Tag: Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Pirates Morning Report: Snake Bit Keller

Final Score: Pirates 2 Red Sox 5

Why The Pirate Lost: Mitch Keller has had his ups and downs this season, especially in the 2nd half. One thing has been consistent: Keller pitches badly, he loses. Keller pitches great, he loses. The only negative thing you could say about his outing yesterday was he was not efficient. It took him 90 pitches to get through 5 innings. He gave up no earned runs on 4 hits. He struck out 7 and walked one. He hit a batter that proved costly. As unusual, he deserved a better fate, like being traded at the trade deadline. Instead he lost his 13th game of the season. He got no offensive support. The Pirates struck out 12 times. They had only 6 hits. Their first run was a total gift. They got 3 walks and a wild pitch to score. The AAA boys had an ok day. They went 2 for 12, with Alexander Canario hitting a home run in the 7th for the Pirates’ 2nd run. Henry Davis, while the Pirates’ broadcast was singing his praises, had a particularly bad game. He led off the 3rd by striking out. He swung at one ball chin high. He struck out on a pitch that was a foot low and outside. His next at-bat, he came up with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 outs. He grounded out on a ball that was 2 feet outside to end the inning. It was smoked at 68 MPH. In his last at-bat, he struck out. This time he did not mess around. He swung at all 3 pitches that were not in the strike zone. He did manage not to swing at a ball that was in the dirt. After the game, he said something was in his eye or he would have swung. He thinks it is important to speed up the game. It was another lackluster performance by the Pirates in another game where they could have made a statement. I guess you could say they did.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates had just gotten their gift run in the top of the 5th. In the bottom of the inning, everything went wrong. It opened with a Nick Gonzales throwing error. Keller did get the next batter to fly out. Then Carlos Narvaez hit an 83 MPH soft liner that bounced in the stands for a double. The next batter grounded out to score the run. Keller hit Alex Bregman, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs. Jarren Duran hit a 103 MPH so-called inside the park home run, making the score 4-1. Alexander Canario got an extremely late jump on the ball. He was probably thinking, “Will I ever hit another home run?” instead of paying attention to what was going on in the game. Then Oneil Cruz let the ball go right between his legs when it bounced off the wall. It was quite a joint effort by those two to allow the speedy Duran to circle the bases. Canario answered his own question by hitting a home run in his next at-bat. The Pirates threatened in the 8th. Canario struck out this time. He swung at a pitch that was in the dirt to end the inning.

Next game: Tomorrow, the Dodgers in Pittsburgh. Despite this last game that you knew was going to happen, the Pirates were 4-3 on the road trip. They did much better than I thought they would. They need to go at least 2-4 to win 6 of these 13 games. They do play better at home. Can they avoid the 0-6 disaster against the 2 best teams in the National League? Thank God they have a day of rest before the home stand. Bryan Reynolds even has two days’ rest. His decrepit 30 year old body will be ready to go come Tuesday.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pirates On A Roll

Final Score: Pirates 10 Red Sox 3

Why The Pirates Won: For once, the Pirates took full advantage of a team’s generosity. The Red Sox walked 7 batters and committed 2 errors. The Pirates had 12 hits, which enabled them to put 10 runs on the board. Johan Oviedo went 5 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. He struck out 6 while walking 3. The bullpen did protect the big lead, but it was definitely shaky. Oneil Cruz hit his 19th homer, and Bryan Reynolds had 3 RBIs. The only AAA player to play was Triolo; he went 1 for 3 with a walk and scored 3 runs. The Pirates have won 8 of their last 10 games and are now 4-2 on this road trip. No matter what happens today, they will have a winning road trip. It would be so nice to see them go 5-2. Another opportunity for a big psychological win. It will be interesting to see how hard management tries to win the game.

