Final Score: Pirates 1 Diamondbacks 0
Why The Pirates Won: Paul Skenes pitched an 8-inning gem. He gave up 2 hits, both in the same inning. He retired the Diamondbacks in order in 7 of the 8 innings as he issued no walks. Are you watching, Bubba? He struck out 7 batters, including the last 3 he faced in the 8th inning. Gregory Soto came in to pitch the bottom of the 9th. Of course, he had to make it interesting by walking the 2nd batter. He got Ketel Marte to pop up to short right field, where Billy Cook made a staggering catch. Corbin Carroll, who is hitting over .400 against lefties, hit a sharp ground ball right down the first base line. Ryan O’Hearn was holding the runner and easily made the play to end the game. All of this great pitching overcame a lot of poor at-bats for the Pirates. They were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 8 men on base. The Pirates have scored 1 run in two games, yet the series is tied at a game apiece. Thank you, Paul Skenes.
Key Moments Of The Game: These would have been big key moments if the Pirates had lost. An opening triple by Spencer Horwitz was wasted in the 2nd inning. Konnor Griffin had a bad at-bat, taking a pitch for a strike and swinging at two out of the strike zone, striking out on three pitches. Henry (Pop Up King) Davis miraculously drew a walk. Oneil Cruz hit a ground ball that Davis and Horwitz turned into a double play with little league baserunner. Let me correct that. T ball baserunning, my apologies to the little league players. In the top of the 7th, the Pirates had another golden opportunity to get some breathing room. Konnor Griffin singled to center field and stole second. Henry (I Can’t Bunt Either) Davis popped up, not moving the runner. Then the Diamondbacks balked, sending Griffin to third anyway. Cruz hit a ground ball to second, and Marte made a nice play to throw Griffin out at the plate. Cruz stole second, but Brandon Lowe, who homered in the 1st to account for the only run of the game, flied out to end the inning. The Diamondbacks had one opportunity to score and came close to doing it. With two outs in the bottom of the 5th, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a swinging bunt single for the first hit of the game. Nolan Arenado took the first pitch and drilled it into left field for a base hit, with Gurriel moving to second. Gabriel Moreno took a high outside 0-2 pitch and lined it out to right field, but Ryan O’Hearn corralled it in. The Diamondbacks never threatened again.
Next Game: This afternoon, the Diamondbacks in Arizona at 3:40 PM. Mitch Keller goes for the Pirates in the rubber match today. The Pirates’ offense will be looking for a bounce-back game to see if they can get back into the groove they had with the Reds. The Pirates have scored 2 runs in 3 games but have managed to win 2 of them. Maybe they will break out today. All teams go through slumps because, as we all know, hitting can be inconsistent. The fact that the Pirates are experiencing this and yet have won 2 out of 3 games is an encouraging sign. I don’t know about you, but I am encouraged enough. Let’s score some runs, Buccos.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 