Tag: pittsburgh pirates

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Pirate Morning Report: 2024 Season Wrap Up, The Players

Sit back, relax, have a vomit bag by your side, as we go through the Pirate roster and how they performed in 2024. I will discuss whether they should be on the team next year and at the end of this blog write about what the Pirates will need if they are to be successful next year. We are going to look at what each player’s wins above replacement is. Those not familiar with WAR, it is a way of evaluating a player’s overall performance. The way he bats, fields, pitches, and runs the bases. It is simply a number. A number 0 or less says he belongs in the minors. 0-2 he is a good bench player. 2-4 is a starter. 5+ is an All Star. If you reach 8, it means you are an MVP. Trust me you are not going to see any position players for the Pirates over 5. I will admit WAR is not perfect but all in all it is a very good way to evaluate players. We will discuss other aspects of a player’s year when needed. We will look at the comparison stat of OPS+ for hitters and ERA+ for pitchers. Again, this is simply a number with 100 meaning you are league average. Don’t expect to see many Pirates even at this level. To give some perspective Aaron Judge who will most likely be the MVP in the American League has a WAR 10.8 and an OPS+ 223. Pirate faithful can only dream about having such a player. Without further ado here are your 2024 Pirate player performances taking them in the order that you find them on Baseball Reference.

Yasnani Grandal: WAR 0.6 OPS+ 95 Grandal perked up some toward the end of the season but given his age and injury history he should not be back next year. Endy Rodriguez will be returning and I am satisfied with Jason Delay as a backup catcher. The most surprising thing about Grandal is, he graded out an average defensive catcher. I thought he was much worse than that. Regardless he is gone.

Rowdy Tellez: WAR minus O.4 OPS+ 91 Even though Tellez is already off the team there were some out there that thought he should be resigned for the same price. You have got to be kidding. He is a below average fielder and basically a terrible player. Glad he did not get that bonus. Hopefully never to be seen again on any team but I doubt it.

Nick Gonzales: WAR 0.9 OPS+ 96 Gonzales did show big improvement over his smaller sample size 2023, but he is still a below average hitter but not by much. He is an average defender which is not bad. For a free swinger he did not hit many home runs and slugged only .398. Hopefully he will continue to make progress. Most likely will be starting in the infield. Player no. 1 to be back.

Oneil Cruz: WAR 2.4 OPS+113 Cruz is the first Pirate listed that deserves to start in the major leagues. His WAR would be higher if he was not such a horrible defender. Cruz has an unlimited ceiling and coming off his ankle injury, his season was a definite success. He finished poorly at the plate, hitting only .167 over the last 15 games. With a spring training under his belt next year in centerfield let’s hope he gets comfortable out there. A big year from Cruz will go a long way toward making the Pirates contenders next year. Player no. 2.

Ke’Bryan Hayes: WAR 0.8 OPS+ 61 I thought Hayes would be one of the keys to the season and I was right. He never came remotely close to performing the way he did in the last 2 months of 2023. It could have been his back but who knows. There is no question he is an elite defender. His contract is very club friendly. Despite all of that I think the Pirates should cut ties and hope to get a couple of mid prospects. He might be part of a bigger trade but in my mind unlikely.

Bryan Reynolds: WAR 3.7 OPS+ 119 Reynolds had a solid year in 2024 ending a downward slide since 2021. The fact remains he did not approach his 2021 season. It is probably unlikely that he ever will. There is talk of moving him to first base. I don’t have a big problem with that. He is still not a player who is going to put a club on his back and carry it for a couple of weeks. Player no. 3.

Michael Taylor: WAR 0.9 OPS+ 51 Michael Taylor had a bad year at the bat even for him, Still an elite fielder but not enough to compensate for a very weak bat in 2024. Should not be back.

Bryan De La Cruz: A trade deadline pick up that needs to be just thrown away. WAR negative 1.8 OPS+ 77. Those were his numbers for the year. He was even worse than that with Pirates. A negative fielder, I see no plus side to Cruz and he should be dropped like a hot potato.

Andrew McCutchen: WAR 0.8 OPS+ 105 The Pirates had the 20th best DH in baseball. McCutchen took the majority of bats at DH by far. I do not know if the Pirates will resign him. I was ambivalent last year on whether the Pirates should have signed him. This year if this team is really going to improve then he should not be signed. We will see what happens.

