Tag: Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Pirates Morning Report: It Was Just One Of Those Innings

Final Score: Pirates 3 Brewers 7

Why The Pirates Lost: You knew that this was not going to be the Pirates night when Greg Brown talking about the red hot Ke’Bryan Hayes, said he hit the 2-run homer to tie the game the night before. Brown at least knew that Hayes hit a homer, but it was Jack Suwinski that hit the 2-run homer to tie the game. Hayes’s home run was a solo homer that gave the Pirates a 3-2 lead. I imagine that Brown needs GPS to find his way home. From there you knew the day was going downhill. Andre Jackson started for the Pirates and despite what the broadcast booth said, if this guy is in the starting rotation next year, the Pirates are in big trouble. I think he can be a tremendous asset out of the bullpen. Last night, Jackson went 4 and 1/3 innings giving up 6 runs on just 3 hits, but he walked 5. This after pitching a perfect 3 innings. The Pirates offense was completely stifled by Brandon Woodruff getting only 2 hits and 2 walks in 7 innings. Woodruff threw 97 pitches and finished strong by striking out the final 2 batters he faced. Thanks to Greg Brown it was the Brewers night.

Key Moment Of The Game: In the top of the 4th Jackson walked the bases loaded with no one out. He escaped with only 1 run scoring, and you felt that this game had the feel of the previous game, when the Brewers failed to capitalize on the situation. However, in the top of the 5th, things went in the other direction, big time. Jackson opened the inning by issuing his 4th walk. Andruw Monasterio hit a triple in the left center field notch to make the score 2-0 Brewers. From this moment on, everything went the Brewers way. A little dribbler down the third base line, a bloop just between the 1st and 2nd basemen, and finally a deep fly ball to center field that Suwinski lost in the twilight sky for a double. There was a sacrifice fly and walk sandwiched between all of this, giving the Brewers a 5-0 lead. The scoring mercifully ended on an 81 MPH single to left field by Mark Canha that was booted by Josh Palacios to allow the final run to score. It was 7-0 and the game was over. Connor Joe hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the 9th to make the final 7-3.

Next Game: This afternoon, Brewers in Pittsburgh. Again, the Pirates do not know who the starting pitcher is. It would be a nice win today considering that they are heading to Atlanta to get the crap beat out of them this weekend. Their only hope is that Atlanta may already be in some kind of rest mode to get ready for the playoffs. They do have a 6 game lead on the Dodgers for the best record in the National League. Maybe the The Shadow Shelton has some really close friends in Atlanta, and they will let Pirates win one game.

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Pirates Morning Report: Defining Inconsistency

Final Score: Pirates 4 Cardinals 6

Why The Pirates Lost: Johan Oviedo had an extremely poor performance. Oviedo said he felt “uncomfortable” on the mound. He would not get into specifics, but my suggestion would be to get an enema before the game or skip lunch. In 3 and 2/3 innings he threw 97 pitches, 49 of them for balls, walked 6, gave up 4 hits, struck out 2, and was charged with 5 runs. I think I was more uncomfortable watching such a debacle. The bullpen gave up just 1 run over the last 4 and 1/3 innings but they walked 3 making the grand total 9. The offense tried but couldn’t overcome the lead, scoring only 4 runs. Ke’Bryan Hayes showed how important it is to rest a player by going 2 or 13 for the series and neither hit left the infield. It’s called taking a red-hot player and turning him ice cold. Miguel Andujar had a nice game going 2 for 4 with a home run and 2 RBI’s. The Pirates have him scheduled for a rest day sometime this week. He must have paid Greg Brown to sing his praises, too. I fully expect like a few of his broadcast buddies, that Greg Brown will become the Pirates manager. It was disappointing to see the brief 5-game winning streak come to an end, but it was a good road trip for the young Buccos.

