In the first inning, it seemed as if the Pirates would really be able open the game up with some two out magic; pushing Dodger Tony Gonsolin to his limits, and loading the bases after already putting one on the board with a Gregory Polanco RBI single. However, Micheal Perez-who is now hitting .141 on the season-struck out on a 3-2 heater, right down the middle of the plate.
At that point I was a little bit disappointed, yet, I still thought the Pirates would get another shot at Gonsolin, or another of the Dodger’s pitchers during the game. Obviously I was completely wrong, as Pittsburgh only mustered one more hit the entire game; not that the Los Angeles offense was firing on all cylinders either, as their only marks on the scoreboard came on two solo home runs off the bat of Justin Turner.
In the end all of the scoring was completed by the top of the third inning, in this 2 to 1 pitcher’s duel.
News and Notes
- Ke’Bryan Hayes “finally” addressed the media before the game concerning his home run gaffe from the previous night. It would be really nice if we could move past this now; and not because it was the second embarrassing play the Pirates have been involved in recently.
- Prior to the game we also got the weekly update from Senior Director of Sports Medicine, Todd Tomczyk, concerning the Pirates injured players. Miguel Yajure has a mild case of ulnar neuritis but no other structural damage in his elbow and will likely be out through June, Trevor Cahill is not experiencing any symptoms from his mild calf strain, Steven Brault is now throwing sides, twice off the mound to be exact, and Rule 5 Draft Pick Jose Soriano Jose Soriano has more, new damage in his elbow reconstruction from his 2020 Tommy John Surgery. A revision surgery cannot be ruled out.
- I’m no doctor, but you have to believe the pitch that hit Colin Moran broke something, right? I literally cringed when I realized the sound did not come from the ball hitting the bat.
- On a positive note Adam Frazier extended his current hitting streak to 12 games. He has had hitting streaks of 8, 12 and 10 already this year. The Pirates have played 60 games.
- The bottom half of the Pirates batting order is just abysmal. Any combination of Kevin Newman (.204 AVG and .498 OPS), Michael Perez (.141 AVG and .546 OPS), Ka’ai Tom (.154 AVG and .547 OPS), Erik Gonzalez (.215 AVG and .530 OPS) and Phillip Evans (.215 AVG and .666 OPS) just isn’t going to get the job done.
- Man, Clay Holmes has absolutely solid recently. In his last 15 appearances he has not allowed an earned run, while striking out eleven.
The Pirates look to avoid the sweep this afternoon at 12:35 PM EST at PNC Park.
For Pittsburgh Mitch Keller (3-6, 6.65 ERA) faces off against Julio Urias (8-2, 3.48 ERA). On a positive note, in the pattern of Keller starts, this is supposed to be a good one.
Inside The Bucs Basement 