Jared Triolo: WAR 1.3 OPS + 71 Another one of the big disappointments this year. He digressed greatly in every offensive area. Batting average dropped 82 points. On base percentage dropped 92 points! Slugging dropped 83 points. He did perk up a bit at the end of the year but he did that last year for a longer period of time. You know that old saying fool me once. Despite that I am willing to give Triolo one more shot because of his versatility, especially if they get rid of Hayes. Player no. 4

Connor Joe: WAR 0.6 OPS+ 92 I did not like that they signed him last year. He got off to a hot start and I felt like I had to eat some crow. His last 30 games his batting average was .167. He should not be on team next year. If he is then 2025 is another loser.

Joey Bart: WAR 2.0 OPS+ 120. Bart had never hit this well in the past but maybe he found something. Regardless he should be the no.1 catcher next year. Player no.5

Jack Suwinski WAR Negative 1.8 OPS+ 63. Another reason the Pirates did not make a run. His production was off by 50%. Didn’t even do that well in AAA with slash line of .239/307/444. Also a negative defender big time. Time to cut him loose.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa: His Pirate numbers. WAR .4 OPS+63 The Pirates insisted in using him as a lead off hitter which is the best way to kill an offense that is close to death anyway. Needs to settle into one position with my preference being 3rd base where he won a gold glove. Player no.6.

Henry Davis: WAR Negative .7 OPS+28. Yikes. Did impress in AAA 307/401/555. I don’t think you can give up on Davis quite yet. Player no.7 if he has a good spring.

Ji Hwan Bae. The mystery man of 2024. His AAA Slash line 342/433/504. Why he can’t come close to those numbers in the majors may be one of the big failings of the Pirates. He is one of the fastest men in baseball and an average fielding outfielder. With his tools you would think he would be an asset. A new hitting coach may help both he and Davis. Player no.8

Nick Yorke and Billy Cook: Two late season call ups that seem to have potential. Yorke is only 22 and Cook is 25. They both had their moments but nothing spectacular but it was a very small sample size. One or both could be on the team next year especially if the Pirates trade Triolo.

Before we go to the pitchers it is obvious what the Pirates need. A corner outfielder and a first basemen. Endy Rodriguez if healthy will be player no.9. If they sign McCutchen he will make 10. 3 players need to be obtained by trade or free agency, depending on what they do with the last two young players mentioned and McCutchen. If Reynolds does move to 1st base then 2 corner outfielders will be needed. Now to the pitchers.

Mitch Keller: WAR 2.0 ERA+99. Keller is Keller, a solid mid-rotation starter. Like any mid-rotation starter he is going to have his ups and downs. The only problem with Keller is the Pirate broadcast booth trying to make him into one of the best pitchers in baseball, which he is not. However, a definite asset and pitcher no. 1, rotation.

Bailey Falter: WAR 1.7 ERA+95. After that horrendous 1st start I thought he should never take the mound again. I was wrong on that one as Falter had a very good season considering he had a lot of hard luck, not a lot of run support and most of the time was going up against the other teams best pitcher. All in all he held his own. Pitcher no 2, should be considered for the bullpen with all the help they need.

Paul Skenes: WAR 6.0 ERA+214. What can you say except the Pirates better lock him up on a long term deal. Some people think 25 mil. for 6 years but frankly that is not enough. I think you have to go 30. Do one thing right management, for a change. Pitcher no. 3, rotation ace. Opening day starter.

Jared Jones: WAR 1.8 ERA+101 Jones definitely has the tools. His Achilles heel was the long ball. Had an injury that set him back but unlimited potential here. Pitcher no.4, rotation but could he be the future closer. A novel idea that is way too out of the box for the Pirate brain duds.

Luis Ortiz: WAR 3.1 ERA+126 Many people are saying that Ortiz should be used in a trade to get a bat. No way. Had a great turn around year and needs to stay on this team. Pitcher no.5, rotation but again what better way to shore up the bullpen than using Ortiz as a high leverage set up man.

David Bednar: WAR negative 0.9 ERA+73 By far the most disappointing year of any of the pitchers. His problem was easy to see but evidently hard to fix. Ever since the All Star break of 2023 he has lost command of his secondary stuff. In the first 90 games of 2023 he walked 2 batters and one of those was intentional. Ever since, he walks almost one every outing. You’re not going to get rid of Bednar just because of one bad year. Pitcher no.6, bullpen but what role hard to tell.