Key Moments Of The Game: With a 6-run lead, you would not have thought there would be any key moments. Mike Burrows pitched the worst 2 innings to just give up 1 run. Remember, you are in Fenway Park and this is the Pirates. Burrows came in to start the bottom of the 6th. The Pirates had just scored 5 runs in the top of the 6th. It took Burrows 44 pitches to get through 2 innings. His line read 1 run on 5 hits. That does not tell the story. He got a ground out to start the bottom of the 6th. The Red Sox got 3 straight singles to make the score 9-3. Runners were on 1st and 2nd with one out. Burrows hit the next batter to load the bases. This brought up weak-hitting David Hamilton to the plate. I am not familiar with the Red Sox bench. I would have thought a pinch hitter may have been warranted here. He immediately became someone the Pirates would be interested in. With the bases loaded, he took the first two pitches for strikes. He was able to work the count to 2-2 before striking out. This brought up No. 9 hitter catcher Carlos Narvaez. Burrows fell behind 3-0. He got away with throwing the next 4 pitches right down the middle of the plate. Narvaez went Pirate mode and took the last one for strike 3. In the bottom of the 7th, Burrows gave up an opening single. Alex Bregman hit a low line drive that Cruz made a great diving grab. That was followed up by another single, putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Trevor Story flied out to rather deep center field. Masataka Yoshida hit a 106 MPH knuckling line drive to right field. It was right at Bryan Reynolds. He battled the ball and was able to grab it just before it hit the ground. After those two innings, you felt it was not the Red Sox’s day. They could have easily gotten back in the game. The Pirates felt safe enough to bring Yohan Ramirez into the game to start the 8th. The Red Sox did not threaten the last two innings.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Red Sox in Boston. Mitch Keller will go for the Pirates as they “try” to go for the sweep. Whatever it is, Fenway Park seems to bring out the best in these Pittsburgh Pirates. They will be heading home to play the Dodgers and Brewers. The Pirates are not playing on Labor Day. A gift from MLB to the Pittsburgh fans, allowing them to have a happy Labor Day. Thank you, MLB.

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Pirates Morning Report: Never An Urgency To Win

Final Score: Pirates 1 Cardinals 4

Why The Pirates Lost: The offense is back to normal. They are passive, taking 28 strikes. At one stretch, Liover Peguero saw 9 pitches in two at-bats and took them all. He struck out on 6 pitches and did not swing at one. I hear that Daniel Vogelbach is his personal advisor. They are pathetic, swinging at 18 balls that were out of the strike zone. They are putrid, going 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, stranding 8 men on base. Only one AAA boy started, Suwinski, and he went 1 for 3. Triolo pinch-hit for him in the 9th and singled. The AAA boys did better than the team. Braxton Ashcraft pitched a nice 5 and 2/3 innings. He gave up 1 run on 4 hits. He struck out 5 and walked 1. He had thrown just 73 pitches. There was a runner on first with 2 outs. Don Kelly made the move to take him out. He decided to replace him with the worst reliever in the history of baseball, Yohan Ramirez. Maybe I exaggerate a little there. However, his ERA after this awful performance is a whopping 6.56. There were other options out there for the Pirates. They were lucky in the 6th. Ramirez hit a batter. The next batter parked a ball 384 feet, but to dead center field. Cruz made the catch to end the inning. The Pirates just could not stand their good fortune. They brought Ramirez out for the 7th. There is no good excuse for that move. This organization never has a real urgency to win. Taking the Cardinals 3 out of 4 games in St. Louis would have been a huge psychological boost for this team. Pirate management does not care. Ramirez came out for the 7th and got slaughtered. Of course, he walked the first batter he faced in the 7th. In just three pitches, he allowed a double and then a home run. Before you could say, “Why is he on this team?”, the score was 4-1. They took him out, but it was way too late. The Pirates never threatened in the 8th and 9th.

The Key Moments Of The Game: Like the Cardinals the game before, the Pirates could not take advantage of early opportunities. Tommy Pham hit a home run in the first, demonstrating what you can do when you swing at a pitch in the strike zone. After the home run, the Pirates managed to get 2nd and 3rd with one out, but they could not score. Cruz popped out, and Bart flew out. In the top of the 2nd, a leadoff walk and single put runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been one of their hottest hitters against the Cardinals. So what do the Pirates do? They have IKF bunt, moving the runners up to 2nd and 3rd with one out. The next two batters struck out, and the Pirates never threatened again for the rest of the game. The Pirates guaranteed a loss when they brought out Ramirez to pitch the 7th inning, and he did not disappoint.

Next Game: Tonight, Red Sox in Boston. This starts a brutal 9-game stretch for the Pirates. Three games against Boston on the road, three games against the Dodgers at home, and finally three games against the Brewers at home. Paul Skenes is going for the Pirates tonight. Will the Red Sox be another notch on his belt? Even if they are, it will not guarantee a victory for the Pirates with that offense. It has been brutal the last 2 games. We will see how many runs they score in these next 9 games. I am betting under 18.

