Final Score: Pirates 8 Red Sox 3
Why the Pirates Won: The Pirates did a complete reversal hitting-wise from Saturday night. They went aggressive at the plate, and it paid off. In the first inning, Valdez doubled on the 3rd pitch. Reynolds doubled on the 1st pitch. Lowe singled on the 1st pitch, and the Pirates had a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd, Triolo singled on the 3rd pitch. Valdez doubled on the 3rd pitch. Reynolds singled on the 2nd pitch. Lowe singled on the 1st pitch. Mangum singled on the 2nd pitch. Yorke singled on the 3rd pitch. Davis hit a sacrifice fly on the 2nd pitch, and before you could say, “Why did you not do this on Saturday night?” the Pirates led 7-0. The bullpen game worked out well with the 7-run lead. Lake Bachar pitched 3 scoreless innings. Hunter Barco gave up a 3-run homer in the middle inning of the 3 innings he worked. Then the rains came for a 2-hour and 34-minute delay. The game was officially played in 2 hours and 34 minutes. Pretty neat, huh? I wonder if that has ever happened before. The Pirates won their first series since beating the Guardians 2 out of 3 coming out of the All-Star break. It was a good win but not good enough with the hole they have dug. I hate being the bearer of bad news, but the Diamondbacks, Padres, Cardinals, and the Phillies all won. The win did get the Pirates out of last place, but they are still 6.5 games out of the last wild card spot.
Key Moments Of The Game: Not taking anything away from Lake Bachar, but the Red Sox did squander some opportunities. In the 2nd, they had a walk and a single to start the inning but grounded into a double play on a 3-2 pitch that was right down the middle. The next batter struck out. In the top of the 3rd, they opened the inning with a double but could not get the runner around. After the 3-run homer, they never really threatened to make a game of it. The Pirate batters started out aggressive and had a great offensive performance. Will they remember this and continue that approach? That kind of strategy may not work with all pitchers, but hopefully the Pirates will know when to use it again. What am I thinking? They will probably never do this again. I think we have more of a chance of them using an opener for Mlodzinski.
Next Game: Tonight, Tigers in Pittsburgh. The Pirates have had great success against the American League. They are 21 and 12 against the Junior Circuit. It gives one hope for a sweep against the Tigers. The pressure will be equal if not a little more on the Tigers. They are in the wild card race being one game out of the last spot. They have also lost 3 in a row, having just been swept by the White Sox at home. If there was ever a team that was ripe for the taking it is this team. Plus, they were sellers at the trade deadline trading Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize their two best starters. This could start the amazing charge. If it is ever going to start this has to be it. So, you are saying there’s a chance. Just listen to Dumb and Dumber in the Pirate broadcast booth tonight if you do not think so. Stay tuned.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 