Tag: Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Pirates Morning Report: Back To Normal

Final Score: Pirates 2 Brewers 7

Why The Pirates Lost: Another game where the Pirates showed why they are in last place. They did get a decent start from Barry (It’s Never My) Falter. He gave up 4 runs on 5 hits over 5 innings but the defense behind him was very shaky and he deserved a little better fate. There were errors, catcher interference, and balls that should have been caught but weren’t that all led to runs. The Pirates are 24th in fielding out of 30 teams. When Falter left the game the score was 4-2. Future bullpen ace Isaac Mattson took over the game. He did get through the 6th with no runs scoring. He came out for the top of the 7th. Then he gave up a leadoff single and walked 4 out of the next 5 batters to give the Brewers a 6-2 lead. The batter he did not walk, he struck out so there were 5 batters in a row where the ball was not put in play, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Of course, Derek The Fox allowed him to do this to make sure the Pirates had no chance of winning. The Brewers got their 7th run on a sacrifice fly off another Pirate future great Joey Wentz Did I Come From. Then there was that potent Pirate offense. They did get 10 hits and a walk, striking out only 6 times. They still managed to only score 2 runs by going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and stranding 8 runners for the game. All in all, it was the Pirates looking like the Pirates.

Key Moment Of The Game: Just before the game the Pirates announced that they had just DFA Rowdy Tellez and Michael Taylor. The team was completely demoralized and really could not put much effort in last night’s game. Many in the press got their panties in a wad over the fact that Tellez needed just 4 more plate appearances to get a $200,000 bonus. Do you think that Rawhide Rowdy really deserved a bonus the way he played all year? His WAR was -0.8 and he had an OPS+ of 91. He was awful in the field and absolutely showed no hustle. The only way this would have been better is, if he would have needed one more at bat to get the bonus. The way I look at it, the Pirates screwed him just like he screwed the Pirates. The only criticism that Ben Cherington should get is for signing the bum in the first place.

The Next Game: Tonight, Brewers in Pittsburgh. Do you think that Liover Peguero will start tonight? They bring the guy up with just 6 games to go and he did not play last night. Derek The Fox will be contemplating that along with why he continues to lead off the game with Isiah Kiner-Falefa. When McCutchen led off the Pirate offense seemed to do much better. He is also trying to find ways that he can manage the bullpen worse. Now that will be hard to accomplish.

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Pirates Morning Report: Stop The Presses, Bullpen Preserves A Lead

Final Score: Pirates 3 Cardinals 2

Why The Pirates Won: Luis Ortiz had a nice start. He gave up 2 runs, 5 hits, walked 2, striking out 7 over 6 innings of work. Unfortunately, when he left the game, the Pirates were trailing 2-1. In the top of the 7th Yasmani Grandal hit a 2 out solo home run to tie the game 2-2. Miracle no. 1 Carmen Mlodzinski held the Cardinals scoreless in the bottom of the inning. Miracle no. 2, after Bryan Reynolds grounded into a double play Oneil Cruz walked. Miracle no.3 Connor Joe got a hit. Nick Gonzales got the big 2 out hit and the Pirates led 3-2. Miracle no. 4 Dennis Santana held the Cardinals scoreless in the 8th. Aroldis Chapman came on to pitch the oddest bottom of the 9th for him. Six pitches giving up a single, two fly outs, and a ground out to get the save. Remember that Derek The Fox, he only threw 6 pitches so you can use him tonight if needed. Oh, by the way did you know that Billy Cook hit a home run the night before. Is that the reason he did not start last night or did the poor baby need a rest.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates had just taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the 4th when Ortiz got off to a shaky start in the bottom of the inning. He gave up a single, a walk and another single that tied the game 1-1 and put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Good old Lars Nootbaar on the very first pitch of the at bat grounded into a double play, which put a runner on third with 2 outs. Ortiz struck out Jordan Walker to end the inning. It looked like the Cardinals may do some big damage, but Ortiz did the job. The bullpen came through in the 7th, 8th and 9th, and the Pirates were able to salvage the last game of the series.