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Pirates Morning Report: Back To Normal, Pitchers Win Another One

Final Score: Pirates 2 Cardinals 1

Why The Pirates Won: Both teams’ offenses were pretty much nonexistent. The difference was the Cardinals gave the Pirates one of their runs. Pirate pitching was dominant again. Carmen Mlodzinski had command issues that the Cardinals failed to take advantage of. The bullpen in the last 6 innings only gave up one hit. Bubba Chandler had another excellent 4-inning outing. He gave up 1 hit and walked one. He managed to get his first major league win. Isaac Mattson had one of the most effective innings of the year. He threw 8 pitches, 7 of which were strikes, to get 3 quick outs in the 8th. Dennis Santana walked a batter with 2 outs in the 9th. The game ended on a weird little line drive. It took a crazy hop. Nick Gonzales had to barehand it to throw out the batter. The Pirate offense only had 3 hits. The AAA boys went 0 for 6 with 2 walks. Seven of the nine starters did not get a hit. Somehow, the Pirates pulled out the win. They are now 2-1 on the road trip.

Key Moments Of The Game: Mlodzinski had given up a run on 2 hits and 2 walks through 2 innings. The Cardinals ran into an out in the 2nd, or they might have scored more. He started the 3rd by striking out Nathan Church. He walked his third batter of the game. Ivan Herrera singled to right, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. Mlodzinski struck out Alec Burleson on 5 pitches. It was the out of the game. He finished the inning by striking out Willson Contreras. With the play he made at first base in the 6th inning, the Cardinals probably wish he had started serving his suspension. Going into the top of the 6th, the Pirates had gotten only one hit off Sonny Gray. IKF had the hit and made it 2 with a line drive double. Jared Triolo walked. Spencer Horwitz hit a ground ball right to Contreras. It looked like he was about to start a 3-6-3 double play. With the lead-footed Horwitz running, it should have been a sure thing. Suddenly, Contreras changed his mind. He tried to flip the ball to Sonny Gray, who was not even looking at him. He was expecting a throw from 2nd base. Everybody was safe, and the Pirates had the bases loaded. After a force out at the plate, Tommy Pham drilled the first pitch up the middle for a single. He drove in 2 runs with the hit. If the double play is performed, the Pirates probably don’t score at all. Hopefully, the Cardinals don’t miss the playoffs by one game.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Cardinals in St. Louis. It looks like Braxton Ashcraft will be going for the Pirates today. The Pirates could use a win this afternoon. They will be going up against three teams that are most likely playoff-bound: the Red Sox in Boston and the Dodgers and Brewers at home. The Pirates will get to see what they are made of these next two weeks. Will they be competitive? After all, that is what Derek Shelton wanted. Who really cares about winning? Let’s just hope we can give them a game.

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Pirates Morning Report: 136 Yard Golf Shot For Walk Off Cardinal Win

Final Score: Pirates 6 Cardinals 7

Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirates only allowed Johan Oviedo to go 4 innings even though he was pitching well. He had thrown only 53 pitches. They allowed Andrew Heaney to throw 31 pitches even though he was pitching poorly. The rest of the bullpen hung tough. However, Alec Burleson golfed a 136-yard wedge shot over the center field wall. This gave the Cardinals a 7-6 walk-off win. The Pirates scored 6 runs. The Cardinals tried to help them out. The Pirates committed baserunning gaffes. At times they got away with them thanks to the Cardinals’ poor defense. The Pirates were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. At first glance, you would have to say it was a good offensive day for the Pirates. As you will see, the Pirates should have scored 9 or 10 runs, but they do not understand baseball. They are a team that is very lackluster and just playing out the string. That is enough in my mind not to extend Don Kelly into next season. If this is all the effort the Pirates can put into playing the game, then it is clear the manager must take the blame. Somebody needs to tell the players not every team is as bad as the Rockies.

