Final Score: Pirates 6 Cardinals 2
Why the Pirates Won: Henry Davis hit a home run, and Marcell Ozuna went 2 for 4, driving in 2 runs to make the score 4-1 in favor of the Pirates. When those two perform like that, it completely demoralizes a team; you know right then that it is not your day. It didn’t hurt that Braxton Ashcraft spun another superb 7 innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits. He struck out 9 and walked 2 while throwing 98 pitches. The bullpen allowed 1 run, but the Cardinals never really posed a significant threat to win the game. The Pirates’ offense came alive for the 2nd straight game, scoring 6 runs on 10 hits, along with 2 walks and a hit batsman. They extended their lead nicely, adding 2 runs in both the 6th and 7th innings. All in all, it was a nice series win for the Pirates despite the goofy lineup they started, just as we all knew they would. As the Cardinals found out, sometimes it is just not your day.
Key Moments of the Game: Wilber Dotel came on to pitch the bottom of the 8th. After getting the first out, he gave up 3 straight singles to make the score 6-2. There were runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. If the Cardinals could get another hit, they would be starting to crawl back into the game. Dotel threw 4 straight 4-seam fastballs, all around 99 MPH, to strike out Nolan Gorman. He took 5 pitches to strike out Masyn Winn, with 4 of those being 4-seam fastballs. The last one was 100 MPH. Dotel is just 23 years old. Left-hander Mason Montgomery pitched the 9th and ended the game on a double play. The bullpen got the job done. Another reason the Cardinals knew it was not their day.
Next game: Tonight, Blue Jays in Toronto. The question is: can Bubba Chandler finally pitch a good game? The Blue Jays may be just what the doctor ordered. They are 24th in runs per game, 26th in slugging, and 27th in OPS. They still aren’t as bad as last year’s Pirates, but they are not hitting, to say the least. Of course, Chandler needs to find the plate. Wilber Dotel was brought up this week, and I was all for it. What I could not understand was why Isaac Matson was sent down. He was far from the worst-performing pitcher this year. There have been 13 pitchers who have pitched 10 innings or more for the Pirates. Matson ranks 6th in FIP, 9th in ERA, and 11th in WHIP. Not great, but far from being the worst pitcher on the team. I am sure his send-down was more about pitchers not having any more options than his performance. Naturally, the Pirates are not going to say that. I would have DFA’d Justin Lawrence. If some team would have taken him, I do not think it would have been a big loss. Even the way Yohan Ramirez has pitched lately would have been a good choice. Hopefully, it won’t take long for Matson to “find” himself and get back up here. Maybe Chandler will do the same tonight.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 