Tag: Pittsburgh Pirates.

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 5 CARDINALS 7

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: THE PIRATES BLEW A 5 RUN LEAD THANKS TO A BAD BULLPEN PERFORMANCE, AND ANOTHER QUESTIONABLE DECISION BY THE SHADOW. MITCH KELLER HAD PITCHED A GRITTY 5 INNINGS ON A HOT A HUMID NIGHT IN ST. LOUIS. HE GAVE UP 7 HITS AND WALK, BUT WAS ABLE TO WIGGLE OFF THE HOOK AND ALLOWED NO RUNS. HE HAD THROWN 91 PITCHES, AND SHOULD NOT HAVE COME OUT FOR THE BOTTOM OF THE 6TH INNING, BUT THE SHADOW KNOWS, IT WAS THE ONLY WAY THAT ST. LOUIS COULD GET BACK IN THE BALL GAME. IN JUST 6 MORE PITCHES THE CARDINALS GOT A DOUBLE, A LINE OUT AND ANOTHER SINGLE TO PUT RUNNERS ON 1ST AND THIRD WITH ONE OUT. HE THEN BRINGS IN ANTHONY ( I’M NOT A HIGH LEVERAGE GUY) BANDA TO TRY AND GET OUT OF THE JAM. THE PIRATES AGAIN WENT QUIETLY NOT GETTING A HIT AFTER THE 5TH INNING. YU CHANG IN A STATE OF SHOCK BECAUSE HE DID NOT STRIKE OUT AND GOT A HIT, LET A BALL THROWN RIGHT TO HIM GET PAST, WHICH ALLOWED THE 7TH RUN TO SCORE.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: BACK TO THE BOTTOM OF THE 6TH, AND BANDA ENTERS THE GAME TO TRY AND STOP THE CARDINALS. WHEN HE CAME IN THE SCORE WAS 5-0 AND WHEN HE LEFT WITH HIS NEW SPARKLING ERA OF 6.59, THE SCORE WAS TIED 5-5. HE GOT ONE OUT. HE GAVE UP 4 HITS, AND YES, ONE OF THEM WAS A LITTLE BLOOP DUNKER OVER FIRST, BUT THE OTHER THREE WERE 2 DOUBLES AND THE BIG 3 RUN HOMER BY DYLAN CARLSON TO KNOT IT ALL UP AT 5. CHALK UP 7 LOSSES IN A ROW.

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 3 BRAVES 5

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: THE PIRATE PITCHERS COULD NOT KEEP THE BALL IN THE PARK GIVING UP 4 HOME RUNS ACCOUNTING FOR ALL 5 BRAVES RUNS. THE PIRATES IN THIS GAME MANAGED TO STIKE OUT ONLY 10 TIMES THEIR BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE SERIES. IN THE 4 GAMES THE PIRATES STRUCK OUT 51 TIMES. THIS WAS THE SECOND GAME OF THE SERIES WHERE IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE GAMES. THE TEAM ON FIRE STAYS HOT AND THE TEAM THAT IS STRUGGLING CONTINUES TO DO SO. THE PIRATES DID NOT PLAY A BAD GAME, IT WAS JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH. IN THE LAST 4 INNINGS THE PIRATES COULD ONLY GET 2 HITS AND ONE OF THOSE WAS PICKED OFF FIRST IN THE 8TH INNING.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: THE 2 RUN HOMER BY ADAM DUVAL IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 4TH TO GIVE THE BRAVES A 4-1 LEAD, REALLY SEEMED TO SEAL THE DEAL. IN THE LAST 8 GAMES THE PIRATES HAVE SCORED 15 RUNS, SO ANY TIME A TEAM SCORES 4 RUNS IT SEEMS LIKE AN INSURMOUNTABLE LEAD AND YESTEDAY IT WAS.

NEXT GAME: TONIGHT, CARDINALS IN ST. LOUIS. UNLIKE THE RED HOT BRAVES THE CARDINALS ARE TREADING WATER A LITTLE BIT, GOING 5-5 IN THEIR LAST 10 GAMES. THE PIRATE BATS LOOK PRETTY PATHETIC AND THEY HAVE A DOUBLE HEADER COMING UP, WHICH MEANS THE SHADOW WILL BE IN HIGH REST MODE FOR HIS AGING TEAM. TWO GAMES IN A ROW WE HAVE NOT SEEN YU CHANG START. COULD IT BE THREE. THAT SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY EXCITEMENT LEFT TO BEGIN THIS WEEK.

