In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates fell to the Minnesota Twins last night 5-2. After two quick runs in the second inning, the Pirates offense disappeared completely. For whatever reason, Jake Odorizzi was a tough puzzle to solve as the Pirates could only muster up four hits off of him. He also struck out nine batters in 5.2 innings.
Jameson Taillon pitched okay giving up three runs over six innings. All of his runs were surrendered in the fourth inning. He got the loss.
The Pirates and Twins are back at it today starting at 1:10. Chris Archer opposes Jose Berrios in what should shape up to be somewhat of a pitching duel. In baseball, you hate to use the term “must win” game because so many games are played. Today’s matchup for the Pirates is as close to a must win game we’ve seen this year.
With 42 games remaining, the Pirates are still five back of the second wild card. That said, teams in front of them are gaining steam. The St. Louis Cardinals have won seven straight. The Colorado Rockies have won four straight. With 16 straight games against playoff contenders starting tomorrow, it is imperative that the Pirates get a win today.
Outfield woes
During the crazy hot streak, the Pirates’ outfield was the main source of offense. Lately, they’ve been a liability. Last night, the outfield and 1-2-3 men in the order combined to go 1-12 with six strikeouts. Gregory Polanco himself was 0-4 with four Ks.
Since the beginning of August, Polanco is hitting .119/.191/.214 in 48 plate appearances. Starling Marte is hitting .216/.245/.333 in 53 plate appearances. Corey Dickerson since coming back from the DL on August 4 is hitting .143/.158/.143 in 38 plate appearances.
Obviously this level of production is borderline pathetic.
#BUCSin280
#Pirates lose the #Twins 5-2. Pretty flat game from the Buccos tonight. Jamo pitched okay, giving up 3 over 6. All of his runs were given up in the 4th. The offense did basically nothing. Freese had 3 hits. Most calls did not go the Pirates way tonight. Tough loss #BUCSin280
— Pirates Breakdown (@piratebreakdown) August 15, 2018
Baseball talk on the web
- Baz completes the Archer deal.
- The AL West race is cooking.
- 10 August trade candidates.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
