Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Done In By The Long Ball

Final Score: Pirates 3 Tigers 7

Why The Pirates Lost: For one of the few times this season, the Pirate pitching staff got lit up. Bailey Falter and Carmen Mlodzinski each gave up 2 home runs. This accounted for 6 of the 7 Tiger runs. Three of the four home runs were on pitches that were pretty much right down the middle. Javier Baez hit 2 home runs on pitches that were right down the middle. The Pirates’ Triple P Offense started out well but then really died. I may have to change their name to the Double P Offense. For the second game in a row, they were less passive. They took 16 pitches for strikes. The Tigers took 22 pitches for strikes. The Pirates were definitely pathetic and putrid. In the first 2 and 1/3 innings of the game, the Pirates scored 3 runs on 4 hits. One of the runs was unearned thanks to a Tigers error. The rest of the game, the Pirates got one hit. The last 4 innings, they went 3 up, 3 down. Pathetic and putrid may be too kind. The Pirates do nothing to help the roster. As a result, this will go on for the rest of the season. The road trip spirals downward to 1-4.

Key Moments Of The Game: The score was tied 3-3 after the 5th inning. Bailey Falter had thrown 78 pitches. The Pirates removed him from the game. Granted, he had not pitched great, but his line was not that bad. He had given up 3 runs on 5 hits while walking 1. In came Mlodzinski. In 6 pitches, he gave up a single, a fly ball out, and a triple. The score was quickly 4-3. In the next 6 pitches, he got a strikeout and a line out. In those 5 batters, he did not get a swing and miss. Why he came out for the 7th, I will never know, but it ended the game. Javier Baez took two called strikes. On a 2-2 pitch, he blasted it into the seats for his second home run. The score was 5-3. After getting the next two outs, one of which Gleyber Torres took 3 called strikes, he hit the next batter. Riley Greene homered on a 3-2 pitch that was low and inside. The game was over. The Triple P Offense did not disappoint.

Next Game: Tonight, Tigers in Detroit. The Pirates will be going against Tarik Skubal. He is the left-handed version of Paul Skenes. Here is his most mind-boggling stat: in 90 innings, he has struck out 111 and walked 9. The Tigers are going to see the Bailey Falter clone Andrew Heaney. They need to make no adjustments. If the Pirates win tonight, it would be the upset of the season. In fact, if you were ever going to bet that a no-hitter would be thrown, tonight’s the night. Welcome to the 1-5 road trip.

Posted on

Pirate Morning Report: Time To Clean House

There is no question the Pirates have played better under Don Kelly. They have stayed pretty much right around .500. They are 17-18 since Kelly took over. Despite what you hear in the Pirates broadcast booth, the improved record is due to the Pirates’ pitching staff. They have performed even better under Kelly. The offense is not getting better, despite what you hear in the broadcast booth. The pitching staff is 9th in ERA+. That is up 6 spots since Kelly took over. The rotation is ranked 5th in baseball. The bullpen has seen the most improvement. They have gone from being the 20th-ranked bullpen all the way up to 9th. In part, this is due to the way Kelly manages the bullpen. The other surprise here is the Pirates are presently ranked the 4th best fielding team in baseball. This has to be their highest ranking since they started expanding the defensive metrics. It is obvious that the position players, and more particularly the offense, are holding the Pirates back. Let’s look at the main culprits.

Ke’Bryan Hayes is having his worst season as a pro. Thanks to his glove, he has always been around a 3.0 WAR player. In other words, a solid starter. Injury has been his big problem. This year, he has played in 67 of the Pirates’ 73 games. His offensive performance has been awful. His OPS+ is 60. Among players with at least 60 games for the Pirates this year, he is the worst hitter. At least Hayes has a positive WAR. Bryan Reynolds is even having a worse year. His WAR is negative 0.7. His OPS+ is next worst at 83. Top that off with the fact that he is a negative fielder in right field. Then there are the obvious problems: Tommy Pham, Jared Triolo, and Alexander Canario. They all hit worse than Hayes. Spencer Horwitz has only played 25 games, but he is certainly not lighting it up. To show you how bad this team is, Henry Davis is the 4th best position player on the team. I will pause here to allow everybody to go and throw up.

