It has been a season of many lows, but has also included moments of pure exhilaration.
On Wednesday afternoon the Pittsburgh Pirates were able to take an early lead by way of Greg Allen’s legs. Allen reached base on a single to RF and then moved to second on a Jason Delay single. He would then scamper to third by way of a Brandon Woodruff wild pitch and scored on a subsequent Victor Caratini passed ball.
This lead would be short lived as Caratini would get the run back after leading off the third inning with a solo homerun against Zach Thompson.
The game would remain tied until the 5th inning when Thompson ran into trouble and was unable to complete the fifth. Hunter Renfroe started the inning with a double and after a groundout Mike Brosseau would take a Thompson cutter to opposite field for a go-ahead two-run homerun. Thompson walked Jonathan Davis and his day was over. Thompson had looked as another example of the Pirates starting pitchers seeing a mid-season turnaround, but he has had trouble regaining his mid-season form and now surrendered 17 ERs in 15.1 IP across three starts.
The bullpen would have another effective day covering 5.2 innings in total and only allowing one unearned run. Eric Stout — who entered for Thompson in the fifth and limited the damage — ended up throwing 1.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, a walk and a hit. Yohan Ramirez would make his Pirates debut throwing a scoreless inning in the seventh with two strikeouts of his own and one hit against.
After Ramirez’s scoreless seventh the Pirates would do what they’ve done best over the previous two days and stage a comeback. Greg Allen set the table again with a walk (which also had a weird situation that ended with Christian Yelich and manager Craig Counsell being tossed mid Allen’s PA) to lead off the inning. With one out Jason Delay would once again single and Allen making it to 3B. This set up Tucupita Marcano — fresh off a 3-4 day yesterday — who was able to come through in a 1-2 count with a RBI single to LF. Ben Gamel then singled with two outs to tie the game at three.
Both bullpens would trade scoreless innings after the Pirates tied the game pushing it into extras.
Duane Underwood Jr. got the first two batters out without allowing the runner to advance to 3B. After a decision to intentionally walk Rowdy Tellez with two outs and first base open, Underwood lost his command and walked Andrew McCutchen on four pitches. After coming back from a 3-1 count, Underwood would hit Kolten Wong with a 3-2 pitch pushing across the go-ahead run before getting Renfroe to lineout to end the inning.
This would prove to be of no concern for the Pirates as the, once again, Hader-less Brewers had to face Bryan Reynolds to lead off the bottom of the inning for the second night in a row. Reynolds showed urgency hitting a ground-rule double to RF off a first-pitch curveball. The Brewers then decided to take their own chances of intentionally walking a batter before getting Ke’Bryan Hayes to fly out for the first out of the inning. Liking their odds with intentional walks the Brewers then decided to walk Oneil Cruz to load the bases with one out. Up next was Michael Chavis who looked ready for the big moment before Matt Bush bounced an 0-2 curveball that found it’s way to the backstop allowing the game to end in similar fashion as Tuesday night with Reynolds crossing the plate for the winning run. This time due to being on third and scoring on a wild pitch.
The Pirates now take their three game winning streak on the road to face the Baltimore Orioles with hopes of matching their season high four-game winning streak.
Pirates @ Orioles
Time: 7:05 PM EST
Pirates Starter: Mitch Keller (3-7, 4.37)
Orioles Starter: Dean Kremer (3-3, 3.86)
Keller Notes: Mitch Keller finished the month of July with a 2.61 ERA across five starts covering 31.0 IP. He was also able to complete at least six innings in all five starts. This will be his 19th start of the season as he looks to continue this strong stretch since the middle of May.
LINEUPS:
Pirates
In Baltimore for the weekend.#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/EQYl6j1Tos
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 5, 2022
Orioles
1. Cedric Mullins (L) CF
2. Adley Rutschman (S) C
3. Anthony Santander (S) RF
4. Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
5. Terrin Vavra (L) DH
6. Ramon Urias (R) 3B
7. Rougned Odor (L) 2B
8. Jorge Mateo (R) SS
9. Brett Phillips (L) LF
Raised in Cranberry Twp, PA, Jeff attended Kent State University and worked in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, before moving to New Orleans in September of 2012. His background is as an Engineering Designer, but he has always had a near unhealthy passion for Pittsburgh sports. Hockey and Baseball are his 1A and 1B, combined with his mathematical background, it's led to Jeff's desire in diving into analytics. Jeff is known as Bucs'N'Pucks in the comments, and began writing for Pirates Prospects in 2022 after contributing so many useful bits of information in the comment section.
