The Pirates are in a funk right now. They have lost three consecutive series and the worst part is, all three of them were very winnable. The Pirates had plenty of opportunities to put the third game of this series away, but they failed to get the big hit and as a result, Albert Pujols delivered the crushing blow and the Pirates lost the game.
Every team goes through stretches like this where it seems like no matter what you do, you cannot seem to win, but baseball is a game of ups and downs and the Pirates will turn things around begin to play better baseball. The team has plenty of talent and as I’ve said before, you are never as bad as you look when you’re playing at your worst, nor as good as you look when you’re playing at your best. The real result is somewhere in the middle. The Pirates are most certainly not as bad as they have looked recently and I would expect them to regress to the mean very soon and get back to playing the baseball they are fully capable of playing.
The Pirates won’t have an easy time of it with the New York Mets and their all world pitching coming to town to begin a three game series, but baseball is rarely kind to the weary. The Pirates must endure and see if they can scratch out a series victory against the Mets. The Mets series also brings about the return of “The Pittsburgh Kid” Neil Walker as he faces his former team for the first time since being traded to the Mets in December. I expect he will receive a very warm welcome as he is still immensely popular with the local fan base, but winning is more important than making Neil Walker feel loved.
The Pirates will send former Met Jon Niese to the mound as he faces Steven Matz. First pitch is at 7:05pm.
Series Result: Pirates lose 2-1
2016 win/loss record: 29-24
2016 series record: 9-8-1
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