Next Game: Tonight, the Reds in Cincinnati. Mitch Keller starts tonight for the Pirates. In his last start Joe (I Leave No Carbon Footprint) Block and Matt ( I Leave A Big Carbon Footprint) Capps were singing the praises of Keller. Calling him the ace of the staff and saying how solid he has been all year. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that we have Mitch Keller for a while, and he is a good mid-rotation guy. This does not define solid, last 7 games., 1-5 with a 6.27 ERA. He has had success against the Reds, so let’s hope he finds some more. Remember Shelton, Chapman only threw 6 pitches.

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Pirates Morning Report: What Is It About Jalen Beeks

Final Score: Pirates 5 Cardinals 10

Why The Pirates Lost: Another bullpen failure led by David Bednar continued by Shelton’s favorite Jalen Beeks. Beeks is a perfect example of perception is worse than the reality. I feel that Jalen Beeks has really stunk out the joint. However, his statistics are not that bad. He has an ERA+ 109 and his FIP is 3.01 since he joined the Pirates. Here is some of his downside. He has been one Shelton’s favorite relievers. The Pirates have played 44 games since he was acquired. Beeks has appeared in 23 of those games, more than half. The Pirates have lost 16 of the games he has appeared in. He has had only 8 outings where he has not given up a hit or a walk. Last night was definitely real. He came in the game with runners on 1st and 2nd with one out in the bottom of the 7th and the score tied 5-5. In the course of 15 pitches, he gave up a single, single, and bases clearing double, to make the score 10-5. This put a runner on 2nd with still only one out. He walked Michael Siani with ball 4 sailing over the catchers head all the way to the backstop. It took a weird ricochet off the backstop and climbed way up the screen. Greg Brown and Bob Walk were both highly critical of Siani for just watching the ball and not running right away where he might have made it to 2nd, The score is 10-5 and you are bringing up this. When will they ever clean out the Pirate broadcast booth. Beeks managed to get 2 outs with no further damage, but the game was over. Billy Cook did hit his 1st major league home run, a 3-run shot to give the Pirates a 5-4 lead. Cook may have had his 1st major league home run sooner if Shelton had not pinch hit for him in the previous 2 games. Derek, at his foxy best. In fact, that is my new name for Shelton, Derek The Fox. The bullpen quickly blew that lead and more to turn the game into a rout for the Cardinals.

Key Moment Of The Game: When they brought Beeks in and had no one warming up in the bullpen in case things got out of hand, which of course they did. If someone had been warming up, he could have brought in a right hander to face Jordan Walker who hit the bases clearing double that broke open the game.

Next Game: Tonight, Cardinals in St. Louis. Luis Ortiz starts for the Pirates tonight. Luis Ortiz has had his ups and downs as a starter recently which makes me think he may be a good bullpen piece for the Pirates next year. It was his bullpen performance that got him into the rotation. The Cardinals are primed for the sweep. The Pirates are hoping to get Derek The Fox fired.

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Pirates Morning Report: One Run In Eighteen Innings

Final Score: Pirates 1 Cardinals 3

This will be a brief morning report because I am pressed for time and this is all this team disserves. The punchless offense came through again only scoring one run on 8 hits, 2 walks while going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and leaving 8 men stranded. Derek Shelton was at his mismanagement best last night. In the top of the 7th with 2 out and a runner on first he decided to pinch hit for Michael Taylor with Oneil Cruz. Most of the time this would have been an ok move. Taylor was actually having a good game with a double and a walk in his first two plate appearances. Cruz has had abysmal record as a pinch hitter this year. Of course, he struck out. The bullpen gave up an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th. The Pirates had a chance in the top of the 8th but failed miserably. The road trip goes to 0-2 as the Pirates continue their relentless march to another losing season.

Next Game: Tonight, Cardinals in St. Louis. The Pirates do not know who is starting tonight just like they don’t know how to manage a game. To me if a guy seems to be having a decent night at the plate you should stick with him no matter what his seasonal stats are. It does seem to make sense. Obviously the Pirates do not feel that way.