The trade deadline is about a month away. The Pirates need to cut ties with both Reynolds and Hayes. I don’t think they will get much for them, especially Hayes. There may be teams at the trade deadline that are desperate for a defensive 3rd baseman. Both have appealing contracts, and teams have big enough egos that they think they can “fix” players. The other players I think the Pirates should move, in the order that I think will result in the best return, are Mitch Keller, David Bednar, Andrew Heaney, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Heaney and IKF would be just rentals, becoming free agents at the end of the season. I think they should not wait until the trade deadline to unload Bednar. He is pitching well now but could go south again at any moment. If the return would be right, I could see them trading Joey Bart or Henry Davis. If the price is right, I could see them trading anyone except Cruz and Skenes. What the Pirates need is offense, and more specifically, power. They have lots of trade bait out there because teams are desperate for pitching. The question is, do the Pirates know this? I doubt it.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Less Passive But Results The Same

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cubs 3 in 10 innings

Why The Pirates Lost: The Triple P Offense did improve on one of its P’s. They were a little less passive. They took 19 strikes for the game. In the first inning, when they scored their only 2 runs, they only took one strike. Oneil Cruz miraculously swung at every pitch in the strike zone for the game. He had a decent game, going 1 for 3 with a walk. His two outs were well-hit deep fly balls. The bottom 4 batters took 13 strikes for the game. Not a coincidence that they went 0 for 15 with a walk. The Pirates had 3 hits in the 1st inning. For the next 9 innings, they had 1 hit. The last 16 batters in the game made 14 outs with 2 walks. They were a little less passive, but pathetic and putrid continued. The Cubs did not really light it up either, but again the better ball club won. Mitch Keller pitched a respectable 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. He struck out 3 and walked 2. The Pirates are 1-3 on the road trip. It looks like it is headed for disaster.

Key Moments Of The Game: Both teams scored 2 runs in the 1st inning. For the next 7 and 1/2 innings, neither team had much traffic on the base paths. In the bottom of the 9th, the Cubs got some 2-out lightning off Dennis Santana. Dansby Swanson singled. Nico Hoerner doubled, putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. Santana almost threw a wild pitch to Justin Turner. Henry Davis made a great stop to temporarily save the game. Two pitches later, Turner grounded out to Hayes to end the threat. The Pirates could not score in the top of the 10th, thanks to poor situational hitting. The Pirates did the right thing by intentionally walking Kyle Tucker to start the bottom of the 10th. That was the last thing they did right. They fell asleep at the wheel, allowing the Cubs to double steal without even making a throw. David Bednar struck out Jon Berti. Here is where they should have intentionally walked Ian Happ. They did not, and the Pirate killer singled to end the game.

Next game: Tomorrow night, Tigers in Detroit. The Tigers have one of the better pitching staffs in the league. Most likely, the Pirates will face Tarik Skubal sometime in the series. Expect a no-hitter in that game. The Pirates are off today. Could they possibly make some kind of move to help the offense? Why do we even think like this? They will not. The Pirates were a little less passive; that is a step in the right direction. They still need to be more aggressive. Maybe they will trend in that direction. They will have an exhaustive practice day. That’s why some players will need two days of rest. McCutchen might even need three.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Will It Ever End?