Key Moment Of The Game: Despite all his problems, Oviedo had managed to wiggle off the hook most of the time, and when he left the game, the score was tied 3-3 with the bases loaded and 2 outs. The Cardinals had loaded the bases on 2 walks and an error. In came Ryan Borucki to pitch to the left-hand hitting Alec Burleson with his .166 batting average against left hand pitching. Borucki must have thought that this meant you could just throw the ball right down the middle with no movement because that’s what he did on the first pitch. Unlike a typical Pittsburgh Pirate, Burleson actually swung at the ball and laced it right back up the middle at 102 MPH, giving the Cardinals a 5-3 lead that they never relinquished.

Next Game: Tonight, Brewers in Pittsburgh. The Pirates open a brief 3 game homestand against the Milwaukee Brewers. It would be nice to see them win 2 out of 3 from the Brewers to keep some momentum going. The season is winding down with 25 games left. The Pirates have 13 home games and 12 road games. Hopefully the Pirates can figure out who is going to pitch but I am not optimistic. They are probably too busy scheduling rest days.

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Pirates Morning Report: Exciting 5th Win A Row

Final Score: Pirates 7 Cardinals 6

Why The Pirates Won: This time it was the Pirates bats that kept battling back from 3-0, 4-3, and 6-5 deficits, to pull out their 5th win in a row. The bats came alive for 7 runs on 11 hits, 5 walks, and a hit batsman. Every time the pitching staff gave up the lead the Pirate offense was able to take it back. The Pirates went with the opener, and they pretty much got rocked in the early going, although Bailey (It Was My) Falter did not pitch too bad giving up a solo home run, for the only hit in 3 and 2/3 innings. The backend of the bullpen, the “killer B’s”, Borucki, Bolton and Bednar shut down the Cardinals the rest of the way but not without some super tense moments. This was one of the most exciting games of the year, made even better by the fact that the Pirates pulled it out in the top of the 9th inning.

The Key Moments Of The Game: The 9th inning was quite a finish. In the top of the ninth Josh (I AM Not Going To Take Back About What I Wrote About Him) Palacios had another big moment for the Pirates. After McCutchen got hit by a pitch Palacios was called on to pinch hit for Connor Joe. On a 3-1 pitch, he took a low inside the plate fastball and drilled it over the fence for a home run, giving the Pirates a 7-6 lead. In the bottom of the 9th David Bednar made it interesting and almost gave his Dad a stroke. In four pitches, he gave up a single and hit a batter. The Cardinals did us a favor and sacrificed the runners over to 2nd and 3rd. It is a good thing that Endy Rodriguez was catching, or the Cardinals may have had the bases loaded, if lead ass Delay had been behind the plate. Bednar and Lars Nootbaar went to battle. On a 10 pitch at bat, where the 4th pitch was ball 3, Bednar threw a beautiful 97 MPH fastball that caught the inside part of the plate above the knees for a called third strike. That left Paul Goldschmidt to face with 2 outs. This was a 9 pitch battle with Goldschmidt grounding out to short to end the game. One final note, Endy Rodriguez made numerous blocks during these combined 19 pitch at bats. A great 5th win a row.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cardinals in St. Louis. Can the Pirates make it 6 in a row? At least they will have a starting pitcher going today with Johan Oviedo taking the mound. Regardless of what happens today the Pirates have had a very nice road trip, indeed. We will probably see the B team out there today and Bednar will probably not be available. In case no one’s noticed, Ke’Bryan Hayes has been 1 for 9 and that was an infield hit, since his scheduled day off. Another bone head move by management.

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Pirates Morning Report: Takes Overtime To Get 4 In A Row

Final Score: Pirates 4 Cardinals 1 10 innings

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirate pitching staff has come alive. It could just be the competition, but for a staff that gave up 10 runs 2 games in a row, these last 4 games have been impressive. The Pirates have given up 0, 1, 1, and 1 run per 9 innings during the 4 game winning streak. Last night it was Mitch Keller who pitched a solid 6 innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits. His only negative was control issues walking 3 but did strike out 8. The bullpen only gave up the phantom run in the 10th while limiting the Cardinals to 1 hit and a walk. The Pirate offense was just as weak only getting 1 run on 4 hits in the first 9 innings. In the 10th, the Pirates showed what winning streaks are made of by scoring all three runs without getting a hit out of the infield. Bryan Reynolds hit a sacrifice fly to knock in the 3rd run and it was the only ball that left the infield. It doesn’t hurt to have a little luck to get the 4th win a row.