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Pirates Morning Report: Wow! This Is Hard To Watch

Final Score: Pirates 0 Cardinals 4

Why The Pirates Lost: What an offensive offensive performance. The entire season can be summed up by one horrible at bat by Rawhide Rowdy (You Should Be Thankful That I Hit For A Couple Of Months) Tellez. First of all, he pinch hit for Billy Cook. Why, I do not know. You would think you would want to give a young player as many chances to get at bats at this level as possible, especially at this point in the season. Obviously, Shelton’s brain does not function this way or at all. Meanwhile getting back to worthless Tellez, he takes the first two pitches for strikes that were right down the middle. He does take the next pitch, God love him, that was at least a foot outside. He does restore your faith in the Pirate offense by striking out on a pitch that was inside down around his ankles. Meanwhile, Billy Cook learns nothing, other than the fact that he hopes he is not on the same team as Tellez next year. The rest of the offense was just as bad, striking out 12 times, going 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and only collecting 4 hits. They struck out 9 times against a pitcher who never struck out more than 6 in a game this year. After Kyle Nicolas left in the bottom of the 8th with an injury, Shelton brought in his favorite reliever. Jalen (I Throw Off The Plate Or Right Down The Middle) Beeks. The efficient Beeks gave up 2 runs on 2 hits on only 7 pitches. Another great pickup by the Pirates. All of this wasted another excellent pitching performance by Paul Skenes giving up just one run on 4 hits to lower his ERA to 2.07. Skenes just told his girlfriend that he wishes he had been the 2nd overall pick.

The Key Moment Of The Game: Simply put, when the game was turned over to the Pirate bullpen. In the bottom of the 7th the Cardinals loaded the bases without hitting a ball past the pitcher. They were only able to score one run to make the score 2-0. They scored 2 more in the bottom of the 8th when Jalen Beeks decided to throw batting practice. The road trip is off to an auspicious start.

Next Game: Unfortunately, there is, tonight, Cardinals in St. Louis. Who cares? Certainly not the Pirates.

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Pirates Morning Report: Turning Striking Out And Leaving Men On Base Into An Artform.

Final Score: Pirates 1 Royals 5

Why The Pirates Lost: For the second straight day the Pirates outhit the Royals but lost. What is even more amazing, both games were not even close. Oneil Cruz had a tough day out in centerfield and the defense was bad overall. Mitch Keller was the beneficiary of the bad defense going 6 innings giving up 4 runs, 3 earned, on just 4 hits and a walk. Unlike the Pirates the Royals know how to take advantage of their opportunities. Oh my, that Pirate offense is so hard to watch. They struck out 13 times to strike out a total of 27 times in the first two games of the series. That is half the outs by strikeout. The Royals had a hard time staying awake in the field. The Pirates stranded 13 runners yesterday to go along with the 10 they left on base the game before for a grand total of 23 runners in two games. At least the Pirates are able to watch how the game should be played.

The Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates were behind 1-0 going into the top of the 5th. Adam Frazier hit a soft low liner to centerfield. Oneil Cruz tried to make a diving shoestring catch and he just missed it by a couple of inches. The ball skipped by him and Frazier stood on third with a lead off triple. If he would have played it safe, and held Frazier to a single, it would have been possible that the Royals may not have even scored a run if the inning had played out as it did. Instead they were able to score 2 runs in the inning to take a 3-0 lead. In the next inning the Royals scored a run when Jared Triolo whiffed on a ground ball after a double. They added their 5th run when Cruz missed judged a fly ball in the top of the 7th. Just another day at the ranch for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Royals in Pittsburgh. Jared Jones goes for the Pirates this afternoon to see if they can salvage one of the games of the series. We will probably see a crazy Sunday lineup today but who knows. Triolo is starting to hit toward the end of the season. He looks like he is becoming a top player in meaningless games. I am sure he will be back next year. Thank God the end of the season is near.