Key Moments Of The Game: In the first inning, the Pirates had 2nd and 3rd with 1 out and could only score 1 run. Both Horwitz and Pham had lousy at-bats. Horwitz swung at a ball low and outside to ground out. Pham took 2 strikes right down the middle. In the second inning, the Pirates had 1st and 2nd with no outs. Bart struck out, taking two called strikes. Peguero grounded into a double play after taking a called strike. In the top of the 7th, the Pirates had the bases loaded and nobody out, thanks to Cardinals’ misplays. Ronny Simon swung at two pitches that were in the dirt to strike out. Nick Gonzales hit a sacrifice fly to drive in a run. Bryan Reynolds struck out, swinging at a ball in the dirt. Simon told him how to do it. In the top of the 8th, Tommy Pham walked. Jared Triolo hit a little blooper into left-center field. The ball bounded away, but Pham could only make it to 2nd. No hustle, no effort. Andrew McCutchen swung at an inside pitch on a 3-1 count and grounded into an inning-ending double play. In the 9th, the Pirates saved the worst for last. With one out Simon doubled home the tying run. When Gonzales hit a ball back to the pitcher he tried to go to third base. He was thrown out by forty feet. The third baseman had a birthday waiting for Simon to get to the tag. All of this enabled the Cardinals to walk it off in the 9th.

Next Game: Tonight, Cardinals in St. Louis. Mister Average Major League pitcher Mitch Keller will go for the Pirates. Maybe it is better that the Pirates can’t really hit. That way they do not show how bad they are at running the bases. I am sure no one will pay for all the base running and batting blunders last night. That is not just the Pirates’ way. Accountability is a four-letter word.

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Pirates Morning Report: Just Not Fundamentally Sound

Final Score: Pirates 3 Cubs 4

Why The Pirates Lost: They just do not know how to play the game. They ran the bases poorly. They walked 5 batters. They made two errors. They would have won this game if they knew what they were doing. They got 9 hits to go along with 3 walks. They could only get 3 runs. They left 10 men on base. The AAA boys went 1 for 5 with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks. They scored one run. Triolo’s average dropped to .190. It is a hard climb. Carmen Mlodzinski pitched a very good 4 innings. He gave up only 1 hit and 0 earned runs. He had thrown only 44 pitches. The Pirate’s “brain” trust would not let him go any further. This was a game that the Pirates should have won. The Cubs missed some opportunities also. The Pirates gave away too many runs. They also failed to score more because of a lack of baseball awareness. As usual, you will see there is no accountability when you play for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Key Moments Of The Game: There were two examples of two players doing something good for the Pirates. Then they would do something bad or stupid to counteract it. First, we have Spencer (How Could Greg Brown Make Any Hall Of Fame If He Can’t Even Pronounce My Name Right) Horwitz. In the top of the 3rd with two outs, he doubled home IKF to tie the game 1-1. Bryan Reynolds hit a single to center field. The ball was solid with an exit velo of 92 MPH. Horwitz could not score on the hit. The Pirate broadcast booth said the ball was hit too hard for Horwitz to score. Wrong, make any excuse for the Pirates’ breath. Horwitz had an extremely poor lead at second. He did not take the walking lead when the ball was pitched. He did not get a good jump when the ball was hit. Next, we have Joey Bart. He doubled home two runs in the top of the 6th to make the score 3-2 Pirates. IKF hit a routine ground ball to short. Bart tried to go to third base and was thrown out by 6 feet. That is where I would have benched Bart right on the spot. Ronny Simon got a single that probably would have scored Bart. If Bart had been benched, we would not have seen his pathetic at-bat in the top of the 8th. There was a runner on 3rd with one out. He took the first two pitches for strikes. He fouled off the next pitch. The next pitch was a ball. He swung at a pitch that was almost over his head to strike out. He was probably thinking about what he should do when he is on 2nd base and a ball is hit on the left side of the infield. The Pirates would have scored 3 more runs if they had any brains and performed normal baseball plays. This obviously cost them the game. There were other managerial blunders, but they would not have mattered if the Pirates had those 3 runs. They have now lost 7 of their last 8.

Next Game: Tonight, Blue Jays in Pittsburgh. Paul Skenes starts for the Pirates tonight. I may never write this again the rest of the season, but this is a bounce-back start for Skenes. He will be going against one of the better teams, the Blue Jays. They are one of the best hitting teams in baseball. It will be interesting to see how Skenes responds to his first truly bad outing.

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Pirates Morning Report: Oh, What An Offense Not Mid August Back In 1966.

