Final Score: Pirates 6 Phillies 4 10 innings
Why The Pirates Won: In an exciting but badly played baseball game, the Pirates came away with a victory by making a lot less mistakes than the Phillies. The Pirates were not flawless by any stretch of the imagination. The Pirate pitchers walked 6, hit one batter, gave up 4 runs and 8 hits, but were able to strike out 14 Phillies. The Phillies pitchers while walking only 3 batters, made up for hit by hitting 4 batters, giving up 6 runs and 9 hits. The Pirates made 1 error, but the Phillies made 2 errors, including a botched pop up, that allowed the Pirates to score their 3rd run in the bottom of the 7th. The Pirate batters were 2 for 13 with runners in scoring position and wound up leaving 10 runners on base. The Phillies were a little better, going 4 for 12 with runners in scoring position and leaving 9 runners on base. The Phillies batters made up for that with many baserunning mistakes. I will give Rich Hill a little credit, pitching 5 innings and giving up only 2 runs. They took him out after the 5th even though he had only thrown 79 pitches. It makes you wonder if he is already dealt. It looks like the Pirates may be getting free soda.
The Key Moment Of The Game: There is no question it was in the top of the 10th when the Phillies ran themselves into a double play. After an infield hit and an error, the Phillies had 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. On a medium fly ball to right field, Bryce Harper started to home after the catch but then stopped, probably being influenced by the fact Henry Davis had thrown him out the day before. The runner from second was trying to get back. The throw to second was cut off by Nick Gonzales and Bryce Harper was cut down at the plate when he tried to score. The next batter struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 10th Josh Palacios hit the walk off home run and Pirates had their 2nd series win in a row.
Next Game: Tomorrow, Tigers in Pittsburgh. The Tigers will be the only team the Pirates play in the next two weeks that is below .500 and not in 1st or 2nd place. It would be nice to see them win both games. It will be interesting to see who will still be on the team by 6PM on Tuesday.
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