Aroldis Chapman: WAR 0.4 ERA+111. Chapman still has the velocity at age 36. The only question with Chapman is would he even want to resign with the Pirates after watching the debacle of this past season. If yes, should the Pirates try to resign him. Short answer, no.

Kyle Nicolas: WAR: 0.2 ERA+106. Nicolas has great stuff but control is the issue. Hopefully someone will finally teach these guys to get the ball over the plate. Pitcher no.7, bullpen.

Colin Holderman: WAR 0.7 ERA+133. Mr. Colin Holderman, I create my own jams and most of the time I get out of them. Had the mysterious wrist injury coinciding with a period of ineffectiveness. I unenthusiastically keep him on the team. Maybe a new bullpen coach helps him. Pitcher no. 8, bullpen.

Carmen Mlodzinski: WAR 0.8 ERA+125. Not quite as effective as he was in 2023, but still solid none the less. Hopefully can stay healthy next year. Pitcher no. 9

Dennis Santana: WAR 1.3 ERA+173. Santana had the best stretch of his career once he got with the Pirates. Whatever he or the coaching staff found let’s hope it lasts. Pitcher no. 10, bullpen

Jalen Beeks and Ryan Borucki: I put these guys together because neither one should be on the team next year. I will admit Beeks’s stats are not that bad but most of those were obtain in low leverage situations. As far as Borucki is concerned he has had physical issues almost every season. He has only appeared in 30 games twice in 7 seasons.

The Pirates should have 2 additions to their staff to start the season Bubba Chandler to move into the rotation and Johan Oviedo coming off Tommy John surgery possibly starting him in the bullpen before easing him in the rotation. That makes 12 pitchers with one more to obtain through trade or free agency. I would not rule out getting a starter by that method. I still think the best way to improve the bullpen is to consider putting Falter, Ortiz, and Oviedo there. Remember no matter how good your starting rotation is, in this day and age it only gets you through 2/3 of the game most of the time. You have to have a good bullpen if you are going to win. The rotation could look like this, Skenes, Jones, Keller, Chandler, New Player with eventually Oviedo starting in case of injury. Ortiz and Falter could move in to start if needed for the same reason.

There you have it, the pathetic 2024 Pittsburgh Pirates. For this team to move out of this mode they will need to add 3 to 4 additional position players, depending if they sign McCutchen, and to add one solid pitcher, whether it be a starter or reliever. To me this is a very tall order for this regime and all of this still does not eliminate Derek The Fox, who will personally lose at least 5 games on his own no matter who is on the field.

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Pirates Morning Report: Skenes, Bullpen Shutout The Reds

Final Score: Pirates 2 Reds 0

Why The Pirates Won: Paul Skenes, no surprise, and the Pirate’s bullpen, big surprise, combined to throw a 3 hit shutout to salvage the final game of the series. Skenes pitched 5 innings giving up 2 hits, no walks, striking out 9 while throwing 73 pitches. The bullpen took over in the 6th and right away Colin Holderman gave up a lead off single and you thought there goes this 2 run lead. Holderman got the next two outs and and Joey Bart threw out Jonathan India trying to steal to end the inning. The Pirate’s offense was awful again, but Oneil Cruz and Nick Yorke hit solo home runs to give the Pirates all they needed this time. Otherwise things were back to normal for the offense. Even with 5 other hits and 5 walks they could not score a run. They were 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position stranding 9 runners, while striking out 14 times. The pitchers won this game.

Key Moment Of The Game: Carmen Mlodzinski opened the bottom of the 7th by walking the lead off hitter. T. J. Friedl hit a pop up in no man’s land to left field where Billy Cook made a sensational sliding catch. If that had fallen there is no telling what might have happened next. As it was Ty France grounded into a double play ending the inning. The Reds never threatened again to give the Pirates a 2-0 win

Next Game: Tomorrow, Brewers in Pittsburgh. Just 6 games left in this miserable season. The Pirates have three at home with the Brewers and then finish the season with three games in Yankee stadium. There is a rumor that the Yankees are thinking of forfeiting all 3 games so the Pirates won’t desecrate Yankee stadium. The Pirates need to go 3-3 to win as many games as last year. They are lucky that neither team has a lot to play for. The Brewers have a slim chance of catching the Dodgers or Phillies for a first round bye so they may be a little more interested than the Yankees will be.