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Pirates Morning Report

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 4 BRAVES 10

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: WHAT LOOKS LIKE A LOPSIDED SCORE COULD HAVE BEEN A WIN, BUT THIS WAS THE MOST MISMANAGED GAME OF THE SEASON, AND THERE HAVE BEEN SOME BAD ONES. ZACK THOMPSON AFTER GIVING UP 2 FIRST INNING HOME RUNS, ONLY GAVE UP ONE MORE HIT IN 5 INNINGS, HAD TO GET 4 OUTS IN BOTH THE 4TH AND 5TH, AND HAD THROWN ONLY 67 PITCHES. HE WAS NOT ALLOWED TO COME OUT FOR THE 6TH INNING. WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY. I CAN TELL YOU WHY. THERE IS ONLY ONE EXPLANATION, THIS MANAGEMENT TEAM LOSES GAMES ON PURPOSE. THERE SHOULD BE AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE PIRATES BY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FOR THROWING GAMES. THOMPSON WAS DOMINATING THE BRAVES AND WAS TAKEN OUT FOR NO GOOD REASON. HE WAS REPLACED BY ONE OF THE MORE MEDIOCRE RELIEVERS THE PIRATES HAVE, WITH THE PIRATES LEADING 4-2. HE GOT OUT OF ONE INNING BUT THEN THEY MADE HIM PITCH ANOTHER INNING AND ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE, AS THE BRAVES SCORED 8 RUNS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 7TH. THERE WERE MUCH BETTER OPTIONS IN THE BULLPEN, BUT THE PIRATES CHOSE NOT TO USE. THIS WAS THE KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME, NOT ALLOWING THOMPSON TO CONTINUE TO PITCH. THIS WAS NOT NEW TERRITORY FOR HIM. TWO STARTS AGO HE THREW 96 PITCHES AND HIS LAST START HE THREW 84. THIS IS JUNE FOR GOD’S SAKE, PITCHERS SHOULD BE THROWING A 100 PITCHES WITH NO PROBLEM. THE FANS DESERVE BETTER THAN THIS FROM DERICK SHELTON.

NEXT GAME: THIS AFTERNOON, BRAVES IN ATLANTA. I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO WRITE, EXCEPT, SHELTON WILL MAKE SURE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, THAT THIS WILL BE THE 6TH LOSS IN A ROW. IT WILL PROBABLY START WITH YU CHANG BATTING CLEAN UP.

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Pirates Morning Report

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 2 BRAVES 4

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: THIS IS THE KIND OF GAME YOU SEE WHEN ONE TEAM THAT IS VERY HOT IS PLAYING A TEAM THAT IS VERY COLD. THE BRAVES MADE THE PLAYS, THE PIRATES DID NOT. ROANSY CONTRERAS PITCHED OK BUT GAVE UP A HOME RUN AND GOT NICKED UP FOR RUNS IN THE 4TH AND 5TH. THE PIRATES TRIED TO MAKE A GAME OF IT BY GETTING 2 RUNS IN THE TOP OF THE 8TH, BUT ALL IN ALL, ANOTHER BAD DAY FOR THE OFFENSE. SECOND STRAIGHT GAME WHERE THEY STRUCK OUT 13 TIMES. TRAVIS SWAGGERTY’S CAREER MAY HAVE BEEN RUIN BECAUSE HE WAS PINCH HIT FOR BY YU CHANG. NATURALLY HE STRUCK OUT, BUT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGE TO SWAGGERTY COULD BE CAREER ENDING. YOU ARE PINCH HIT FOR BY A MAN BATTING .071. I HAVE TO WONDER IF THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED IN THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL AFTER JUNE 1. IT WAS THE PIRATES 4TH LOSS IN A ROW WITH MORE TO COME.

THE KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: KE’BRYAN HAYES LED OFF THE TOP OF THE 8TH AND WAS AHEAD IN THE COUNT 3 BALLS AND 0 STRIKES. HE TOOK THE NEXT PITCH FOR A STRIKE BUT SWUNG AT THE NEXT TWO PITCHES THAT WERE BOTH INSIDE TO STRIKE OUT. THIS WAS FOLLOWED UP BY TWO SINGLES AND A DOUBLE WHICH MADE THE SCORE 4-1 AND THE PIRATES HAD 2ND AND 3RD WITH ONE OUT. IF HAYES WOULD HAVE WALKED LIKE HE SHOULD HAVE, THE SCORE WOULD HAVE BEEN 4-2 AND THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN 2ND AND 3RD WITH NO ONE OUT. THERE IS NO TELLING WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IN THAT SENARIO.

