Final Score: Pirates 0 Marlins 2
Why The Pirates Lost: The Pirate bats were completely stifled getting only 4 singles and not getting a runner in scoring position the entire game. One of the hits did not even result in a runner being on base as Ronny Simon tried to go to second on a chopper down the left field. He was thrown out by a mile. The Pirates struck out 10 times and the first 5 batters in the lineup went 0 for 18 with a walk and 8 strikeouts. Paul Skenes went 5 innings throwing only 65 pitches. He gave up 1 earned run on 5 hits. He walked one and hit a batter which eventually scored the 2nd run of the game. Skenes’ velocity continues to go down with no explanation from him or the Pirates. Another unsolved mystery that involves the pitching staff. Yohan Ramirez had a nice 3 innings of work giving up 0 runs and 0 hits to lower his ERA to 2.67. Meaningful games for the Pirates continue to be a problem in performance. Another couple of weeks of this and the pressure will be off.
Key Moments Of The Game: I do not know if there was a key moment in this one. The Pirates never really threatened to score the whole game. The Marlins hit a home run in the 3rd inning and the Pirates gifted them a run in the 5th. The Pirates bats were so inept that the Marlin did not feel threatened all night. The bottom line is that the Pirates are now 5 games under .500 and are slowly but surely sinking right out of playoff contention.
Next Game: Tonight, Marlins in Miami. Carmen Mlodzinski will start for the Pirates. The Pirates continue not to use the opener which has proven to be so effective when they used it with Mlodzinski. The Marlins are countering with Jason Junk. The only good news that came from last nights game was Esmerlyn Valdez got a line drive single and hit two other line drive outs. Will tomorrow be the turn around day for the Pirates. Stay tuned.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 