Key Moment Of The Game: The bottom of the 3rd with the Pirates leading 1-0, the Cardinals opened the inning with 2 quick singles on 5 pitches. Lars Nootbaar hit a line drive that Ke’Bryan Hayes leaped up and grabbed. This would be the first of 3 line drives that Hayes would snare in the game. Paul Goldschmidt struck out. Nolan Gorman hit a little bloop that was banged out at 67 MPH to center field, that Liover Peguero made a spectacular over the shoulder catch that most likely saved 2 runs, since there were 2 outs. I doubt that Josh Van Meter would have made the play. Keller gave up the home run in the 6th that tied the game, but if Peguero does not make that play the Pirates lose.

Next Game: Tonight, Cardinals in St. Louis. It looks like the Pirates are going the opener route again, as they seek their fifth win in a row. I don’t know who will follow up. maybe Ortiz, but I do know it won’t be Bido. It is nice to see the team get a little momentum even though it has been against the bottom fodder, but that bottom fodder beat the Red Sox last night 13-2. You still have to play the games. Let’s hope the offense perks up a little tonight. The Pirates go for one for thumb!

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Pirates Morning Report: Getting The Sweep

Final Score: Pirates 4 Royals 1

Why The Pirates Won: A strong start by Andre Jackson going 5 and 2/3 innings giving up only 1 run, 2 hits, walking 2, while striking out 7. It looked like that he would strike out everybody starting out by striking out the first 5 batters he faced, then 2 more in the third. The bullpen had one of their better outings pitching a scoreless 3 and 1/3 innings giving up 2 hits, walking only 1. The Pirate offense made the most of their 6 hits getting 5 of them in the first three innings. There were a lot of collars worn last night as 5 Pirates failed to get a hit. The home run ball helped with Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski hitting solo homers. This is a nice three game win streak the Pirates have put together. We will see if they can continue in St. Louis.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates scored a run in the top of the first on the Reynolds’ home run. They opened the 2nd with a bang. Back to back doubles by Liover Peguero and of all people Vinny Capra, followed by a Suwinski single giving the Pirates a quick 3-0 lead. Capra was playing third base on a “scheduled” day off for Ke’Bryan Hayes. The Pirates hottest hitter by far had to have a day off. Wouldn’t it have been nice if they had unscheduled his day off. By the way, don’t look now but the Pirates do not play today. I think that management was just trying to give the Royals a chance and Capra really messed that up. The Pirate bats went really quiet the rest of the way getting only 2 more hits. Fortunately, one of them was the 7th inning homer by Suwinski to give the Pirates a 4-1 lead.

Next Game: Tomorrow, Cardinals in St. Louis. The sweep of the Royals put a kink in management’s plans to make another run at getting the No. 1 pick in the draft. Mitch Keller is starting for the Pirates in St. Louis so there is a least a half way chance the Pirates might make it 4 in row. Although it looks like McCutchen, Suwinski, Rodriguez, and Peguero have a scheduled day off. I can guarantee you the Alika Williams and Josh Palacios will be in the lineup with their On Base Average of .284 and .258 respectively. Management does not give up easily.

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Pirates Morning Report: Strange Winning Pattern

Final Score: Pirates 6 Royals 3

Why The Pirates Won: For the fourth game in about the last 10 days the Pirates started a game by not getting a man on base for an extended period. They have gone 5 and 1/3, 6 and 1/3, 3 and 1/3 and last night went 4 innings before getting a man on base. What is interesting is they won 3 of those 4 games. In this game they went into the 8th inning trailing 1-0. They were able to score 2 in the 8th and 4 in the 9th to win going away. The Pirates had an opener game with Colin Selby starting and going a perfect 2 innings. Luis Ortiz pitched his best 5 innings in a long time giving up just 1 run on 3 hits, 2 walks, while striking out 5. Colin Holderman pitched a clean 8th, with Cody Bolton finishing the game despite the fact that Greg Brown wanted to waste David Bednar and bring him in with the score 6-3. Doesn’t he realize we are playing the Royals, probably not.