NEXT GAME: LATE AFTERNOON, BRAVES IN ATLANTA. THE PIRATE MANAGEMENT TEAM CONTINUES TO MAKE DECISIONS THAT CONTRIBUTE GREATLY TO PIRATE LOSSES. I AM SURE THAT WE WILL SEE YU CHANG BACK IN THE STARING LINE UP. THE 5TH STRAIGHT LOSS IS A FORE GONE CONCLUSION. HOWEVER, WE WILL STILL WATCH, JUST TO GET A GOOD LAUGH.

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 1 BRAVES 3

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: ANOTHER BAD DAY FOR THE OFFENSE. EVEN THOUGH THEY GOT 8 HITS, THEY COULD NOT GET THE KEY ONE. FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT GAME THE ONLY RUN THEY SCORED WAS A JACK SUWINSKI HOME RUN. THE LAST 4 INNINGS THEY DID NOT GET A MAN ON BASE. THEY STRUCK OUT 13 TIMES. J. T. BRUBAKER PITCHED A VERY NICE 7 INNINGS BUT SOME SOFT HITS, A WALK, A HIT BATSMAN AND THE BRAVES CAME UP WITH 3 RUNS. THAT WAS MORE THAN ENOUGH TO SEND THE PIRATES TO THEIR 3RD STRAIGHT LOSS.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: IT WAS MORE OF A KEY OMEN OF THE GAME. KE’BRYAN HAYES LED OFF THE GAME WITH A SINGLE AND THEN IMMEDIATELY GOT PICKED OFF FIRST BASE. THE PIRATES GOT 2 MORE HITS IN THE INNING BUT DID NOT SCORE A RUN. RIGHT THERE YOU FELT THAT THINGS WERE NOT GOING TO GO THEIR WAY. THIS GAME WAS SIMPLY A MATTER OF A VERY GOOD TEAM MAKING THE KEY PLAYS.

NEXT GAME: TONIGHT, BRAVES IN ATLANTA. THE PIRATES JUST HAVE TOO MANY PLAYERS THAT SHOULD NOT BE IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES, AND THEY INSIST ON PLAYING THEM. CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE YU CHANG PLAYS NEXT. IS THERE A 10TH SPOT IN THE BATTING ORDER.

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 1 TIGERS 3

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: THE BATS REALLY FELL ASLEEP IN THIS GAME. HAYES AND REYNOLDS WERE PARTICULARLY BAD GOING 0 FOR 7 WITH 2 STRIKEOUTS EACH. THE FEEBLE OFFENSE COULD ONLY GET 4 HITS. MITCH KELLER PITCHED AN OK 6 INNINGS, CONSIDERING THE TIGERS ARE THE WORSE OFFENSIVE TEAM IN BASEBALL. THIS TIME THE BULLPEN DID NOT COME THROUGH GIVING UP RUNS IN THE 8TH AND 9TH INNINGS. THERE WAS SOME BAD LUCK INVOLVED AS THE TIGERS REALLY DID NOT PUT A LOT OF POWER TO THE BALL. IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN THE GAME.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: IT CAME EARLY IN THIS ONE. AFTER YU CHANG AND MICHAEL PEREZ GOT HITS IN THE BOTTOM OF THE 3RD, THE PIRATES HAD 1ST AND 3RD WITH ONLY ONE OUT. YES, THAT IS NOT A MISPRINT, THEY GOT BACK-TO-BACK HITS. THIS WAS THE MOMENT FOR THE PIRATES TO TIE THE GAME OR TAKE THE LEAD WITH KE’BRYAN HAYES AND BRYAN REYNOLDS COMING TO BAT. THEY BOTH STRUCK OUT TO END THE THREAT. AT LEAST THEY SWUNG AT ALL THE STRIKES BUT ONE. THE PIRATES NEVER THREATENED AGAIN. JACK SUWINSKI DID TIE THE GAME IN THE 4TH WITH HIS 7TH HOME RUN OF THE SEASON. IT WAS SAFE TO SAY THE PIRATES WERE NOT GOING TO SCORE ANYMORE RUNS.