Final Score: Pirates 1 Cubs 3

Why The Pirates Lost: Another awful performance by the Pirate offense. They were passive, taking 19 strikes including 6 in the top of the 9th. They got 5 hits for the game, pathetic. They were 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position, putrid. It was about as Triple P as you could get. It did not bring back any memories of the 1966 Pirates, who had a team batting average of .278. Remember, pitchers had to bat in those days. Nobody on the Pirates has a batting average as high as .278. Let that one sink in for a moment. The mound had not been lowered yet, either. The AAA boys went 2 for 7 with 2 strikeouts and no walks. Triolo got the 2 hits as his batting average climbed to .193. All of this wasted another good performance by the Pirate pitching staff. Starter Mike Burrows only threw 68 pitches in 5 innings. He gave up 1 run on 5 hits. He struck out 4 and walked 2. Why he did not come out for the 6th inning, I will never know. The bullpen was shaky. It caught up with them in the bottom of the 8th. They gave up the 2 runs. All in all, just another horrible offensive day for the Pirates that caused their 6th loss in 7 games.

Key Moment Of The Game: The Pirates looked like they might get some two-out lightning in the top of the 7th. Joey Bart walked. Liover Peguero singled, moving Bart to third. This brought up Alexander Canario. He has not gotten a hit for over a month. Even though the lefty was still in there, the situation screamed for a pinch hitter. Don Kelly did not do it. Canario had his usual horrid at-bat. He struck out on 5 pitches. In the bottom of the 8th, Evan Sisk came in. In 5 pitches and a stolen base, the Cubs took the lead 2-1. Canario’s horrible throw allowed the runner to go to second. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to third. Yohan Ramirez struck out the next batter. Don Kelly made his 2nd bad move. He intentionally walked Ian Happ to face Nico Hoerner. Happ is a switch hitter. He is hitting the same from either side of the plate, a whopping .225. Hoerner is hitting .322 in the last 30 games. He doubled to left-center field, giving the Cubs their insurance run. They really did not need it. The Pirates were pathetic in the 9th. After an opening single, the last 3 batters all struck out. Each one took 2 called strikes. Two of the three took called 3rd strikes. That is a great two-strike approach the Pirates are teaching. Take the pitch and pray.

Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Chicago. Back to the Carmen Mlodzinski experiment today. Why the Pirates want this guy to be a starting pitcher, God only knows. I guess the only good thing is they sent Heaney to the bullpen. Too bad they did not use him yesterday. It will be a big surprise if the Pirates win today. Can they score more than 3 runs today? Oh, to be able to see 1966 again.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pitching And AAA Boys Come Through Big.

Final Score: Pirates 3 Cubs 2.

Why The Pirates Won: The pitching returned to form. The Pirates’ staff limited the Cubs to 2 runs on 6 hits. They struck out 6 and walked 2. It was a good day’s work for Braxton Ashcraft, new call-up Evan Sisk, Isaac Mattson, and Dennis Santana. It was also a great day for the AAA boys. They went 4 for 11, including Jack Suwinski’s go-ahead home run in the top of the 9th. They also made some good defensive plays. It was a good thing because the top of the order was bad. The first 4 batters in the Pirates’ order went 0 for 14 with one walk. This all led to the Pirates snapping their 5-game losing streak. They will not lose 11 in a row.

The Key Moments Of The Game: It was a game of missed opportunities in the late innings for the Cubs. The Pirates just grabbed the lead 2-1 in the top of the 7th. Evan Sisk hit Pete Crow-Armstrong to start the inning. Isaac Mattson came in to pitch. Nico Hoerner singled to left. Dansby Swanson bunted the ball up in the air in front of the plate. The ball had backspin and sidespin on it. The ball eluded Henry Davis, and the bases were loaded. Matt Shaw hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game. No other runners could advance. Mattson got two pop-outs to end the inning. In the bottom of the 9th, the play of the game happened. The Pirates were leading 3-2. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off with a single to center. On the very first pitch to the next batter, he tried to steal 2nd. Henry Davis’s throw was short and scooped up by Triolo. Crow-Armstrong, for whatever reason, slid way past the bag. He made a half-hearted effort to get back to the bag and was tagged out. The Pirate broadcast booth tried to make it sound like Triolo had made some great play. In my view, it was a huge baserunning gaffe by Crow-Armstrong. Regardless, it was the big play and out of the inning. The Cubs went quietly after that, and the Pirates had the win. It looks to me that the Cubs are feeling the pressure. Maybe the Pirates can take advantage.