Key Moment Of The Game: Key moment brought to you by Ke’Bryan Hayes. It doesn’t get more key than a 2 run, 2 out, home run in the top of the 8th inning, when trailing 1-0. The Pirates added on nicely in the 9th with a 3 run rocket by Liover Peguero that even Greg Brown knew was a home run right away. This proved to be the margin of victory as the Royals did add 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th.

Next Game: Tonight, Royals in Kansas City. Can the Pirates sweep the lowly Royals. They are sending Andre Jackson to the mound. If he pitches well, it will be interesting to see how high the Pirates let his pitch count get. He should be stretched out pretty well by now. The Pirates have an off day tomorrow. It will be a much better off day if they can win their third in a row.

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Pirates Morning Report: Boy, Do The Royals Stink

Final Score: Pirates 5 Royals 0

Why The Pirates Won: Johan Oviedo pitched one of the best games of the year shutting out the Royals on just 2 hits, walking 2 and striking out 5. The most amazing thing about the performance was that the Royals never got a man into scoring position. Thanks to a double play, he faced only 18 batters over the last 6 innings. The Pirate offense had a nice game getting 5 runs on 12 hits and 4 walks. They scored a run in the 2nd, a run in the 3rd, and added on nicely in the 7th and 8th. Ke’Bryan Hayes went 4-4 with a WALK, and finally became a league average hitter. If he can maintain that he could become a major asset to this team. I am one never to judge wins. After all the Oakland A’s took 2 out of 3 against the Pirates and then went into Milwaukee and swept the Brewers. However, this does not change the fact that the Royals really stink. They are the perfect definition of a team in malaise. That’s not to say that they won’t win the next 2 games, because the Pirates are just a notch above them, but they are just playing out the string if last night was any indication.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates were nursing that 2-0 lead going into the top of the 7th and really had not done much since the 3rd inning. The inning opened well enough with Alfonso Rivas getting a double to left. Then Alika (Why Am I Playing In The Major Leagues) Williams laid down a horrible bunt and Rivas was thrown out at third base. Bae flied out and it looked like the Pirates had messed up another opportunity. But alas, singles by Hayes, McCutchen and an infield hit by Palacios where the pitcher was slow to cover 1st base netted the Pirates 2 runs, which pretty much iced this game. A nice start to the road trip.

Next Game: Tonight, Royals in Kansas City. As of now the Pirates don’t have a starting pitcher listed on the web site. At least the bullpen is well rested. Could we get a sweep on the road? Only the Shelton knows for sure.

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Pirates Morning Report: Setting Small Goals

Final Score: Pirates 1 Cubs 10

Why The Pirates Loss: It was a total team effort. They couldn’t hit, couldn’t pitch, and couldn’t field. The Pirates could only manage 4 hits and 2 walks. It was amazing that they had 5 at bats with runners in scoring position. Of course, they were 0 for 5. Josh Palacios got 2 of those hits to bring his sparkling batting average up to .211. I thought Ben Gamel was bad. The Pirate pitching staff gave up 10 runs for the second straight game, all of them earned. They “only” walked 3 this game. This will be one of the goals for today’s game, try and keep the Royals in single digits. They put one of the worst fielding teams you could imagine on the field yesterday just to ensure defeat. Even though there were no errors committed, there were many balls that should have been caught or fielded that were not. It is part of the Pirate philosophy, on the job training at the Major League level. What purpose the minor leagues serve for the Pirates, God only knows, or maybe the Shelton knows.

Key Moment Of The Game: When the Pirates took the field. That lineup brought back memories of 2022 it was so bad. I think the Pirates have an eye on that draft lottery again. Despite the last 2 lopsided wins for the Cubs, they left town very sad, knowing they only have 3 more games with the Pirates. They are cursing the balanced schedule.

