Tag: Tough loss

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Pirates Morning Report: It Was Just One Of Those Games

Final Score: Pirates 3 Angels 4

Why The Pirates Lost: Other than starting Carmen Mlodzinski, the Pirates did not do a lot wrong. Mlodzinski had his typical start. He threw 3 strong innings, giving up just one hit. In the last 2 innings, he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits. He brought his ERA down to a sparkling 6.95. How to turn a solid reliever into a mediocre starter 101. When will this disaster end? The offense had its moments but could not get the big hit. They were 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position. Overall, it was not a bad offensive performance. They struck out only 5 times. Matt Gorski hit a solo home run in his first major league at-bat of his career. He started at first base, but it would be nice to see him get a lot of action in left field. Oneil Cruz opened the game with a home run for the third time this year. Don’t look now, but the Pirates have a .300 hitter in Joey Bart. The brightest spot of the game was the bounce-back outing of Kyle Nicholas. He came in the 6th inning with the score tied 3-3. He pitched two innings of hitless ball with no walks and 3 strikeouts. Even though Greg Brown wouldn’t say it, I will write it: way to go, Kyle. This was by far the best loss of the season for the Pirates. They just were not destined to win this game. It’s too bad because they are headed for the big bad Dodgers.

Key Moments Of The Game: Another solid starting lineup for the Pirates. Canario in left field could be argued, but it was a lefty going. Hopefully, he will be the next player sent down to Triple-A. After Cruz’s home run in the first, the Pirates had runners on 1st and 3rd with one out. They could only manage 1 run. In the top of the third, the Pirates had runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out. They were unable to score. Hayes popped out, and Alexander Canario struck out swinging at 3 balls out of the strike zone. Remember, the Mets are not stupid. The Pirates went through a stretch where 11 straight batters were retired. With one out in the top of the 9th, Adam Frazier got a gift single. The Angels botched a pop-up down the right field line. IKF struck out. Oneil Cruz rocketed a Kenley Jansen cutter at 119.6 MPH to right field. Mike Trout took only a couple of steps to his left. He made the catch that ended the game. This was a tough one.

Next Game: Tonight, Dodgers in Los Angeles. If the Pirates can salvage one of these 3 games, they would have a .500 road trip. Paul Skenes goes tonight for the Pirates. He has been solid but certainly no Cy Young so far this year. Maybe he can have his best game of the year. He probably will have to because the Dodgers are pitching Yoshinobu Yamamoto. He is 3-1 with an ERA of 0.93. One thing in the Pirates’ favor is that the Dodgers have been floundering just a bit. They are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Hopefully, the Pirates will continue to put their best players on the field. Miracles do happen.

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Pirates Morning Report: Looking For The Third Out

Final Score: Pirates 4 Cardinals 5 10 innings

Why The Pirate Loss: Mitch Keller pitched a very odd game. In 6 innings he got the first 2 batters out 4 times. Only twice did he get the next batter out. With the exception of their 4th run, the Cardinals scored all their runs with 2 outs. In the first, after 2 were out, Keller gave up a walk, and 2 singles to allow the Cardinals to tie the game. Then in the bottom of the sixth, there was a Wilson Contreras double sandwiched between two outs, when Lars Nootbaar took a first pitch high inside cutter and drilled into the seats to tie the game at 3. Overall, just an ok performance by Keller as he gave up the 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, while only striking out 3. The bullpen hung tough, with Colin Holderman getting out of a 2nd and 3rd nobody out jam in the bottom of the 8th, which would have been the key moment of the game if the Pirates had won. Will Crowe came close to getting out of the bottom of the 10th, but just could not get the job done, giving up the winning run with, what else, 2 outs. The same could be said for the Pirate batters. They had 8 hits and 4 walks but could only muster 3 runs in the first nine innings, and one of those was a gift by Cardinals. They were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position.

Key Moments Of The Game: In the top of the 6th inning the Pirates were given a 4th out but could not take full advantage of it. They loaded the bases in the top of the 7th, but could not score a run. In a nutshell, the Cardinals were able to get 2 out hits, as they batted 5-13 with runners in scoring position. As a result, the Cardinals were able to gain a series split, and the Pirates record fell to 9-7.

Next Game: Tonight, Rockies in Colorado. At first glance it would appear that the Pirates are catching the Rockies at the right time, as they are 5-11 and on a 5 game losing streak. However, they are always tough at home and tonight they are throwing lefty Kyle Freeman, who has an ERA of under 1, with 2 or his 3 starts being in Colorado which is a hitter’s paradise. We are throwing up, I mean starting Rich Hill who at 43 may be more concerned with his oxygen levels at the high altitude, rather than throwing strikes. I will be happy if we can come out of Colorado with 1 win. If we do better great, I just hope we avoid the sweep.