Tag: There are rules in baseball

Final Score: Pirates 1 Rockies 2

Why the Pirates Lost: After Spencer Horwitz led off the game with a homer and Brandon Lowe followed up with a single, the Pirates’ bats went cold until the 9th inning for the second game in a row. For the next 8 innings, the Pirates got 2 hits. At one point, the Rockies’ great pitching staff faced the minimum number of batters over 6 innings, thanks to a double play ball after a walk. Paul Skenes pitched well, going 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, walking 2, and striking out 8. Carmen Mlodzinski pitched 2 scoreless innings, but it was not enough as the Pirates had another disastrous 9th inning.

Key Moments Of The Game: After the Pirates had taken the lead on Horwitz’s leadoff homer, Jake Magnum misplayed a ball that turned into an inside-the-park homer for Rockies leadoff hitter Jake McCarthy. Thank God it was not Oneil Cruz. The score was 2-1 going into the top of the 9th. Brandon Lowe doubled to lead off. Bryan Reynolds had an infield single up the middle, putting runners on 1st and 3rd with nobody out. Unfortunately, they brought in Billy Cook to run for him. For the second straight game, the Pirates had the tying run on 3rd base with nobody out. Ryan O’Hearn struck out swinging at a pitch that was at least 2 feet outside and in the dirt. Nick Gonzales got hit by a pitch to load the bases. For the 2nd straight time with the bases loaded, Tyler Callihan was overpowered by fastballs and struck out. That brought up Jake (Slap Happy) Mangum. After battling for 5 pitches, Mangum slapped a ball to the 3rd baseman. Billy Cook, having no idea what the rules are, clipped the glove with his spikes and was ruled out. Any player with a brain would have known to run behind the fielder. The Pirates always find a way, but it is a way to lose. Then one was really unique.

Next Game: This afternoon, Rockies in Colorado. Don’t look now but the Rockies are going for the sweep. The Pirates are 5-12 in their last 17 games. Twelve of those games have been against teams with records just around .500 or way below. You cannot use the schedule card for this one Pittsburgh media. Jared Jones is going for the Pirates today and his big weakness is giving up the gopher ball. After losing 2 close surprisingly low scoring games in Colorado, I see a 12-11 loss today. This team is just taking the pipe. It is hard playing meaningful games in June when you are not use to it. Maybe this will toughen up the players. Ozuna did not play yesterday. Mangum did not lead off. There is nothing that is going to change that. The Pirate management team has no idea what they are doing.