Final Score: Pirates 1 Rangers 6
Why the Pirates Lost: Inept starting pitching and hitting pretty much sums it up. Bubba Chandler had trouble finding the strike zone, again. Even though he “only” walked 3, he got knocked around pretty good. In just 4 innings of work, he gave up 6 runs on 7 hits while throwing 78 pitches. He gave up an inside-the-park home run on a fastball that was pretty much right down the middle. He threw two changeups in a row to Corey Seager, who took the 2nd one into the seats in right field for a 3-run homer. Nice pitch sequencing. The first two batters in the inning walked. Joc Pederson drove in the 3rd run of the game with a single, followed by the Seager home run, giving the Rangers a 6-0 lead. Even though the bullpen was well-rested, Kelly just left him in to take the beating. The offense was awful as well. Oneil Cruz hit a home run. The Pirates only had 3 at-bats with runners in scoring position, getting just 4 singles. A dominating win for the Rangers.
Key Moment Of The Game: In the top of the 6th, the Pirates had a chance to make a game of it. Jacob deGrom got the first two outs of the inning. Ryan O’Hearn then worked a 6-pitch walk. The Rangers’ manager took deGrom out of the game on his 89th pitch. They brought in Gavin Collyer, who graduated from the same school of pitching as Chandler. It took him a while, but he hit Nick Gonzales with the 7th pitch of the at-bat. He walked Spencer Horwitz on 4 pitches to load the bases. This brought Konnor (I Am Busy Counting My Money) Griffin to the plate. On a 1-2 sweeper, Griffin hit a hard ground ball down the third base line. Rangers’ third baseman Josh Jung made a diving stop on the ball, quickly got up, and threw Griffin out by a half step. If that ball gets down the line, the Pirates score 2, maybe 3 runs, and are back in the game. This was the second time in the series that the Rangers made a spectacular defensive play to prevent the Pirates from scoring multiple runs. After that, the Pirates never threatened and are now 1-2 on the road trip.
Next Game: Tonight, Brewers in Milwaukee, 7:40 PM. The Brewers are facing the reigning Cy Young Award winners back to back. They faced Tarik Skubal last night. Even though they lost on a walk-off home run, they hit him pretty well. Skubal gave up 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings. Let’s hope Skenes has better luck. At times, playing in Milwaukee’s American Family Field has been a house of horrors for the Pirates. It would be nice to see that change right now.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 