I better understand why the Orioles thought they could trade Lopez. Here’s hoping we can build a bullpen for ’23 like what the O’s did this year, the quickest way to improve a team.
Their lineup is better than ours but i dont think by a ton and our rotation has been stronger for the most part. I definitely agree that a lot of their success can be chalked up to putting together a stellar pen!
. . . and not being saddled with Dumbo.
Touch chance for Cal proves to be winning run,
I’m not sold on him in RF. Allen’s speed gets to that ball. Gamel probably catches it too. Oh well, tough loss.
I love adleys energy for this Os team, inject that into our team please
Oh well….
Went up there guessing and guessed wrong.
Another chance against a team who traded there closer🤞
I missed it, but why are they short an ump tonite?
I’d feel better about our chances in the 9th if we didn’t have Gamel batting between Reynolds and Hayes.
Someone needs to get on base so we see cruz! There it is as i type!
Cruz has zero concept of what pitches to swing at.
Are ground ball pitchers usually able to withstand a higher whip or is this a little luck from keller the last few weeks?
He’s more likely to bear down and sharpen up now whereas before he’d almost always collapse.
It feels like luck, but then again he’s making the pitches to get out or minimize the damage.
Last six starts he’s gone 6 innings in 5 of them and 7 in one start. Four starts he gave up 1 run with one being unearned in the one game. The other two games he gave up 4 runs and three runs. I thought tonight’s was the best of them all though because he use to wilt under all that traffic and especially when guys made bad plays behind him. But I agree with the luck thing though because 6 good games in a row does not make it a successful career. But as many on here say “it’s baby steps” lol.
Don’t want to jinx it, but Madris looks more than capable at 1B.
Yes he looks like he can play first base, but he’s hitting under .200 with no power numbers. The most home runs he’s hit in any minor league season is 9 and has averaged 1 HR every 45 ABs. Is that gonna play at first base?
I have to lobby to give Mason Martin a chance. I know he’s only hitting in the low .200s in Indy and strikes out “a lot”, but he has 15 home runs and 59 RBI in 94 games despite a lot of struggles mid year. Throughout his minor league career he has averaged 1 HR for every 17.5 ABs so when he manages to hit the ball it counts for something. I just think he should get a shot.
I’m good with Madras if he can manage to hit for average with some doubles power until something better comes along, and Mason Martin isn’t something better.
Now, let’s hit like one!
That would be ideal! Not sure if he’s a MLB bat yet, but Im fully down to give him the platoon split with chavis the rest of the way
Man did he just prove it right there
He’s an athlete, has a feel already, very impressed!
Off topic, Q pitched a one-hit gem last night.
Malcom getting any at bats yet?
first time seeing Mullins play
that dude is money
Kremer’s ERA is over 7.00 fifth inning and later.
Cruz throws are getting better…
So far he honestly seems like a legit shortstop. Remember how wild Jack Wilson was when he first came up.
Im loving how keller has seemingly gotten passed getting shaken up by allowing baserunners or giving up hits, i think this mental toughness is arguable more important to his success than improving his stuff
Why are we playing so deep for Brett Phillips??? Is he even 150 lbs?
Looking at this Orioles team should be encouraging I guess. Dead last place last year and in the playoff race now. They have a significantly lower payroll than the Pirates and by many accounts their owner is even worse, if that’s possible. Not sure exactly how they’re doing it, but good for them. Hope for next year maybe?
Their owner has dementia, his son is acting owner. His brother and mother are suing him to share control of the team. Meanwhile, somehow, the GM Elias is doing a helluva job. And Brandon Hyde should be Manager of the Year if they slip into WC.
