mitch Keller. He pitched 7 innings giving up only 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 7 and walking 2. The foul ball home run made things tense for a moment. I always like the fact that the home crowd boos a call that goes against them, even though it is obviously correct. The Pirates offense put up 4 runs again, with Carlos Santana providing a home run and an RBI double. Bryan Reynolds got a double and an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Ke’Bryan Hayes drove in the other run on a beautiful push bunt up the first base line. The bullpen was strong again and Pirates swept the Boston Red Sox right in Fenway Park.

Key Moment Of The Game: It was the bottom of the 9th when DUJ took the mound. I could feel the dread going through my body. The first batter got a base hit and now you knew that this was going to be a disastrous inning. Then two pitches later DUJ induced a double play ball, that Castro and Bae executed nicely and quickly 2 were down. One pitch later a big lazy pop up ended the game and the Pirates are 4-2. DUJ did the job for the 2nd consecutive time, on only 5 pitches. If this guy is getting outs, then maybe this really is going to be our year. It makes you wonder when Robert Stephenson is ready to come back who will be sent down. I always figured it would be good old DUJ. Now I wonder if it could be Crowe or De Jong. They have been conspicuous by their absence. Their next outing could be critical if they are going to stay in Pittsburgh. Like in a lot of cases the mysterious injury could crop up too.

Next Game: Tomorrow afternoon, White Sox, Opening Day in Pittsburgh. Rich Hill will take the hill (can’t help myself), for the Pirates home opener. Let’s hope that he makes a comeback start much like Keller did last night. The Pirates now sit at 4-2 and you would have to call this a very successful road trip. I know it is early, but this team seems to have a different vibe to it already. To paraphrase Muhammad Ali, this team may SHOCK THE WORLD!

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Pirates Morning Report: Contreras Gets First Starter Win

Final Score: Pirates 4 Red Sox 1

Why The Pirates Won: Roansy Contreras pitched a solid 5 and 2/3 innings giving up 1 run on just 3 hits, one walk, while striking out 2. The best performance of the year so far. Of course, he didn’t have much competition. The Pirate bats had just enough firepower to push across 4 runs with Ji Hwan Bae hitting a 2-run homer and Bryan Reynolds hitting a solo shot. He drove in a nice insurance run in the 7th with a single after Tyler (That May Be More Surprising Than Delay’s Home Run), Heineman stole 2nd. Again, the bullpen was solid giving up 0 runs on 1 hit. Last night’s win insured the Pirates of a .500 road trip.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirate bats were quiet over the first 1 and 2/3 innings with Cruz getting a walk and then 5 straight outs. Canaan Smith-Njigba struck out but the pitch went right off the catcher’s shin guard to the backstop. Smith-Njigba made it to first on the passed ball. Ji Hwan Bae followed with an opposite field home run right over the Green Monster to give the Pirates a 2-1. Later in the bottom of the 8th inning Bae made a great leaping catch in left centerfield to record the second out of the inning. Another great 9th by Bednar and the Pirates are 3-2.

Next Game: Today, Red Sox in Boston. Mitch Keller goes on the mound today and hopefully will give a better performance than he did on opening day. A sweep in Boston would be nice but the Pirates will have a least a .500 road trip and that is exactly what was needed. A win today will be a really nice bonus to take to Opening Day on Friday. Go Bucs!

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Nail Biting Win

Final Score: Pirates 7 Red Sox 6

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirate offense woke up much faster than Rip Van Winkle did as they blasted 3 home runs, one by Jason ( I Can’t Believe I Did It), Delay, and 2 by Bryan ( You Better Get Your Shit Together And Sign Me To A Long Term Deal) Reynolds. Canaan Smith-Njigba had 2 RBI’s and Jack Suwinski and Ke’Bryan Hayes knocked in the other runs with some clutch hits. Hayes’s batting average is soaring over .100 now. Johan Oviedo gave up 5 runs in the first but was not helped by some shoddy defense. He battled until the 5th inning and then was removed with 2 men on base. Dauri Moreta wiggled out of that jam. Then in the 6th you thought all was lost when DUJ was brought in with runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out.