NEXT GAME: TONIGHT, BRAVES IN ATLANTA. THIS HAS THE FORBODING FEELING THAT THE PIRATES ARE GOING TO FINALLY REACH THEIR LEVEL OF INCOMPETENCE. THE BRAVES ARE STARTING TO GET HOT AND THEY HAVE A GREAT PITCHING STAFF. HAYES AND REYNOLDS LOOK LOST OUT THERE OFFENSIVELY. A BRAVE 4 GAME SWEEP SEEMS IMMINENT. THIS TEAM HAS FOOLED ME BEFORE. I AM HOPING THEY WILL AGAIN.

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Pirates Late Morning Report

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 3 TIGERS 5

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: AS GOOD AS THE PITCHING HAS BEEN LATELY, THEY FELL FLAT ON THEIR FACE LAST NIGHT. THE TIGERS ARE THE WORST OFFENSIVE TEAM IN BASEBALL WITH AN AVERAGE OF 2.82 RUNS PER GAME. TO ALLOW THEM TO SCORE 5 RUNS IS DISGRACEFUL. THE TOP OF THE 8TH PRETTY MUCH SUMMED THINGS UP. THE TIGERS DID EVERYTHING THAT THEY COULD POSSIBLY DO TO NOT SCORE A RUN, BUT THE PIRATES TOP THEM, BY DOING EVERYTHING THEY COULD DO TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY DID.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: JOSE QUINTANA JUST GOT ROCKED IN THE 4TH INNING. THE TIGERS GOT 4 HITS AND A WALK AND TOOK THE LEAD 4 TO 1. THE HITS WERE PRETTY MUCH ALL ROCKET SHOTS AND THE PIRATES WERE LUCKY THAT THE TIGERS GOT ONLY 3 RUNS. THE PIRATES GOT WITHIN A RUN IN THE BOTTOM OF THE INNING WHEN CAL MITCHELL HIT A HOME RUN WITH A MAN ON. THEY COULD GET NO CLOSER AND THE GIFT RUN IN THE 8TH GAVE THE TIGERS SOME BREATHING ROOM.

NEXT GAME: IN ABOUT 70 MINUTES, TIGERS IN PITTSBURGH. NO SPECUTLATION ON THE LINE UP TODAY. NO SWAGGERTY, ANOTHER REALLY COOL METHOD THE PIRATES HAVE FOR PLAYER DEVELOPEMENT, SIT THE BENCH. BUT WHO CAN BLAME THEM, CERTAINLY NOT THE PIRATE ANNOUNCERS, WHEN YOU CAN PUT THE TURTLE IN THE LINE UP, ALONG WITH YU CHANG AND PEREZ. THE BIG QUESTION OF THE DAY WILL BE, CANTHE COMBO OF PEREZ AND CHANG PUT ONE BALL IN PLAY? THEY DID NOT, THE LAST TIME THEY WERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ORDER. THERE SHOULD BE AN INVESTIGATION OF THE PIRATE ORGANIZATION AND THEIR CONSTANT WAYS OF TRYING TO LOSE GAMES. WE ARE GOING TO SEE MITCH KELLER’S NEW SINKER BALL. AGAINST DETROIT, LET’S HOPE IT GETS SOME OUTS.

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The Pirates, What Are They Not Seeing?

Over the years the Pirates have traded away a number of pitchers, mostly for economic reasons. It seems that every time one of those pitchers’ leave, there is a dramatic upturn in their performance. At least this seems to be the impression that I have. Like many things, sometimes what you feel, is not always what is actually happening. I also wanted to know if there were some exceptions, and I did find a couple. What started all this, is the recent performance of Clay Holmes, who is now with the New York Yankees, but more on him later. To make things simple I used Baseball Reference’s ERA+ as the standard to compare pitcher’s performance while with the Pirates and after they left. ERA+ takes a player’s ERA and normalizes it across the entire league. It accounts for external factors like ballparks and opponents. It then adjusts, so a score of 100 is league average, and 150 is 50 percent better than the league average. ERA+ is a comparison number, so the higher the number the better the pitcher’s performance. I started with the year 2012 and started comparing the pitchers the Pirates had, and what happened after they left. I did find out that up until Clay Holmes, this was basically a starting pitcher phenomenon. Most relief pitchers for the Pirates seemed to perform about the same after they left.