Final Score: Pirates 1 Cubs 2

Why The Pirates Lost: I am running out of words to describe this offense. The Slumber Company is too easy. I have come up with the Triple P offense. Passive, Pathetic, Putrid. Yesterday, the Pirates took 22 pitches for strikes, compared to 15 for the Cubs. It is somewhat of an improvement. Seven players took 3 strikes each. Reynolds swung at every pitch in the strike zone. Gonzales took one strike. Swinging at strikes is not a guarantee for success. Reynolds went 0 for 4. Gonzales did have a 2 for 4 day. Only 3 Pirates had hits. The other 6 Pirates went 0 for 18 with 2 walks. Why on earth would a team walk Tommy Pham twice? Andrew McCutchen hit a home run in the 1st for the Pirates’ only run of the game. After the home run, it took the Pirates 17 batters to get another hit. They had one at-bat with a runner in scoring position. The Triple P Offense was at its best yesterday. All of this wasted another excellent day for the pitching staff. Mike Burrows had his best outing, going 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits. He struck out 8 while walking none. Ryan Borucki did give up the home run to Dansby Swanson that was the difference in the game. Braxton Ashcraft pitched 2 hitless innings and threw just 18 pitches, with 14 being strikes. The Pirates have played 72 games. They have done nothing to improve their hitting. Not one position player has been removed from the team for poor performance. There is no end in sight.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Cubs’ offense did not exactly light it up. They did show what good clubs do to score a run. After Nico Hoerner singled to open the 3rd inning, the Cubs caught a break. Matt Shaw popped a ball up foul toward the stands behind first base. Nick Gonzales looked like he had a bead on it. Suddenly, he lost it in the sun. Jared Triolo stood there and watched the whole thing. During the at-bat, Hoerner stole second. Shaw, given the 2nd chance, grounded out to the right side, moving Hoerner to 3rd. Ian Happ followed with a sacrifice fly to tie the game 1-1. Tommy Pham opened the 6th with a walk. He was picked off during the next at-bat. The 7th inning was the Pirates’ only chance. McCutchen singled to start the inning. He was erased on a double play. This was followed by singles from Gonzales and Hayes, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. Henry Davis was at the plate. He worked the count to 2-2. He was called out on strikes on a ball that was at least 2 inches outside. You have to protect, but the umpires must not like Henry Davis. The Pirates never really threatened in the last 2 innings.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Chicago. Mitch Keller goes for the Pirates today. It is hard to believe, but Keller gets the least run support of any of the Pirate pitchers. Maybe that will end today. On the other hand, I just can’t see the Triple P Offense coming to life. Maybe the Pirates can shut out the Cubs today. I think that has more of a chance of happening. The Pirates have a record of 7-6 this month. They have scored more than 3 runs 4 times. They lost one of those games. They have 3 wins where they scored just 2 runs. Don’t listen to that Pirate broadcast booth when they say the Pirates’ offense is improving. IT IS NOT! It is strictly Triple P

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Offense Still Stinks.

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cubs 1 in 10 innings

Why The Pirates Won: This was the battle of the passive bats. The Pirates eked out the win. The Pirates took 25 pitches for strikes. The Cubs outdid them by taking 28 pitches for strikes. Each team only scored 1 run in the first 9 innings. The Pirates scored a run in the top of the 10th with the ghost runner on second. The Cubs could not even do that, giving the Pirates a 2-1 victory. Paul Skenes was undone by the foul balls. There were 24 foul balls. It took him 95 pitches to get through 5 innings. He gave up 4 hits and walked 2. It was far from his best stuff. It was a gritty performance in rainy conditions. The Pirate offense continues to amaze. They only had 6 hits in 10 innings. They were 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. They did walk 3 times and kept their strikeouts at 7. It was a nice and fortunate win for the Pirates. The road trip is at 1-1. Can they get at least 2 wins in the next 5 games? Will they ever start swinging the bats? I mean that literally.

Key Moments Of The Game: After breezing through the first 2 innings, Paul Skenes had a rough 3rd inning. He did not give up a run but threw 35 pitches to get through the inning. He faced 5 batters. On the last 4 batters, he reached 3 and 2 counts. He gave up a single and a walk. In the bottom of the 4th, he gave up a 2-out double. In the 5th, it took a great relay to throw the runner out at the plate. The Cubs had a runner on 1st with 2 outs. Kyle Tucker laced a line drive into left-center field. Oneil Cruz quickly got to the ball and fired a low and fast throw to Isiah Kiner-Falefa. He made a great short hop pickup. He fired to home with a perfect one-hopper to Henry Davis. Davis applied the tag. The runner was out by 3 feet. It ended the inning. Paul Skenes was done for the day. Each team scratched out a run in the 8th inning. Both runs scored on balls that were not hit out of the infield. The Pirates had the bases loaded with nobody out in the top of the 10th. They scored only 1 run. It did not come back to haunt them. Bednar shut the Cubs down in the bottom of the 10th to get the save.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Chicago. Matthew Boyd goes for the Cubs. Another tough pitcher with an ERA of 2.89. He is a lefty. It will be interesting to see who the Pirates send out there. Mike Burrows is going for the Pirates. He has looked better in his last 2 outings. He better have his A game today. Even that may not be good enough with these batting weaklings.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: The Passive Pirates

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cubs 3

Why The Pirates Lost: A bizarre starting lineup. No Hayes, no Gonzales, and no Davis. The batters went into passive mode again. This time they took 26 pitches for strikes. Spencer (Not Horawitz) Horwitz led the way, taking 6 pitches for strikes. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Tommy (Yes, I Sleep Fine At Night) Pham were next with 4 each. Neither team lit it up last night. Both teams had 4 hits each. The Cubs took 14 pitches for strikes. They hit 2 home runs. Peter Crow-Armstrong hit a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 4th. It was a 5-pitch at-bat. He took no strikes. What is it with all these hyphenated names? Seiya Suzuki hit a solo home run in the 6th. He took one strike on a 2-0 count. He hit the next pitch into the seats. Andrew Heaney pitched a decent game. He gave up 3 runs on 4 hits. The Cubs never got a runner in scoring position in the entire game. When you pitch for a team that likes to stand there and look at strikes, you must perform better. Shame on you, Andrew Heaney.

