The Pittsburgh Pirates have lost six of their past eight games.
Before the game, manager Clint Hurdle said he has been telling the pitchers they need to pitch inside for months, he wasn’t sure where the disconnect happened.
Isn’t that an important message? A message we feel that is so important….that when pitching inside didn’t happen, shouldn’t it have been addressed with the pitchers and then (if for some reason he deemed it necessary) with the media once it was fixed? It stands out as very odd to us that Hurdle brought this out today. (I will try and look to see if it was covered anywhere other than tv.)
But the big thing is, why would such a message simply have been lost for months? Puzzling.
The Cubs prevented a sweep by taking advantage of Charlie Morton’s ineffectiveness, the right hander lasted just 13 outs. He allowed seven hits and three earned runs. Morton also hit a batter and gave up five walks.
For as poor as Morton was in losing his third straight start, the Pirates defense was bad too. It was a frustrating game to watch, especially when Morton was within inches of dropping a blopper into shallow right field in the second inning with nobody out and the bases full of Pirates.
Ifs and buts, inches and lost messages, the Pirates appear to be fading in core areas which launched them to the NL Central lead such a short time ago. At least the Bucs have coming home to PNC Park to look forward to as they face the Astros, but looking at this series finale opens up questions which aren’t easy to answer.
Pirates pitchers allowed a season high ten walks. Where is this coming from we wonder? It can’t be from failing at trying to pitch inside, right?
The Cubs stole four bases, one of them by Aramis Ramirez for Lord’s sake. It was the most allowed all season by the Pirates. Where is this coming from now?
The defense appeared sluggish and to have tired legs. We don’t want to know where this is coming from with a series sweep on the line.