The Next Game: This afternoon, Cubs in Chicago. Mike Burrows goes for the Pirates today. He has had a couple of shaky outings. Maybe he can turn things around today. Yesterday was the second big game for the AAA boys out of the last 8. Jack Suwinski stood out in both games. The Pirates won both of those games. I am still not ready to give anybody a promotion. It does show how a team has to have everyone contributing to pull out a win. We will see how many of them get to play today. Will they help again against the swooning Cubs?

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Pirates Morning Report: Forty Games To Go

There are 40 games left in this miserable season. I wrote yesterday that this has been the most disappointing period in Pirate history. I know that the Pirates had 20-some losing seasons in a row. They were all expected. At the end of the 2023 season, there seemed to be real hope for this team. As usual, not much was done during that off-season. Even so, when the 2024 season opened, there was talk of winning the division. It turned out to be a season of treading water. They wound up with the same record as 2023. They were in the hunt through the All-Star break. It was another August collapse. Unlike 2023 and 2024, the 2025 Pirates got off to a miserable start. I hope you like the word miserable because you are going to see it a lot in this blog. After 38 games, Derek Shelton was fired. He was fired 38 games too late. The Pirates tried, but they could never right the ship. They lost some heartbreaking games in the early part of Don Kelly taking over as manager. Despite that, they have hung around .500 with him until this last 5-game losing streak. Ben Cherrington has not helped this team at all. Before we get to his incompetence, let’s take a look at this team for the last time until after the season ends.

The Pirates are the worst hitting team in baseball by far. They have scored the fewest runs in baseball. They average 3.54 runs per game, the worst in baseball. The Rockies are 29th in baseball in runs scored per game. The Pirates have played two more games than the Colorado Rockies. The Pirates have scored 15 runs less than them. I do not see them catching up. The Pirates are tied for 29th place with the Rockies for OPS+ at 83. Just a miserable number. The Pirates are 25th in on-base percentage. It is hard to believe there are 5 teams worse than the Pirates. Thanks to the recent pitching implosion, they have fallen to 14th place in runs allowed per game. They are 10th in fielding independent pitching. They are 13th in ERA+ at 105. Just 3 weeks ago, they were in the top 7 in all three categories. They were the 2nd best fielding team in baseball about a month ago. Now they have fallen to 10th. This club has had a month of decline. Speaking of decline, the pitching has fallen the most. At one time, both the rotation and bullpen were ranked in the top 5 in baseball. They have fallen to 10th and 15th, respectively. Looking at the Pirates position by position, they all stink about the same. Catching is ranked 22nd. 1st base is 23rd. 2nd base is 20th. 3rd base is 17th. Shortstop is 22nd. Left field is 16th. Center field is 24th. Right field is 20th. The DH is ranked 27th. In pinch hitting, they are 23rd. It is amazing how closely they are all ranked. You can easily say the Pirates do not have one outstanding player when compared with the rest of the league. Then you have the AAA boys: Canario, Suwinski, Davis, and Triolo. What a crew. No one is SLUGGING over .300. Not batting average, SLUGGING. None of the batting averages are over .200. Their OPS+ range from 38 to 59. This is about as miserable as you can get. Yet the Pirates play these guys quite a lot. There are guys in AAA that could certainly perform better than these clowns. Davis is adequate behind the plate. Triolo can field. The other two are lucky to catch a routine fly ball. Despite what they say in that miserable Pirate broadcast booth, Suwinski is a terrible fielder. We leave this section with a quick update on Ke’Bryan (I Hate That Apostrophe) Hayes. When he was traded to the Reds, thank God, there were many ready to go to his defense. These people said the Reds would straighten him out and make him a better hitter. In his very first game with the Reds, he hit a home run. After that, he quickly got back to normal. On-base percentage with the Reds: .262, Pirates: .279. Slugging with the Reds: .325, Pirates: .290. OPS+ with the Reds: 59, Pirates: 61. At least the Reds have enough sense to bat him 9th.

