Tag: Solid win

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Pirates Morning Report: All Cylinders Firing

Final Score: Pirates 9 Mets 0

Why The Pirate Won: The Pirates’ pitching staff threw their first shutout since May 20th. It was their 7th shutout of the season. Last season, the Pirate pitching staff threw 19 shutouts. Last season, they held opponents to 1 run 24 times. This season, so far, they have done it 15 times. Bubba Chandler pitched a solid 6 innings, giving up only 3 hits and a walk. The offense came alive last night too, scoring 9 runs on 12 hits to go along with 9 walks. Of course, one time they had 2nd and 3rd with no one out and did not score. The Pirates wanted everyone to know that even on a good night, they could not situationally hit. But hey, a win is a win is a win. A much-needed win at that.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates got off to a great start. Jake Mangum led off with a double. After a Brandon Lowe strikeout, Bryan Reynolds got an infield hit and Spencer Horwitz was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Pirates got a couple of lucky hits. Nick Gonzales hit a little 63 MPH tapper between the pitcher and first base, driving in the first run and putting runners on second and third with two outs. Ronny Simon hit a cue shot ground ball off the end of the bat at 72 MPH right down the third base line for a double that made the score 3-0. It was right there that you felt that this was going to be the Pirates’ night. In the bottom of the fourth, the Pirates had four walks and three hits to score four runs. That made the score 8-0, and the Mets were never in the game.

Next Game: This afternoon, Mets in Pittsburgh. The Pirates will have to go up against another lefty in Sean Manaea in the rubber match today. The Pirates have lost 5 series in a row including 2 four game series. Endy Rodriguez apparently has another injury. It was a solid win last night for the Pirates. Today’s game can continue the momentum with a win. After today they will head to Miami to play the Marlins. The Marlins are right at .500 and are 2 games ahead of the Pirates in the loss column. A five game winning streak would be just what the doctor ordered. Can they do it? Stay tuned.

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Pirates Morning Report: A Series Win

Final Score: Pirates 7 Mariners 2

Why The Pirates Won: The Pirates brought out the long ball hitting 3 home runs which accounted for 4 of the 7 runs. The Pirate hitters continued to like home cooking putting up 7 runs on 9 hits, walking 3 times, against a pretty darn good pitching staff. Barry No Falter Insurance pitched his typical game, going 5 and 1/3 innings, scattering 8 hits, giving up just 2 runs, walking no one, and surprisingly striking out 8 batters. The bullpen did fine until the top of the ninth when Domingo (The Ankle Hunter) German came in. He walked the first batter, then hit the next two to quickly load the bases. The Pirates brought David Bednar into the game and for a moment you thought are they going to blow this game. Whether it was Bednar or just the fact that the Mariners offense really stinks, the Pirates were able to quickly get out of the inning in 9 pitches to end the game, extending their winning streak to TWO WHOLE GAMES. They will need 8 more to get back in the race.

Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates were leading 3-2 going into the bottom of the 5th and even though they did not score in the inning, they made Luis Castillo throw 29 pitches to get through it. It may have not had anything to do with it but in the next inning they hit him pretty good with a Joey Bart double and Luis Castillo single that knocked Castillo out of the game and gave the Pirates a 4-2 lead. The Pirates added 3 runs in the 7th inning to seal the deal. German made it interesting by trying to cripple the Mariners in the top of the 9th. Ji Hwan Bae made a nice play on a little blooper that could have gotten the Mariners going if it would have dropped. Bednar struck out the next 2 batters to end the game.

Next Game: This afternoon, Mariners in Pittsburgh. Jake (Don’t Take Me To Vegas) Woodford will be making his 3rd start for the Pirates. He has had nothing but bad luck in both starts ranging from horrendous defense to no run support. In his last 14 innings of work, he was not walked a batter and has an ERA of 3.07. Let’s hope his luck evens out today and the Pirates get a much-needed sweep.