Tag: Swing at the damn ball

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Pirates Morning Report: Taking Strikes, The Best Way To Score Zero Runs

Final Score: Pirates 0 Astros 3

Why The Pirates Lost: You can’t hit the ball if you do not swing at it. The Pirates made a point of this last night. The Pirates took 27 pitches that were called strikes. The first 5 spots in the batting order took 20 strikes. They were led by Oneil (Throw It Down The Middle I Won’t Swing At It) Cruz, who took 6 strikes on his way to an 0 for 3 night, striking out twice. Bryan Reynolds took 5 strikes on his way to an 0 for 4 night with one strikeout. The top five in the order went 1 for 19 with 7 strikeouts. Just swing at the damn ball. It is not a mystery why they were shut out. Paul Skenes lost his 2nd 8-inning outing of the season. He gave up a home run and two other hits. He struck out 8 and walked one. Dennis Santana gave up a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th. Not that it would have made any difference in the outcome. This gave the Astros a nice cushion going into the bottom of the 9th. The Pirates were shut out for the 10th time this season. Not a good start to the home stand.

The Key Moments Of The Game: The Pirates had 2 runners caught stealing in the bottom of the 7th and 8th. They had minor threats in the first two innings. Cruz was hit by a pitch in the 1st. He made it around to third but was stranded. In the 2nd, catcher’s interference and a walk put runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. IKF could not get the big hit. At least he did not take a strike. They did not get a hit until the 4th inning. They only got one more runner to 2nd base the rest of the game. In contrast, Christian Walker swung at the first pitch he saw in the strike zone. He hit a home run to give the Astros a 1-0 lead in the top of the 7th.

Next Game: Tonight, Astros in Pittsburgh. Mike Burrows goes for the Pirates. This must be his turnaround game, or it could be his last start as a Pirate for a while. The last two games for the Pirates have been major disappointments. The bullpen and the offense had major meltdowns. My suggestion for the Pirate batters would be to swing at practically everything tonight. You can’t do any worse. At times this offense has looked as bad as any in the history of baseball. It is not even a statistical thing; they just look bad. I do not see how this is going to change any time soon.

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Pirates Morning Report

FINAL SCORE: PIRATES 1 ROCKIES 2, IN 10 INNINGS

WHY THE PIRATES LOST: AGAIN, IT WAS THE SILENCE OF THE BATS, AS THE PIRATES REFUSED TO FEAST ON STRIKES. HAYES AND REYNOLDS LOOKED REALLY BAD AS THEY WENT O FOR 9 WITH 3 STRIKEOUTS COMBINED. WHY MICHAEL PEREZ WAS NOT PINCH HIT FOR IT THE NINTH, ONLY THE SHELTON KNOWS. THE GUY IS HITTING .108 AND WITH THE GAME ON THE LINE HE GETS TO BAT. WOW! CAL MITCHELL HAD A NICE DEBUT DRIVING IN THE ONLY PIRATE RUN AND MAKING SOME GOOD DEFENSIVE PLAYS. HE HAD A CHANCE TO BE THE HERO BUT FAILED.

KEY MOMENT OF THE GAME: THE PIRATES HAD 1ST AND 3RD WITH ONE OUT IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH, WITH THE ROCKIES DEPLOYING THE 5 MAN INFIELD. MITCHELL MADE A ROOKIE MISTAKE BY SWINGING AT A PITCH LOW AND AWAY, THAT WAS HIT SHARPLY RIGHT AT THE SHORTSTOP, AND CRUZ WAS THROWN OUT AT THE PLATE. I AM SURE HE WAS ANXIOUS AT THE PLATE, GIVEN THE SITUATION, BUT I DON’T MIND SEEING A YOUNG PLAYER MAKE A MISTAKE LIKE THAT. CONTRERAS WHO IS 22 PITCHED A SOLID 5 INNINGS AND MITCHELL WHO IS 23 PLAYED A SOLID GAME. THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO SEE MORE OF. LET THE YOUTH BE SERVED FOR GOD’S SAKE.

NEXT GAME: THIS AFTERNOON, ROCKIES IN PITTSBURGH. THE PIRATES HAVE GONE 12 GAMES WITHOUT SCORING MORE THAN 4 RUNS AND THEIR RECORD IS 4-8 DURING THIS SPAN. IT IS AN EASY SOLUTION. JUST START SWINGING AT STRIKES, PLEASE. ONE AT BAT LAST NIGHT, HAYES TOOK 3 STRAIGHT STRIKES. I GUESS HE IS TRYING TO DISPROVE THAT YOU CAN NOT GET A HIT IF YOU DON’T SWING. MAYBE THEY WILL SEE BETTER IN THE DAYLIGHT BUT I DOUBT IT.