Tag: Deja vu

Final Score: Pirates 2 Dodgers 5

Why The Pirates Loss: The Pirates followed their typical formula for defeat. They barely hit and pitched mediocrely. The Pirates put together a nice 2nd inning getting a single, double, and another double to tie the game 2-2. It took them 17 batters to get another hit. They did manage one walk during that stretch. They only left 2 men on base, because hardly anyone got on base. Johan Oviedo pitched better than most starters lately but was done in by the home run ball. You could say the double and home run ball. The Dodgers scored 2 runs in the 1st and 2 runs in the 6th exactly the same way. Leadoff double and boom a long home run. The Dodgers added an unnecessary run in the 7th, because you knew on this night, the Pirates were not going to score anymore runs. Castro particularly looked bad at the plate against a left-hand pitcher, who Castro is supposed to crush. He struck out both times. The first at bat he swung at 2 balls in the strike zone, took one for a ball, but swung at a ball way inside. On the second at bat, he was even worse, fouling a strike, taking a strike, and swinging at a ball way low. He looks completely lost and needs a ticket to Indianapolis.

Key Moment Of The Game: Freddie Freeman, after he fouled off the first pitch by Oviedo to start the bottom of the 6th, got into a discussion with the umpire, most likely about the pitch clock or calling timeout. Nobody was sure what it was about, but it brought Derick Shelton out of the dugout, along with Dave Roberts. The umpires got in a huddle, then talked with both managers. This only caused a delay of about 2 minutes but when you are throwing pitches every 15 seconds or less it might have had an effect on Oviedo. It is only speculation, but the next pitch went for a double and 2 pitches later Max Muncy parked it, to give the Dodgers the lead they never relinquished.

Next Game: Tonight, Diamondbacks, in Phoenix. The Pirates are 1-3 on this road trip. I expected them to go 1-6 or even 0-7. However, there is some hope to be a little, and I do mean very little, optimistic. The Diamondbacks have lost 4 in a row, so maybe the Pirates are catching them at the right time. Plus, the Diamondbacks have a better road record than home record. I know it is not a lot, but for us Pirate fans we grab on to anything. Even so, if they win 2 out of 3, I will be shocked.