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Pirates Morning Report: Defining Mediocrity

Final Score: Pirates 3 Royals 8

Why The Pirates Lost: Luis Ortiz threw 45 pitches in the 2nd inning, with most of them getting hit and threw the ball away on a pretty routine play which helped the Royals score 6 runs. The Royals had 8 hits for the game and got 4 of them in the 2nd inning including a 2 run home run by Salvador Perez to make the score 6-0. This was more than enough to win the game with the way the Pirate offense floundered around. For the first 5 innings the Pirates got 3hits, a miracle, and struck out 10 times. They wound up striking out 14 times for the game. They managed 9 hits and 3 walks but left 10 men on base. They got 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th off their old buddy Chirs Stratton who probably felt sorry for them. The Pirates are the definition of mediocrity. They are able to beat the bad teams but lose regularly to the good teams. It looks like we are in for another year of this, since apparently Derek (We All Need To Get Better) Shelton will be back to fall asleep on the bench for 2025.

The Key Moment Of The Game: Luis (I Was Taught To Throw By Pedro Alvarez) Ortiz shot himself in the foot to start the top of the second. After one out, he walked Robbie Grossman a .226 hitter on 4 pitches. Adam Frazier hit a little dribbler about halfway out to mound and Ortiz threw the ball way offline down the right field line to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. The Royals took advantage by getting 3 straight hits to make the score 4-0. Essentially the Pirates never threatened to make a game of it and the mediocre winning streak was over at 4.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Royals in Pittsburgh. Mitch (I’m Not A Top Of The Rotation Guy) Keller starts today for the Pirates. His last 7 games he is 1-4 with an ERA of 5.86. Trade bait anyone? Will he snap out of it today? He better, because Shelton has already told him he is not coming out of the game until he gives up 14 runs, the bullpen needs a rest. I can’t wait for 2025.

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Pirates Morning Report: Four Game Win Streak But Here Come The Royals

The Morning Report is back, and I find this upcoming series with the Royals interesting. We have the Pirates playing out the string, almost eliminated from the playoffs. We have the Royals in pretty good position for a wild card and still an outside shot at the division. They are in 2nd Wild Card spot 5 games ahead of the Tigers. These games are far from meaningless to the Royals. The Pirates are playing pressure free games. The Royals are in the thick of the playoff race and although their position is good, they are far from clinching anything. Many times, a team like the Pirates, pathetic, can be a real thorn in the side of a playoff contender this late in the season. The Pirates are just coming off sweeping the even more pathetic Marlins, to go on a 4 game winning streak. The Royals have been treading water the last 10 games going 5-5. Let’s see if the Pirates can play spoilers.

The other newsworthy item is it looks like Derek Shelton, unfortunately, will manage the Pirates next year. Cherington’s quote was, I believe he is the right man to manage this team in 2025. He sure as hell did very little managing in 2024, so he should be fresh to do the job. The bottom line, Nutting is not going to eat another contract. Everybody has to get better according to the management team. This is pretty pathetic, my favorite word today. I can’t even comment on such rhetoric. It is a shame that the fans of Pittsburgh have to put up with such incompetence. I think the Pirates have the talent. In order for this team to get into the playoffs next year we have to hope that they get off to a horrible start so Shelton will get fired around the 15th of May. One last thought, which will be expanded upon at the end of the season. WILL THE PIRATES SIGN ANYBODY DURING THE OFFSEASON THAT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE TEAM? That will be the first step.

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Pirates Morning Report: From One Extreme To The Other, But Hey It’s A Win