WRT Elias, I wonder how their fans took trading Lopez and Mancini when they’re in the WC race. Is it trust the process or what the heck? Surely some of both.
With the litigation, they’re not going to be spending big bucks to keep Mancini. Was ballsy to trade Lopez. But sort of refreshing that they are building not for .500 season but for something stronger, in order to compete in the ultra strong AL East.
hit the nail on the nose – – – – the difference is they have a much better manager than we do
Taylor Davis, we hardly knew ye.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/08/pirates-claim-jose-godoy-designate-taylor-davis.html
when they throw him the breaking ball tonight, Oneal Cruz is going to show off his new drag bunting skills
Swap Suwinsky for Gamel and I’ll take this lineup for the rest of the year
I see Lamet got claimed by the Rockies, which means the Pirates passed on him. A little surprised as he seemed like a good upside gamble for next years rotation. Guessing the injuries have really taken a toll as he was absolutely dominant two years ago
His salary is just under $5 million per year, so the gamble has a bit of monetary risk with it.
It was good to see the Pirates win a game in a fashion they regularly use to lose games.
Funny you should say that because I’ve been to a game where the Pirates lost on a Salomon Torres walk-off wild pitch against the Nationals. That was fun
I was at the game where the Pirates beat the Cubs on a walk-off Matt Hague HBP lol
I may have been traumatized as a child seeing them lose a playoff series on a wild pitch.
No love for the double play that Hayes started to get out of a jam in the 9th? That was one of the best plays I have seen all year under the circumstances.
Also, really rooting for Stout. My daughter worked for the AA Royals affiliate when he was there. Said he was easily the nicest guy on the team. Always first with his hand up if they needed something and was just a pleasant cat. Hope he does well.
Also, as requested (but not in article) here is the ump scorecard
https://twitter.com/UmpScorecards/status/1555561979678543873?t=poDBfihTTHW2-livGrSXkg&s=19
Thanks!
I’m actually in Baltimore. At least for 2 more hours since my connecting flight was delayed.
Funny, I’m flying into BWI next week.
I’m on my way to Grand Rapids for a hockey tournament
Hit ’em early & often, B&P!
Hader-less Brewers
Kind of the reverse, reverse Archer trade……I’m reaching….
Now if all parties in the deal end up on the IL with serious injuries…….
After the Brewers had a very Pirates-esque experience, in being a potential playoff team with a deflating deadline, it felt extra satisfying to send them reeling a bit, even if its only temporary. Even more so since we scored some key runs off of their new bullpen additions.
That was fun, lets do that again sometime!
I said this about the long road trip before the All Star break and we went 6-6 against mostly bad teams, but I was satisfied with that. If we can do something similar this trip, I’ll start believing more that we are progressing–that should be doable given that two of the three teams we play are below .500 and the Orioles are only slightly over and weakened since the deadline.
Lately Shelton and others have been citing close losses as a sign of progress (while seemingly ignoring that almost all of our wins are also close). That may be a step in the right direction but we need to see more than close losses as a sign of progress. The sweep was great but it came after a 1-8 stretch–can we see, perhaps, an 8-1 stretch?
I guess no one is citing we are 1-6 in 10 run games, including 0-1 in 20 run games.
It’s a nefarious strategy to tire the other team out.
Genius!
Close wins and losses mean the pitching has improved. That’s progress.
Also, maybe worth noting that Shelton cited 2-run games but in 1-run games (what BR reports) we’re 17-16. For comparison, the Cardinals are 14-13 and the Reds are 15-13. Records in close games don’t necessarily tell you much about quality or progress.
Right, as I said it may be a step in the right direction but given that nearly all of our wins are also close, it seems naive to think we’re on the verge of converting close losses to wins without considering that many of the close wins could turn to losses and we’d crater. That’s why I’m saying it isn’t enough.
They’ve kicked our teeth in so many times, if you told me we had to go 1-8 to be able to sweep the Brewers I would gladly accept.
But 8-1 would be great as well.
I loved this sweep. Now I hope we can build on it.
Keep it going in the Charm city, boys!