Tag: Staying above .500

Final Score: Pirates 4 Blue Jays 1

Why The Pirates Won: For the fourth time this season, when the Pirates hit .500, they won their next game. This time, they prevailed with the long ball and clutch pitching. Spencer Horwitz and Oneil (Who Cares) Cruz each hit solo home runs. Esmerlyn Valdez hit a two-run shot in the top of the sixth to extend the Pirates’ lead to 4-1. Mitch Keller danced through the raindrops for six innings, retiring the side in order only twice. In the second, it took a great play by Jake Magnum to achieve that. Every inning had the potential to be worse, but the Blue Jays were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base. Keller threw 101 pitches to get through the six innings. He gave up one run on four hits, walked three, and hit a batter. The Pirate bullpen continued the clutch pitching to protect the lead. The Pirates avoided the sweep and are heading home one game over .500.

Key Moments of the Game: The Pirates brought in Yohan Ramírez to pitch the bottom of the 7th, and he made sure that the Blue Jays had a chance to tie the game. He got the first out. Brandon Valenzuela lined a double down the right-field line. George Springer walked on five pitches. Even Don Kelly had seen enough; he brought in Mason Montgomery. In one of his best outings of the year, he got two ground ball outs to end the inning. He retired the side in order in the bottom of the 8th, striking out two. In the bottom of the 9th, Gregory Soto just had to make it interesting. After one out, he hit a batter and walked a batter. He got George Springer to pop out and struck out Gary Varsho to end the game. The Pirates got four walks during the game, and the last one proved very costly. Endy Rodríguez picked up his second walk of the day. He was on base when Valdez hit his first home run and hit of his Major League career. That extra run seemed huge when the Blue Jays threatened in the 7th and the 9th.

Next Game: This afternoon, the Cubs are in Pittsburgh. The Cubs come to town today on a surprising 8-game losing streak. During the streak, the Cubs’ pitchers have given up 51 runs. It would seem highly unlikely that the Pirates will be able to extend their streak to 12. We have Bubba (What’s the Strike Zone) Chandler going in one of those games. Will the Pirates ever get on a roll? This would be a great way to end the month by winning 7 out of 8 at home. The bullpen needs to find some footing. Yesterday, even though Cruz DH’d again, he at least did not lead off. That is a step in the right direction. Dare we hope that he does not lead off the rest of the season? Can Kelly the thinker figure it out? The Pirates need to go on a run.