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Complete Loss

Final Score: Pirates 1 Reds 7

Why The Pirates Lost: For the 2nd consecutive game the Pirates couldn’t pitch and hit. Jared Jones another pitcher with velocity and command issues got blasted for 6 runs, 6 hits, including 2 home runs, walked 3, while throwing 90 pitches in 5 innings of work. He seemed to be having physical issues as well, which the Pirates seem to care little about. The Pirate offense, a loose term, could only muster 1 run, a home run by Billy Cook. He probably won’t start today to give Connor Joe more playing time. The Pirates left 11 men on base but “only” struck out 9 times. The road trip goes to 1-5 as the players are following their manager’s lead, sleep walking through the rest of the season.

Key Moments Of The Game: Despite Jones’s apparent issues he got through the first two innings unscathed. He quickly got 2 outs in the bottom of the third. In the next, count em, 6 pitches he gave up a double, single and a home run, and before you could say please fire Shelton and the entire coaching staff, it was 3-0 Reds. In the bottom of the 4th Elly De La Cruz hit a big 2 out 3 run homer to make it 6-0 and another game was over before it hardly started.

Next Game: This afternoon, Reds in Cincinnati. Paul Skenes is going today and let’s hope that he has not caught the velocity command virus that has infected the other Pirate starters. I think Shelton called it the VCV Infection. It seems the coaching staff are not doctors. Just another thing they know little about.

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Pirates Morning Report: A No Doubter To Ensure A Losing Season

Final Score: Pirates 3 Reds 8

Why The Pirates Lost: Mitch Keller had no command, no velocity, and no movement on his pitches. Other than that it was a pretty good performance. Going 3 and 1/3 innings, he gave up 8 runs, 8 hits, walked 5 and only struck out 1. He did all of this while throwing only 84 pitches. Shelton just sat there and let him take the beating when he should have been removed after the 3rd inning. The Pirates struck out 11 times to ensure a losing season in style.

Key Moment Of The Game: The top of the 3rd when Keller started the inning by walking the first two batters. Two 100 MPH+ line drives later and the score was 4-0. The Reds added another run on a sacrifice fly and this game was over. They let Keller come out for the 4th and he was pummeled for 3 more runs while getting one more out. They woke Derek The Fox up and he finally took him out.

Next Game: This afternoon, Reds in Cincinnati. Jared Jones goes for the Pirates today so there may be some hope. It certainly looks now that this team will not reach 66 wins to match last year’s total. What a disappointment. This regime has certainly let Pirates fans down with this horrible season.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Royals Took Pity On The Pirates

Final Score: Pirates 4 Royals 3

Why The Pirates Won: The Royals decided to play Pirates baseball. They were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. For the third consecutive game the team that got the most hits lost the game. The Royals suddenly became the masters of miss opportunities. Top of the 2nd, bases loaded nobody out, 1 run scored. Top of the 3rd, leadoff triple, no runs scored. This was made possible by a great throw by Billy (I Can Throw But I Can’t Hit) Cook to the plate, on a fly ball to right field, that nailed Tommy Pham at the plate. This was followed by two more singles, but of course they did not score. Top of the 4th, 1st and 3rd and one out, no runs. Top of the 6th, bases loaded and one out, one run scored, and that was walked in. In the top of the 7th, a leadoff double, no runs scored. After that, the Royals said the hell with it, let’s just get out of town, going 6 up and 6 down to end the game. This was probably one of the worst games the Royals played all year to allow the Pirates eek out a victory. Jared Jones took 97 pitches just to get through 4 innings. Even with the pitch clock this game took 2 hours and 48 minutes to play.

Key Moment Of The Game: The score was tied 2-2 going into the bottom of the 5th. Billy (I Can Too, Hit) Cook singled to left field. With Cook breaking on the pitch, Isiah Kiner-Falefa stroke a single into centerfield and Cook scored all the way from first base to make the score 3-2. From that point on in the inning the Royals gifted the 4th run to Pirates. They walked 3 of the next 5 baters and 2 of those were with 2 outs to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead. It was a lead that the Pirate bullpen barely managed to protect but they did to help the Pirates avoid the sweep. Bednar and Chapman pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings to seal the win. Let’s go turn some water into wine.