Key Moments Of The Game: Crow-Armstrong’s home run was on a changeup that was chin high. Suzuki’s was on a changeup that was at the top of the strike zone. Mistakes by Heaney, and he paid the ultimate price. The Pirates had their one and only chance in the top of the 7th. Up to that point, Jameson Taillon had given up 1 hit and 2 walks. The hit came in the 1st inning. Bryan Reynolds opened the inning with a flyout. The Pirates woke up. Spencer Horwitz doubled on the first pitch of his at-bat. Adam Frazier singled him home on the 2nd pitch of his at-bat. IKF singled to move Frazier to 2nd. The Cubs brought in Brad Keller. Tommy Pham was the next batter. Don Kelly let him bat. Why, I do not know. Pham did not disappoint. He struck out taking 2 strikes, including the 3rd strike. Keller decided to help the Pirates. He hit the next batter, Brett Sullivan, who is supposedly a catcher. Then he walked Jared Triolo on 4 straight pitches to force in a run. This brought up Oneil Cruz. Keller struck out Cruz with one strike that was called. It was right down the middle, about 3 inches above the knees. At least he struck out swinging. The Pirates did not get a man on base in the last two innings.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Chicago. Hopefully, the Pirates will get serious today and play their best players. Paul Skenes is starting for the Pirates today. Man, this Pirate offense is so bad. Despite the Pirate broadcast propaganda, the fact remains that the Pirates are last in runs scored per game. They are worse than even the Colorado Rockies. They are 29th in home runs. They are 2nd most in grounding into double plays. They are 29th in total bases. They are last in slugging. They strike out the 5th most. If it is good, the Pirates are at the bottom of the league. If it is bad, the Pirates are at the top of the league. No changes are ever made unless someone gets hurt. You just can’t believe that this organization wants to win.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Nice Home Stand But Acid Test Coming

Final Score: Pirates 5 Marlins 2

Why The Pirates Won: The Marlins helped some by throwing the ball around. This gave the Pirates their 1st run. They had gotten 3 hits in the inning but did not score thanks to a double play. The Marlins corrected that with their wild throw. McCutchen hit a 3-run homer that gave the Pirates a 4-0 lead. The homer put him ahead of Roberto Clemente on the Pirates’ all-time home run list. Bailey Falter pitched just 5 and 1/3 innings but was solid. He gave up 1 run on 5 hits. He walked one and struck out 3. His pitch count was good at 71, but he was looking a little shaky. Don Kelly made great use of the bullpen. He brought Dennis Santana in a high-leverage situation in the 6th inning. It was proper use of the bullpen rather than just plugging guys in for certain innings. There is still a long way to go, but Kelly is managing himself into a permanent job. The bullpen shut out the Marlins the rest of the way. It was good to see the Pirates add on in the 8th. They ended the home stand at 6-3. They now go on a 7-game road trip. They face the division-leading Cubs for 4 games. Then they go against the division-leading Tigers. If this team is to be taken seriously, they need to go at least 3-4 on this trip. Will they truly ever get a consistent offense? That is the question.

