Tag: Continue to flounder

Final Score: Pirates 4 Reds 6

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates lost the battle of the bullpens. The Pirate bullpen had to cover the last 4 innings of the game. They gave up 2 runs on 2 hits. The Reds bullpen had to cover 3 and 2/3 innings. They gave up 0 runs on 3 hits, 1 walk and a hit by pitch. Paul Skenes had a bad 2nd inning, giving up 4 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks. For the other 4 innings, he gave up 2 hits, walking no one and striking out 6. The Pirates made their usual strange decisions. They started Jared Triolo over Nick Gonzales. They decided to pinch run for Esmerlyn Valdez, 22 years, instead of Marcell Ozuna, 35 years old. Konnor Griffin started at short, coming off the IL. I guess the Pirates did not want to have too much firepower in the lineup, at least until they fell behind. They finally put Gonzales in as a pinch hitter. Great thinking.

Key Moments Of The Game: Paul Skenes had one hell of an inning in the top of the 2nd. He threw 27 pitches before he recorded the first out. It took him 37 pitches to complete the inning. Two of the first 4 hits were under 80 MPH. The Pirates tied the game 4-4 on back-to-back home runs by Ozuna and Valdez. Ozuna went 2 for 3 with a walk. I think it is time to put him back in the lineup every day. Mason Montgomery gave up one single with one out in the top of the 8th. He then fell behind pinch hitter Noelvi Marte 3-1. He was able to get a swing and miss on a 98 MPH fastball. He tried to do it one more time and Marte hit it into the left field seats for a 2-run homer. The Pirates had minor threats in the 8th and 9th but could not score the necessary 2 runs to tie the game.

Next Game: Late afternoon, Reds in Pittsburgh. Jared Jones is going up against the Reds’ ace Chase Burns. When I saw how the series was going to play out, I thought this might be the game the Pirates could lose. Jones obviously is not going to miss a start after being hit on the elbow with a line drive in his last outing. Will the Pirates go with their most offensive team today or just put out another lineup? Will Ozuna get to DH two games in a row? He has only done that 4 times in the last 30 games. The Pirates just continue to muddle along.