Next Game: Tonight, Cardinals in St. Louis. The Pirates open a 7 game road trip in 7 days against the Cardinals (4) and the Reds (3). Man are these guys going to need the rest. Shelton is already scheduling their days off. Such a fragile young team. They are going to play baseball 10 days in a row with trips to St. Louis and Cincinnati. Holy shitballs how are they going to hold up. Already Bednar Chapman and Santana have all been told they won’t pitch until Wednesday. I heard that Bednar was very relieved.

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Pirates Morning Report: Too Bad We Don’t Play The Marlins Every Game

The Pirates have won 3 in a row and they are a much better team when the games are meaningless. Management is taking them seriously because they desperately want the team to win more than 76 games so they can say the team has improved. They are 69-76 in fifth place 1.5 games behind the Reds. They have to go 8-9 to show any improvement. This will be no easy task considering they have 3 games against the Royals and 3 games against the Yankees. They do have a game with the Marlins today trying to go for the season sweep. It seems like a must win if the Pirates are going to improve. The no fault insurance man Barry Falter is pitching for the Pirates. McCutchen got is 20th home run last night, and it was a big 2 out 3 run homer that helped the Pirates to their 6-4 victory. Aroldis Chapman had another shaky save and you have to wonder why he is closing. When Bednar had the closer role taken away, Shadow Shelton said the closer was going to be by committee. He must have not been paying attention to what was coming out of his own mouth, what a shock, because he essentially made Chapman the closer. As The Beach Boys would say wouldn’t it be nice to see what some of the other bullpen guys, like Nicolas, Mlodzinski, and Santana, could do in the 9th. Wrong, common sense breath. Hopefully the blog will be back on a daily bases on Friday.

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Pirates Morning Report: 3 And 2, Shelton Gets Testy

Since I have been away the Pirates have won 3 out of 5. In one of the losses they did not get a hit at Wrigley Field one of the most hitter friendly ballparks in baseball. Andy Haines said after the game that their process was good. It’s was after that game Derek (I Only Fall Asleep After The Seventh Inning) Shelton got testy about a question concerning Rowdy Tellez making his 3rd pitching appearance in about the last 10 days. There are about 3 of 4 pitchers coming off injuries that could have been used, that need the work. I think what bugs a lot of people is Rawhide Rowdy pitches the way he does everything in baseball like he could care less. Maybe this is why management uses him because it reflects their attitude toward the games. I would imagine that the sign, Never Give Up, is nowhere to be seen in the Pirate locker room. Don’t expect any 10-3 comebacks going into the 7th inning from this bunch. Even if there looked like a rally was brewing, Shelton would probably pinch hit for Bryan Reynolds with Alika Williams. The reporters are going to have to tread lightly with sour puss Shelton after games from now on. Poor baby.

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Pirates Morning Report: Another Bullpen Failure, Wait, What? Grandal Hit Walk Off Homer, No Way

Final Score: Pirates 4 Reds 3

Why The Pirates Won: Despite a bullpen disaster inning, the Pirates were able to pull out a victory, thanks to an unexpected walk off home run by none other than Yasmani Grandal. Luis Ortiz pitched a scoreless 6 innings, but he had traffic on the bases every inning except the fifth. He was able to wiggle off the hook every time. The Reds were 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base for the game. A side note, Edwin Diaz gave up a walk off homer later against the San Diego Padres. This may have been the first time in major league history that brothers gave up walk off homers on the same day.

Key Moment Of The Game: Obviously, Grandal’s homer won the game, but it was the top of the 7th where the Reds let the game slip away, negating the Pirates management team’s efforts to give the game away. It was 2-0 Pirates, when Kyle Nicolas came on in relief of Ortiz. After one out Nicolas gave up a single and a double to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. This is where The Shadow’s brain spun out of control. There were all kinds of things to do here. What does The Shadow do in this key moment of the game. He brings in Jalen (What’s A High Leverage Situation) Beeks. Have you ever heard of Alroldis Chapman? Beeks takes total control of the game, but for the Reds. To be fair, Elly De La Cruz’s single to score the first run was just a little bloop and he was able to get to second because Rowdy Tellez made a half hearted effort to cut the throw off. However, after that Beeks took over. Intentional walk, booted bunt and walking in the go ahead run is about as bad as it gets. Even The Shadow had seen enough. He brought in Dennis (I Will Never Say Another Bad Word About You) Santana). In what I consider the key at bat of the game, Santana got Santiago Espinal to hit a shallow weak liner to right field that failed to score a run. It was a 7 pitch at bat where only 2 balls were in the strike zone. He could have easily walked. Santana was able to get Dominic Smith to fly out to center field on a 2-0 count to end the inning. The Reds failed to break open the game, which set up the dramatic walk off win for the Pirates. By the way, The Shadow knows that Chapman is on the team. He pitched the 9th.