We begin with Charlie Morton. He spent 7 seasons with the Pirates, having only one above average performance of 109. Once he left the Pirates his ERA+ went 113, 133, 144, 87, and 132. The below average performance was the Covid season of 2020. This year so far, he is having a below average season, but it is not over yet. Once he left the Pirates he became 30% better than the average major league starter. Gerrit Cole was the Pirate ace and his best year 2015 he had an ERA+ of 149. His last year with the Pirates he was right at the 100 number. His next 5 seasons including this one, his ERA+ ran, 144,185, 151, 133, and 137. He became one of the best pitchers in baseball and has the contract to prove it. Jameson Taillon looked like he may be the first exception and may still be. He had 2 good years with the Pirates with ERA+ of 123 and 122. He has been sidetracked by 2 Tommy Johns surgeries and was just a league average starter for the Yankees last year. This year he is heading into stud mode with an ERA+ of 166 after 10 starts. Tyler Glasnow in 2 and 2/3 seasons with the Pirates never had an ERA+ of over 100, although he came close with 99 in his first year. Once he got to Tampa Bay it was almost an immediate transformation. He, too has been sidetracked with Tommy John surgery. When healthy he had ERA+ of 98, 248, 100, and 133. Here are few other comparisons with Tampa Bay being first Wins, 17,3. ERA 3.16, 6.50 and BB per 9 innings 2.8, 5.8. Joe Musgrove spent 3 seasons with the Pirates and seemed to be making some nice progress. He had ERA+ of 97, 97, and then a nice 117. Going to San Diego he made a slight improvement to 122 last year, but this year he is another stud in the making, with an ERA+ of 236. He threw a no-hitter last year and almost threw another his last start. There are a couple of exceptions. Jeff Lock and Trevor Williams each had some good periods, but never did much with the Pirates, or after they left. Chad Kuhl got off to a good start with the Rockies after being horrible with the Pirates last year, with an ERA+ of 88. So far this year it is 147. Time will tell on that one.

Then, there is the amazing case of Clay Holmes. Holmes pitched for the Pirates for 3 seasons and did not see much action at all in 2020. He pitched 119 innings for the Pirates. He was traded to Yankees last year near the trade deadline. He has since pitched 54 innings for them. We will dig a little deeper into hiss stats. Here are his main stats for the Pirates. ERA 5.56, S0/Walk ratio 1.45, Whip 1.638, and ERA+76. Now for the Yankees and hold on to your hats. ERA 0.99, SO/Wall ratio 8.86, Whip .732 and ERA+ 415. Too bad you cannot capitalize numbers. He is like 5 to 6 times better on 3 of the stats and his Whip is cut by more than 50%. Good grief. I watched him pitch the other day and apparently, he has developed a 100-mile per hour sinker. When he was traded, I could not believe that the Yankees wanted him and were willing to give up what they did. They obviously saw something that the Pirates did not see and have been rewarded by having the most dominate reliever in baseball. I do not know if he can keep this up but up to this point, it is mind boggling.

What is the explanation for this lack of knowing or developing pitching talent? There can only be 3 possibilities. One may have nothing to do with Pirates. These pitchers all went to better teams, especially better fielding teams, and this in turned made these guys all have much better pitching stats. That could be a factor especially with some of the border line cases, line Taillon and Musgrove. The second reason could be that the Pirates just have a very poor developmental staff and just don’t know what the hell they are doing on the pitching side of things. I like this explanation the best. This does not seem to happen with the position players they lose. They have lost a lot of good position players from economics, but they just seem to perform as expected, and no one seems to perform way over the top. Jose Batista comes to mind, when he went to Toronto, but that was a good while back. The scariest explanation is that these players know that the Pirates are really not trying to win or succeed, and they only put in minimal effort toward their own performance, hoping they will be able to go to a contender. Ball players are not stupid. The Pirates have had some of the worst management teams in all of baseball and this current one in particularly does not want to win, this year, with all the goofy moves they have made. They have cost some of their top players millions of dollars by not promoting them to the big leagues this spring. When these players went to the minor leagues, they did not put out the best efforts. Some call this a lack of maturity. I call this telling your boss, try sticking it to somebody else. I am not costing myself an injury that might end my career. Pitching is what wins all the marbles. It is the one aspect of the game you have to pay for. It is very difficult to develop it. You have to know what you are paying for and what you are giving up. It looks like the Pirate brass haven’t a clue.