Key Moment Of The Game: I will admit DUJ did alright. He gave up a cheap broken bat bloop which made the score 7-6 and struck out the next batter. He pitched a clean 7th inning and so far, a good start for DUJ. Colin Holderman survived a scratch hit and a walk to pitch a tense scoreless 8th. Another swinging bunt hit in the 9th made it interesting for David Bednar, but Bullet Bednar struck out the final two batters to preserve another one run hard fought win for the young Bucco’s.

Next Game: Tonight, Red Sox in Boston. Tonight, Roansy Contreras makes his 2023 debut finally. It will be a challenge, just ask Oviedo. It was nice to see the Bucco’s bounce back from the two losses in Cincinnati. The bats came alive last night, but Austin Hedges is still 0 for April.

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Pirates Morning Report: Bats Take A Nap

Final Score: Pirates 1 Red 3

Why The Pirates Loss: The bats continue to nap. The first 6 batters made outs which meant the Pirates had made 21 outs in a row over the last 7 innings. The Pirates only run came on Bryan Reynolds 1st home run of the season and they could only muster 5 other hits, 4 of them singles. They went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position. The Pirates have scored 8 runs in 3 games, but 3 of those were gifts from the Reds on walks and a wild pitch. They have had 19hits but there have been a lot of swinging bunts and bloopers. They were fortunate to get the opening win but 1-2 sounds a lot better than 0-3. Vince Velasquez pitch very similar to his predecessors, giving up home runs and could not get past the 5th inning. He only walked one and struck out 3. Another only ok performance by a Pirate starter. The bullpen pitched shutout ball over the last 4 and a third innings, but Will Crowe really needed some leather to keep the Reds from scoring. DUJ was able to throw a scoreless inning even though he gave up a rocket shot double.

The Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates started the top of the 8th with 2 fluky hits by Castro and Cruz, which gave them 1st and 2nd with no outs. Reynolds hit a fly to right that got Castro to third. McCutchen then hit a pop up to short right field that could not bring Castro home and Santana ended an 0-4 day by grounding out to 1st, with no runs scoring, essentially ending the game.

Next Game: Tonight, Red Sox in Boston. Johan Oviedo will start tonight in Bean Town, and we will see how the young right-hander is able to handle the Red Sox in Fenway Park. Hopefully the Pirates bats will perk up. Ke’Bryan Hayes is hitting below 100. I know it is early but that is not a good sign that he has figured anything out at the plate. The Pirates for some reason always seem to get off to a slow start batting. It just looks like something they are going to have to push through. Hedges is still 0 for April.

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Pirates Morning Report: Giving Up The Gopher Ball.

Final Score: Pirates 2 Reds 6

Why The Pirates Lost: Rich Hill and Chase De Jong could not keep the ball in the park, which accounted for all 6 of the Reds runs. For whatever reason Hill and De Jong could not keep the ball down. They threw some pitches that were unbelievably high. Hill settled down after the first to pitch pretty well, but he gave up 3 runs in the first with 2 of them scoring on a Kevin Newman home run no less. It will probably be his only home run of the season. The Pirate bats seemed to be clicking during the first 4 innings when they got their 2 runs and 7 hits. Then they never got a hit in the last 5 innings and went down quietly to their first defeat.

Key Moment Of The Game: When Chase De Jong came into the game with the score 3-2 Reds in the bottom of the 6th, he just seemed out of sorts. It was like he had not warmed up enough on this cold day. He walked Wil Myers on four pitches, none of which were over 92 MPH and were not even close to the strike zone. He then gives up a single to Tyler Stephenson to put runners on 1st and 3rd. The Pirates almost got a break when Wil Myers tried to go from first to third, but Ji Hwan Bae’s throw was just enough offline that Myers barely beat it on a bang-bang play. Again, De Jong fell behind Jake Fraley 3-0, got one strike, then grooved a slider that was put out of the park and the game was essentially over. I wrote before that De Jong’s performance would be a key to the Pirates success, and this one was an F.

Next Game: Today, the Reds in Cincinnati. The puzzling pick up, Vince Velasquez will take the hill today and we will see if the Pirates found something that no one else had seen. Austen Hedges did not get a hit on April 1 and I’m not fooling. Probably won’t get a chance tomorrow as Delay is likely to start. The suspense continues, will Austen Hedges get a hit in April?