Last but certainly not least, let’s look at the miserable Pirate management team led by Ben (Mr. Personality, Broken Record) Cherrington. In the last two years, he has repeated himself many times. We will take every opportunity we can to improve the team in all areas. High level of focus is needed to improve the offense. We are open to across-the-board improvement. We need a corner outfielder and a first baseman. We have the resources to make the moves necessary to improve the team. If that is true, then he doesn’t have the brains necessary to improve the team. If anything, the offense has gotten worse. In 2023, they were 22nd in runs scored per game. In 2024, they were 24th in runs scored per game. Thus far in 2025, they are the worst team in baseball at scoring runs. One of the big rules in problem-solving is recognizing you have a problem. The Pirates can identify their problem. They have no offense. They do nothing about it. Cherrington had a horrible trade deadline. He did get rid of two salary dumps, Bednar and Hayes. He could not get rid of Reynolds. That may have been Reynolds exercising no-trade clauses. Everyone has theories on why Pham and IKF were not traded. Here is a new theory on Pham. I think Cherrington did not trade Pham as punishment for having such a horrendous first 2.5 months of the season. Pham has had a remarkable turnaround. Another reason that makes Pham an attractive late-season addition is that he has enjoyed a very good postseason career. He has had 136 plate appearances in the postseason. His slash line is .315/.331/.492. This guy has produced in the postseason. It is hard to believe that somebody would not take him as a rental. I think Cherrington just did not shop him. On the other hand, I think there may be a possibility that Cherrington may try to sign IKF to a long-term contract. Those two things right there are enough for me to say fire Cherrington before more damage is done. The player development department needs a complete overall when it comes to position players. What is the purpose of bringing up a player and then letting him only play in 2 out of about 9 or 10 games? The Pirates did this numerous times this year. In a nutshell, the Pirates need to clean house. That includes not hiring Don Kelly as the permanent manager. That side of the team needs to be completely gutted. If that would happen, then this miserable season may have been worth it. Only time will tell.

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Pirates Morning Report: Pitching Staff Shellacked Again

Final Score: Pirates 5 Brewers 12

Why The Pirates Lost: The answer can be found in yesterday’s questions. Will the Brewers score over 30 runs for the series? Yes. They added 12 to score 33 for the series. Will the Pirates catch every ball hit or thrown to them? No. Will anybody be sent down today? No. How many AAA boys will be out there? Three but only two at the same time. They went 1 for 9 with 4 strikeouts. They also made an error. Will Don Kelly get ejected again so he won’t have to watch? No. Boy, did he ever pay the price. Will Gene Lamont look at the lineup card today? No, unless he doesn’t need reading glasses. Will the Pirates get a hit today, let alone score a run? They did get a hit. In fact, they got 12 of them and 4 walks. They only got 5 runs from that, all of that on two Bryan Reynolds home runs. They were 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position. Contrast that with what the Brewers did. They got 12 hits and 7 walks. They produced 12 runs. They were 8 for 14 with runners in scoring position. The Pirates were outscored in the series 33 to 6. The Pirates are off today. Then on to Chicago for another beating. They open their next homestand against the Blue Jays. Eleven losses in a row are a distinct possibility.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates made a game of this for 5 and 1/2 innings. The Brewers crushed Mitch Keller for 6 runs on 8 hits through 4 innings. In the top of the 5th, the Pirates got a little action going. They got a leadoff single by Ronnie Simon. Horwitz walked. Bryan Reynolds took a low inside sweeper into the seats to make the score 6-3. Nick Gonzales sandwiched a single between 2 outs. Joey Bart hit a line drive into right center field. It hopped over the fence for a ground rule double. This cost the Pirates a run and would have made the score 6-4. In the top of the 6th, Bryan Reynolds hit another homer. This time he hit it with a man on. It made the score 6-5. Without the bad break, it would have tied the game. Who knows how the momentum would have swung if the Pirates could have eyeballed them. As it turned out, the Pirate bullpen of Mlodzinski, Nicolas, and Sanders completely collapsed. In the next 2 innings, they gave up 6 runs on 4 hits, walking 5! The game was over.

Next Game: Tomorrow afternoon, the Cubs in Chicago. The Pirates are off today. They play 3 day games in a row. At least we should get this torture over with before dinner. To me, this has been one of the most disappointing times in Pirates history. You consider how you felt about the team at the end of the 2023 season. Now, think about your opinion of them now. It makes you realize two things. You need either prescription drugs or lots of alcohol if you are going to continue to watch this team.