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Pirates Morning Report:

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 3 DIAMONDBACKS 0

WHY THE PIRATES WON: ANOTHER GREAT PITCHING DAY WITH ZACK THOMPSON GOING 5 INNINGS. WHY ONLY 5 INNINGS, ONLY THE SHELTON KNOWS. THE BULLPEN CONTINUED THE SHUT DOWN, AS THE DIAMONDBACKS COULD ONLY MUSTER 5 HITS, ALL SINGLES, AND NEVER GOT A RUNNER PASS 2ND BASE. THE PIRATES HAD JUST ENOUGH OFFENSE, WITH CAL MITCHELL GETTING HIS 1ST HOME RUN OF HIS CAREER. JACK SUWINSKI HAD A GREAT DAY AT THE PLATE GOING 3 FOR 4 WITH 2 DOUBLES AND A SINGLE.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: WITH 1 OUT IN THE TOP OF THE 6TH SUWINSKI STOLE 3RD BASE AND WAS ABLE TO SCORE ON DIEGO CASTILLO’S LONG SACRIFICE FLY. IT WAS A GREAT MANUFACTURED RUN, THAT GAVE THE PIRATES A 2-0 CUSHION. THEY WERE ABLE TO SCORE AGAIN IN THE 7TH ON A 1 OUT RBI SINGLE BY KE’BRYAN HAYES. HE DOES MUCH BETTER WHEN THE BASES ARE NOT LOADED.

NEXT GAME: TUESDAY NIGHT, TIGERS IN PITTSBURGH. THE PIRATES BROUGHT UP TRAVIS SWAGGERTY BUT SENT DOWN RUDOLFO CASTRO, LEAVING YU CHANG ON THE TEAM, WHO IS 0 FOR 19 IN 2022. AGAIN, SOMETHING THAT CAN ONLY BE EXPLAINED BY THE PIRATE ANNOUNCERS. MAYBE MANAGEMENT WANTS MICHAEL PEREZ TO FEEL BETTER KNOWING THAT HE DOES NOT HAVE THE LOWEST BATTING AVERAGE ON THE TEAM. ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON, IN A COMBINED 5 PLATE APPEARANCES PEREZ AND CHANG FAILED TO PUT A BALL IN PLAY, 4 STRIKE OUTS AND A WALK. THEY BOTH DESERVE TO BE IN THE MAJORS, NOT.

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Pirates Morning Report

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 6 DIAMONDBACKS 8

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: YOU CAN KISS IT GOOD-BYE. THE PIRATE PITCHERS SERVED UP 5 GOPHER BALLS THAT ACCOUNTED FOR 6 OF THE 8 DIAMONDBACKS RUNS. J. T. BRUBAKER SERVED UP 3 OF THEM. THIS PATTERN STARTED AT JUST ABOUT THIS TIME LAST YEAR. BRUBAKER HAD PITCHED PRETTY WELL UNTIL ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF JUNE, IN 2021, AND THEN STARTED GIVING UP THE HOME RUN BALL ON A REGULAR BASIS FOR A TOTAL OF 26. LET’S HOPE THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE A REPEAT PERFORMANCE. THE PIRATE BATS CAME ALIVE FOR 6 RUNS BUT IT WAS NOT ENOUGH, AS THE 3 GAME WINNING STREAK CAME TO AND END.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: THE SCORE WAS TIED 3-3 GOING INTO THE TOP OF THE 5TH, WHEN BRUBAKER DECIDED TO GET INTO BATTING PRACTICE MODE. DOUBLE, HOME RUN, SINGLE, AND FINALLY ANOTHER DOUBLE SENT BRUBAKER TO THE SHOWERS. ANTHONY BANDA CAME IN AND ALMOST GOT OUT OF THE JAM, BUT THEN THREW A WILD PITCH, WHICH GAVE THE DIAMONDBACKS A 6-3 LEAD. TWO MORE HOME RUNS IN THE 7TH MADE IT 8-3. THE PIRATES TRIED TO RALLY IN THE 9TH BUT FELL SHORT 8-6

NEXT GAME: THIS AFTERNOON: DIAMONDBACKS, IN PITTSBURGH. IT WAS NICE TO SEE THE TURTLE BACK IN THE LINE UP, ALWAYS ENTERTAINING. WATCHING HIM RUN FROM 1ST TO 2ND IS SOMETHING TO BEHOLD. IT DOES MAKE YOU WONDER HOW HE COULD PULL ANY MUSCLE. DEREK SHELTON HAS BEEN IN DEEP DEPRESSION, KNOWING HE WON’T BE ABLE TO START JOSH VAN METER FOR A GOOD WHILE. BEN CHERINGTON IS THE SAME WAY, KNOWING THAT SOONER OR LATER HE IS GOING TO HAVE TO ACTIVATE KEVIN NEWMAN. IT’S TOUGH BEING ON THE PIRATE MANAGEMENT TEAM.