A Lazy Sunday Afternoon At PNC Park

At times, games like the one on Sunday afternoon frustrate me more than a fourteen to nothing blowout that is pretty much out of reach after the first or second inning. A decent start from a pitcher that is likely your sixth guy or beyond in the rotation, especially without injuries, four inning of shutout ball from the bullpen and mostly solid defensive performances behind them; all was wasted due to inconsistent hitting and poor situational at bat from the Pirates lineup.

On the day Pittsburgh hit into three double plays, only drew two walks and got the majority of their runners in scoring position with two outs; providing no real opportunities where one might think that they had a chance to find their way back into the game.

In the game the Pirates didn’t really do anything so wrong that it would be impossible to overcome, they just didn’t do enough things right; ultimately being shutout 3-0, and swept in the weekend series with the Cardinals.

News and Notes:

• Wil Crowe wasn’t great, but he did enough to give the Pirates a chance. In 5 innings of work, Crowe allowed three runs, all on a second inning homer to Harrison Bader, struck out two and walked four.
• Todd Frazier has one hit in his 21 at bats since arriving from the Alternate Site on April 22nd.
• The tandem of Kyle Crick and Richard Rodriguez have yet to allow a single run this season. Rodriguez’s scoreless streak stretches back to August 29, 2021; a total of 22 appearances.
• There was a Luis Oviedo sighting in the 6th and 7th innings after not being seen in a game since April 15th. He threw 24 pitches, struck out two and also walked a pair, but did not allow a run on only one hit.
• There was a scary moment in the bottom of the 4th, when Jacob Stallings took a 97 mph fastball to the face. Luckily he is ok and actually isn’t too much worse for the wear, which makes him very fortunate.

On Monday the Pirates will travel cross country to take on the Padres for a three game set, with the first two games starting past my regular bedtime; which was pleasantly avoided during the truncated 2020 season.

In the first of two 10:10 PM EST starts, lefty Tyler Anderson (2-2, 3.38 ERA) will take the hill against Miguel Diaz (0-0, -,- -) in his first start since 2017 and his fist appearances since June 14th of 2019.