Final Score: Pirates 3 Guardians 0

Why The Pirates Won: Luis Ortiz pitched a solid 6 innings only giving up 1 hit. He did walk 3 to make it interesting and there were some nice defensive plays behind him, but it was the best pitching performance by a Pirate in the last few games. The bullpen, not a misprint, shut out the Guardians the rest of way, despite Shelton trying to give the game away again. After scoring so many runs in the previous 4 losses the Pirate offense got back to normal. They scored 3 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks, leaving 9 men on base. Nick Gonzales had 3 hits and Oneil Cruz had 2. Aroldis Chapman pitched a clean ninth to pick up the save and the 4 game losing streak was broken.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates had a particularly frustrating top of the 7th where they loaded the bases but failed to score. The score was 1-0 going into the bottom of the seventh. With many options available Derek (How Can I Help Lose This Game) Shelton brought in Jalen (I Can’t Remember The Last Time I Retired Three Batters In A Row) Beeks. He did not disappoint. Josh Naylor immediately opened the inning with a double to left field. On the next pitch Jhonkensy Noel hit a line drive but right at Bryan De La Cruz for the first out. Beeks then walks the next batter on 6 pitches. Even Shelton had seen enough and brought in Dennis Santana. On the second pitch of the at bat Lane Thomas hit a high fly ball to deep left field. Bryan Reynolds with his back up against the wall, leaped up and made a very nice catch. There was one problem for the Guardians. Josh (Can I Have An Eye Exam Today) Naylor, standing between 2nd and 3rd, did not think he caught the ball. He was off to the races and was rounding third when Reynolds threw the ball to second to easily double him off to end the inning. The Pirates added 2 runs in the top of the 8th on a big 2 out single by Rawhide Rowdy Tellez. Shelton asked Santana if 2 pitches tired him out like it did a couple of games ago, when he did not let him pitch the 9th. Santana said no and pitched the bottom of the 8th. The Guardians went 6 up, 6 down to end the game.

Next Game: This afternoon, Guardians in Cleveland. Mitch (Who Will We Get Today) Keller will pitch the rubber game of the series. The Pirates Morning Report will go on a bit of a hiatus over the next 12 days, as I will be on vacation where I will not be able to watch the games. I will probably do some periodic reports but won’t be back in full force until September 13th. I can’t say that I am really going to miss seeing this team play. Will they go on a hot streak? Only time will tell.

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Pirates Morning Report: Take Falter Out, Leave German In Why?

Final Score: Pirates 8 Guardians 10

Why The Pirates Lost: After just 59 pitches and 4 innings Barry (I Don’t Understand It Either) Falter was removed from the game. Granted he had given up 4 runs on 7 hits, walking 1 and striking out 2. The walk was in the first inning. He had had only 4 balls hit over 100 MPH. The way the bullpen has performed I would have at least thought the Pirates would see if he could get through the 5th and the 6th. Wrong, bullpen mismanagement breath. Right on cue the bullpen arrived in the name of Carmen Mlodzinski, and he promptly game up 4 runs which included 2 home runs. The Pirates had just taken the lead in the top of the inning 6-4 and this put them behind 8-6. The Pirates were able to score to make it 8-7. Domingo German was able to hold the Guardians at bay for 2 innings, so the score remained 8-7 going into the bottom of the 8th. We will get to that pathetic inning in a moment. All of this pitching debacle nullified another good offensive performance by the Pirates. Oneil (What Does Greg Brown Have Against Me) Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, Rowdy (Rawhide) Tellez, and Andrew McCutchen all had big games. They had 2 hits each and drove in all the runs for the Pirates.

The Key Moment Of The Game: As mentioned previously the score was Guardians 8 and the Pirates 7 going into the bottom of the 8th. With their leader thrown out of the game did anybody on the Pirate bench know what the score was? German was starting his third inning of relief. He got the first batter to fly out to Cruz. He gave up singles to the next two batters putting runners on 1st and 3rd. This was time to remove him from the game. Ok, bench coach Don Kelly come take out German. Kelly are you awake. It is a one run game. GET OFF YOUR ASS AND TAKE HIM OUT OF THE DAMN GAME. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU. Don’t answer that, we already know, you are a Pirate coach. You could argue that he should have been taken out after the first hit. They did not take him out of the game, and bim boom bam, 6 pitches later, it was single, single and before you could say fire all the coaching staff, it was 10-7 Guardians. It was 2 runs that they needed as McCutchen hit a home run in the 9th to make the final 10-8. Three out of the last 4 games the Pirates have given up double digit runs and that game they gave up 9. What a great idea to bring the bullpen in at the 5th inning. Could the Pirates just not play anymore.

Next Game: Apparently, they are tonight, Guardians in Cleveland. Luis Ortiz will start tonight but who really cares. This team has completely fallen apart, and the coaching staff is to blame. Nobody should be back next year, but we will see. What a mess.