Next Game: Tonight, the Royals in Kansas City. It’s hard to believe but the Pirates are going on a 6 game road trip where both teams have worse records than them, the Royals and Cardinals. The Pirates will have to dig deep to find ways to lose to these two teams. If by some way they could take 2 out of 3 from the Royals, they would have their best month since April. The anticipation is unbearable.

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Pirates Morning Report: Give Him A Bus Ticket

Final Score: Pirates 6 Cubs 10

Why The Pirates Lost: Osvaldo Bido gave one of the worst pitching performances of the year and that’s saying something with this staff. Osvaldo started the top of the third inning with the Pirates leading 1-0 and in a short, or should I say long, 2 and 1/3 innings he gave up 8 runs. He gave up those runs, the Cubs certainly did not earn them. In the top of the third he walked 4 batters, 2 of which forced in runs. In that inning, the Cubs scored 3 runs on just 1 hit. Then in the top of the 5th he gave up 5 runs on a walk, 2 singles, a double, and a triple and the Pirates were behind 8-1. The Cubs were able to get those 8 runs on just 5 hits. He did keep the ball in the ballpark. Hopefully this morning he is getting on a bus for Altoona. He doesn’t even belong in AAA let alone in the Majors with his sterling 6.36 ERA. The Pirates tried to make a game of it scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the 7th, 4 of them after 2 were out. The Cubs added 2 in the top of the 9th for enough cushion to take the excitement out of the game. The Pirates are now 3-3 on this homestand.

Key Moment Of The Game: When Osvaldo Bido took the mound, the game was over. Oscar Marin came out and told him to throw strikes, but he did not listen. That should be enough to send him down to Altoona. You have to wonder why they left him in the game. Who knows, only the Shelton knows. I am sure the Cubs wish they had about 10 more games with the Pirates.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Pittsburgh. At least today, the Pirates know who is starting, Baily Falter, who has not pitched bad since coming to the Pirates. He had a great outing last time out pitching 6 innings giving up only 1 run on 3 hits. We will see if he can throw strikes at least.

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Pirates Morning Report: Keller’s Back, Call Overturned, Streak Over.

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cubs 1

Why The Pirates Won: Mitch Keller pitched his best game since the All Star break going 8 innings, not allowing a run, on 4 hits, a walk, while striking out 6. He was quite efficient throwing only 93 pitches. The Cubs only had 2 at bats with runners in scoring position, that’s how dominant he was. He was hit hard in the 8th with four balls exiting at over 100 MPH but fortunately two were right at the right and center fielder. The final one was a sharp comebacker to Keller for the final out. The Pirates were able to scratch out 2 runs in the first inning in an otherwise anemic offensive performance. Things got scary in the 9th but the Pirates hung on to end the 7 game losing streak to the Cubs.

Key Moment Of The Game: David Bednar came in to get the save in the top of the 9th and promptly game up a home run to Ian Happ. What is it with this guy and the Pirates. The last 15 games he is hitting .200 with On Base Percentage of .250 and already in this series he is 3 for 8 with one homer and two RBI’s. Cory Bellinger hit a ball to shortstop Alika (I’m A Triple A Player) Williams which he double clutched, and Bellinger was ruled safe at first base. Long story short, the call was overturned. I did not agree with call being overturned, but the Pirates will take it. You never know what would have happened, but this certainly had to take the sails out of the Cubs momentum. Dansby Swanson hit another ground ball to Williams and this time he rushed his throw but a nice scoop save by Alfonso Rivas got the 2nd out. After a stirring 9 pitch battle, Bedar struck out Seiya Suzuki and the Pirates defeated the Cubs for the first time in 2023

Next Game: Tonight, Cubs in Pittsburgh. Tonight, Bob Friend, Kent Tekulve, Elroy Face, and Dick Groat will be inducted to the Pirate Hall of Fame. That does not change the fact that it was a disgrace that Bob Friend was not in the inaugural class. He was by far the greatest Pirate pitcher of all time. At least he got in this year. The Pirates are bullpenning again tonight.