The Key Moments Of The Game: This game boiled down to the top of the 5th through the top of the 6th. Falter got the first 2 outs of the 5th inning. The 2nd out was a line drive that just happened to find his glove. Then things got dicey. He gave up a single and a double to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. He walked the next batter on 5 pitches. The Pirates were only ahead 1-0 at the time. This brought catcher Agustin Ramirez to the plate. Falter fell behind Ramirez 2-0. He had thrown 6 straight balls. The next pitch was on the outside of the plate, thigh high. Ramirez ripped it 107 MPH but right to Bryan Reynolds to end the inning. In the bottom of the 5th, Ke’Bryan Hayes led off with a single. He moved to second on a weak ground ball out by IKF. Oneil Cruz walked. McCutchen smoked a 1-1 splitter on a low line drive. It just cleared the fence. This gave the Pirates a sudden 4-0 lead. Heriberto Hernandez opened the 6th by hitting a home run. Falter got the next batter to ground out. Don Kelly had seen enough. He brought in Braxton Ashcraft. He made things interesting right away with his lack of command. He gave up a walk and a single. This put runners on first and third. He got the next batter to ground out. Spencer Horwitz did not field the ball cleanly. A run scored, but there were now 2 outs and a runner on second. Ashcraft walked the next batter. This is where Kelly brought in what I consider his bullpen ace, Dennis Santana. He came through by striking out pinch hitter Kyle Stowers on 4 pitches. The Marlins never threatened after that.

The Next Game: Tonight, Cubs in Chicago. The Pirates open a 4-game series against the Cubs tonight. Andrew (No, I’m Not Related To Bailey Falter) Heaney will start for the Pirates. The Pirates catch a break that the same team won’t see the clone lefties twice in a row. Another Pirate head-scratcher putting those two back to back. The Pirates are unlikely to receive the gifts they got from the Marlins. This will be an interesting week for the Pirates. Will they continue to have some momentum, or will they lose all 7 games? Stay tuned.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: The Slumber Company Returns

Final Score: Pirates 2 Marlins 3

Why The Pirates Lost: Back in the 70’s, the Pirate offense was referred to as the Lumber Company. Welcome to the new version, the Slumber Company. Even during this modest 4-game winning streak, they did not do much unless the other team helped them out. This offense is mind-boggling. At one point last night, with the exception of 2 walks, they went 18 batters without getting a hit. Why anybody would walk a Pirate batter is beyond me. Henry Davis continues to be a mystery. Just when you think he might have found something, he has a game like last night. He hit one ball fairly hard but was caught in left field. He struck out and popped up into a force play. Then, with a chance to drive in the tying run in the bottom of the 9th, he failed miserably. With 2nd and 3rd and one out, he hit a 198-foot pop-up. Mitch Keller continues to get no run support. He pitched okay. He went 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits. He struck out 4 and walked none. He had the so-called quality start. Again, he had trouble getting the 3rd out.

The Key Moments Of The Game: Keller started out the 3rd inning by giving up a single and a home run to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead. These things happen. The top of the 4th opened with a single by Otto Lopez. It only took Keller 4 pitches to get the next 2 outs. He wild-pitched the runner to second base. On the next pitch, Eric Wagaman drove it to centerfield for a single. This drove in the run to make it 3-0. It was essentially the difference in the game. Ke’Bryan Hayes opened the bottom of the 8th by shockingly hitting his 2nd homer of the season. Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a sharp ground ball. The third baseman made a very nice play to record the first out of the inning. It turned out to be significant. Oneil Cruz woke up from his 7 and 3/4 game nap. He hit his 13th home run. In his previous 34 plate appearances, he had 6 walks and 14 strikeouts. He had only put the ball in play 14 times. He had one extra-base hit. The Pirates had 2nd and 3rd with one out in the bottom of the 9th, but as we know, they failed to score. The Marlins were not all that helpful last night.

The Next Game: This afternoon, Marlins in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, this is the rubber match of the series. It is a big one. A 6-3 home stand sounds much better than 5-4. The Pirates are headed for a very tough 7-game road trip. Another reason why a win would be big for this team. Bailey (It’s Not My) Falter goes for the Pirates. He did not have the greatest outing last time. He usually bounces back from them. The real question will be, can the slumber company wake up to score more than 2 runs? The game is in the afternoon. Let’s hope it’s over before their bedtime.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Four In A Row