Next Game: Tonight, Cubs in Pittsburgh. According to Greg Brown, the Cubs will be facing Mitch Keller, Jarred Jones, and Paul Skenes in the series. I would put my faith in that because he does know we are playing the Cubs and not the White Sox. If this is true, a sweep is a must.

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Pirates Morning Report: The Woodford Curse Continues

Final Score: Pirates 2. Reds 10

Why The Pirates Lost: The Jake (From State Farms) Woodford curse continued and now it seems to have affected every phase of the Pirates game. The Pirates could not hit, field, run the bases, or throw to the right bases, all day. They only had 3 hits. On the pitching side they got hammered for 10 runs, 12 hits, and walked 3. The curse even ended Ben (Go To) Heller’s scoreless inning streak as he gave up 2 runs in 2 innings to keep his ERA at double digits. The Pirates decided to desecrate the game even more by having Rowdy Tellez pitch the 9th inning. This was one of the worst games of the year for this pathetic group of losers.

Key Moment Of The Game: The first inning Woodford was able to get the first out of the inning. Then 8 out of the next 10 pitches were called balls. On the Tyler Stephenson at bat the first two pitches could have been called strikes but the umpire fell under the curse of Woodford and could not raise his right arm. TJ Friedl singled to right to drive in the first run and the Pirates decided to forget about baseball fundamentals for the rest of the game, another result of the curse. A double, steal of third and a sacrifice fly gave the Reds a quick 4-0 lead. At that point you knew two things. The game was over and the Woodford curse had not been broken.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Reds in Pittsburgh. Luis Ortiz goes for the Pirates today and let’s hope there are no curse left overs. It would be nice to see the Pirates get a series win but I do not think this is likely. Neither one of these teams, that seem to have an abundance of talent, are fundamentally sound. Both teams are unlikely to make the playoffs. I wonder why? Do you think the Shelton knows? I doubt it. Talk about a couple of clueless managers.

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Pirates Morning Report: Big Comeback Win

Final Score: Pirates 6 Reds 5

Why The Pirates Won: After 4 innings, the Pirates trailed 5-0 and had not had a man on base. In the top of the 5th Oneil Cruz made a great defensive play on a sharply hit ground ball to end the inning. Things started going the Pirates way in the bottom of the 5th. They opened the inning with 3 hits, but 2 of the hits had exit velocities of under 70 MPH. Two ground outs, a single, and a throwing error by the Reds, you knew they were going to help some way, enabled the Pirates to score 4 runs and they were back in the game. They added 2 runs in the 6th to take the 6-5 lead they barely held onto. Why oh why are they continuing to use David Bednar in the 9th. After giving up an opening double he somehow escaped without giving up the tying or go ahead run, again. Elly De La Cruz hit an opposite field 95 MPH line drive that Billy (Not Just Bill) McKinney was able to make a sliding catch, to end the game. WOW!

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates scored 4 runs in the 5th and 2 runs in the 6th on several hits that were inches from being outs or foul balls. The doubles by the Cruz’s were nothing more than pop ups that were perfectly placed down the right and left field foul lines. Neither ball was hit over 80 MPH and they were just fair by inches. Joey Bart had two singles that were carbon copies of each other that were perfectly placed in center field, again not over 80 MPH. The Pirates scored 2 runs on ground balls because they were weakly hit. It was two innings where everything went right for the Pirates. Aroldis Chapman pitched the 8th and after getting the first 2 outs, gave up a walk and a single to put runners on 1st and 3rd. Thank God, Stuart Fairchild had just watched the Andy Haines hitting video and did not swing at a pitch to strike out on 6 pitches, to end the inning. Bednar got away with his shaky performance and the Pirates had an unexpected come from behind win.

Next Game: Tonight, Reds in Pittsburgh. Jake (Please Don’t Let Me See A Black Cat Today) Woodford will take the mound tonight. If the Pirates somehow win this game tonight, there could be hope for this season. Will the Woodford curse end tonight? Who knows, only the Shelton knows.