Final Score: Pirates 10 Marlins 3

Why The Pirates Won: The offense came to life. The Pirates scored 10 runs on 15 hits. They walked 3 times, striking out just 6 times. All nine players in the starting lineup got at least one hit. Andrew McCutchen and Adam Frazier led the way with 3 each. Everyone either scored a run or drove one in. Bryan Reynolds drove in 3 runs. Mike Burrows only went 4 and 1/3 innings. He gave up 2 runs on 4 hits but did walk 3. He struck out 6 throwing 66 pitches. I was a little surprised he was taken out in the top of the 5th. Burrows had given up a leadoff double. Nick Gonzales made an error that put runners on 1st and 3rd. Jesus Sanchez hit a sacrifice fly that only went 276 feet to make the score 4-2. Don Kelly made the move, bringing in Chase Shugart. Shugart, even though he walked one, got out of the inning. The Pirates broke open the game in the bottom of the 6th, and the bullpen coasted home from there. The Marlins and Pirates committed a combined 5 errors. Everything is good when you win your 4th in a row.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirate bats were quiet the first two innings. Things changed in the third. The Pirates loaded the bases with a walk, a single, and a walk to start the 3rd. Andrew McCutchen hit a little dribbler that the pitcher whiffed on. The game was tied 1-1. Bryan Reynolds, on a 1-2 count, cleared the bases with a triple to right-center field. He was on 3rd with no outs. Unfortunately, he was stranded there. You hoped that this would not come back to haunt the Pirates. It did not. The Pirates scored 4 in the bottom of the 6th. This was due in part to the Marlins throwing the ball all over the field. This happened on a Ke’Bryan Hayes bunt that scored two runs. The Pirates added single runs in the 7th and 8th. The Pirates had a rare blowout win for their 4th in a row.

Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Pittsburgh. Mitch Keller goes against Sandy Alcantara. Alcantara missed all of last year due to Tommy John surgery. This year has not gone well so far. The 2022 Cy Young winner has an ERA near 8 this season. With Keller’s luck this season, let’s hope he does not get well tonight. The Marlins did contribute to the Pirates’ win last night. Their walks and sloppy fielding contributed to many of the runs. Hopefully, all of this will continue for a 5th win in a row. We will take them any way we can get them.

Posted on

Pirates Morning Report: Pirates Sweep Phillies

Final Score: Pirates 2 Phillies 1

Why The Pirates Won: Paul Skenes pitched another gem, going 7 and 2/3 innings. He gave up 1 unearned run and 2 hits. He struck out 7 and walked 1. The Pirates botched a relay play that allowed the Phillies to score their only run. The Pirate offense, anemic as ever, pushed across 2 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks. They struck out 12 times. Both teams made some outstanding plays in the field to help their pitchers. This was the best weekend of baseball the Pirates played all season. This game boiled down to two half-innings: the bottom of the 8th. During this inning, the Pirates managed to scratch out a run. In the top of the 9th, the Pirates made a bold move.

The Key Moments Of The Game: The score was 1-1 going into the bottom of the 8th. Oneil Cruz led off the inning against the left-handed starter, Cristopher Sánchez. Sánchez had Cruz’s number the whole game. He struck him out twice and got him to ground out weakly to second. I would not have minded if Don Kelly had pinch-hit for him. Sánchez surprisingly walked him on 4 pitches. Only the first pitch was close. Sánchez was replaced by Orion Kerkering. Cruz stole second on the 2nd pitch of Andrew McCutchen’s at-bat. McCutchen, on the 5th pitch, blooped a soft liner just out of the reach of 2nd baseman Bryson Stott. Cruz stumbled approaching 3rd base but turned on the jets and beat the throw to score the go-ahead run. The Pirates added a walk and a hit by pitch to load the bases. Mixed in around that were three strikeouts, so the Pirates led 2-1 going to the ninth. Braxton Ashcraft stayed in to pitch the 9th. Bryson Stott hit a hard ground ball down to first. Jared Triolo made an outstanding play. He got the first out. Trea Turner took the first pitch he saw and ripped it down the left field line for a double. This is where the Pirates went against baseball logic. They intentionally walked Kyle Schwarber. This put the go-ahead run on 1st base. Generally, you never want to put the go-ahead run on base. This time it worked beautifully for the Pirates. Alec Bohm hit a weak chopper just to the left of the mound. Nick Gonzales crossed second base to make the grab. He stopped his momentum and came back to touch 2nd base. He gunned on to first to easily finish the double play. Just like that, the Pirates had swept the Phillies. They won the last two games by the identical score of 2-1. Ashcraft got the first win of his career.

Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Pittsburgh. The team that the Pirates opened this dreadful season with, the Miami Marlins, come to town. If the Pirates are ever going to turn the season around, this is the time to do it. They are 4-2 on the home stand. If they can sweep the Marlins, it will give them some real momentum for the first time all year. The Marlins are 15 games below .500. The offense needs to finally snap out of it if the Pirates are going to pull this off. It would be nice to see some new blood infused into this team. We all know that is not going to happen.