Post by joshsbix on Nov 20, 2023 23:04:38 GMT -5
The Pirates had only won 2 games through April and suddenly they were unbeatable in the first 2 games of May. The Pirates went into the sim looking for something, really anything, to be happy about. Erstad continues to hang out around the top of the SB leaderboard and 1B/OF Nieves is number 3 in average in the league. If he isn't careful, he could find himself playing meaningful games by the summer. Let's see what went down during the sim.
5/3
Coming off of the 4 game split, the Pirates flew to LA to face a Dodger's team looking for an identity. If there is one thing Pittsburgh can do, it is help teams find themselves. All signs pointed to an offensive struggle in the first inning as both teams struck early and the Pirates held a 3-1 lead after 2. Condrey would settle in after 2 and the Dodger bullpen threw 5 scoreless innings to seal the 4-3 win. The Pirates out hit the Dodgers 8-7 but couldn't score any runs after the second inning.
5/4
The Dodgers take game 2 of the series by a 5-4 score that looks more dramatic on paper than it was in reality. The Dodgers scored 3 runs in the first and added 2 more in the 6th. The Pirates scraped up a run in the 3rd4th, 6th, and 8th but the late comeback attempt never fully materialized. The Buccos drop to 0-2 on the sim.
5/5
The Pirates got their revenge in game three behind Dreifort's best start of the season. He went 5 innings giving up 2 ER on 7 hits and the bullpen only gave up a single run . Villareal picked up his first save of the season and the Pirates walked off the field feeling like a real baseball team after the 6-3 win. Erstad went 1-5 in this one and failed to pick up a SB. Nieves hit his 6th HR of the season and went 2-4. He finally seems to be getting going after a mostly sluggish 2007. Pittsburgh picks up their 5th win of the season and their first of the sim.
5/6
Putting the 1-2 Dodger series behind them, the Pirates traveled south to SD where it seemed they had a pretty good chance to win some ball games against a fellow cellar dweller. The Padres had other plans and it seemed to be one of their games where all the offensive frustration was let loose on poor Brian Anderson. He was under siege for 5 innings, giving up 10 hits and 6 ER before the cavalry arrived to give up 7 more runs. Callasp, Howard, Aven, and Kottaras all beefed up their averages with 3 hit games. The Pirates start a new losing streak and drop to 1-3 on the sim.
5/7
Revenge is a dish served cold and it was a chilly 54 degree night in San Diego as the Pirates served up their revenge in game two to a tune of a 5-2 win. Hebson actually pitched like a pitcher! Hebson picked up his second win of the season pitching a strong 7.2 innings and only allowing 1 run. The bullpen didn't throw the game away giving up a single run and German picks up his first save. It is hard to diagnose his bp performance so far. He has a spectactular outing and then got bombed and then had another nice outting. Whatever happens, it is going better than his time in the rotation. Pirates improve to 2-3 on the sim and get season win #6.
5/8
San Diego takes game 3 in an offense shootout. The first couple of innings were quiet before the bats really began to light up the scoreboard. When the dust settled it was the Padres who were the 11-7 winners. The Pirates scored 4 in the 9th to make the game look a lot more fun than it was. In reality we sat through another drubbing that got kind of exciting at the end. Willis had to be bailed out of the 4th inning after giving up 6 ER. His long term role on the team is being questioned by many as he continues to struggle.Erstad came off the bench to pick up a couple of at bats and an RBI but not a SB. Pirates drop to 2-4 on the sim.
5/9
After getting beat up on in SD the Pirates made a stop in Arizona for what was surely to be more of the same, if not worse. We are losing to the bottom teams in the division, this can not be good. The Pirates held their own for a minute as he score was tied 2-2 through 2 innings. Arizona scored 1 in the 3rd and 2 late to take a 5-2 win and extend the Pirates new losing streak to 2 games and 2-5 on the sim. Cordova got his first start of the season and while the rust was evident, he wasn't terrible getting into the 5th. Hopefully, he can build on that during his next outing. Podsednik got his 18th SB of the season in this game and solidified his monthly claim as the SB king.
It really seems to be more of the same really bad baseball as we move through the season.
Lotto Draft Odds Standnigs
Pittsburgh 6 wins
Cincy 6 wins
TB 7 Wins
SD 10 Wins
Minnesota 11 Wins
NYA 12 Wins
5/3
Coming off of the 4 game split, the Pirates flew to LA to face a Dodger's team looking for an identity. If there is one thing Pittsburgh can do, it is help teams find themselves. All signs pointed to an offensive struggle in the first inning as both teams struck early and the Pirates held a 3-1 lead after 2. Condrey would settle in after 2 and the Dodger bullpen threw 5 scoreless innings to seal the 4-3 win. The Pirates out hit the Dodgers 8-7 but couldn't score any runs after the second inning.
5/4
The Dodgers take game 2 of the series by a 5-4 score that looks more dramatic on paper than it was in reality. The Dodgers scored 3 runs in the first and added 2 more in the 6th. The Pirates scraped up a run in the 3rd4th, 6th, and 8th but the late comeback attempt never fully materialized. The Buccos drop to 0-2 on the sim.
5/5
The Pirates got their revenge in game three behind Dreifort's best start of the season. He went 5 innings giving up 2 ER on 7 hits and the bullpen only gave up a single run . Villareal picked up his first save of the season and the Pirates walked off the field feeling like a real baseball team after the 6-3 win. Erstad went 1-5 in this one and failed to pick up a SB. Nieves hit his 6th HR of the season and went 2-4. He finally seems to be getting going after a mostly sluggish 2007. Pittsburgh picks up their 5th win of the season and their first of the sim.
5/6
Putting the 1-2 Dodger series behind them, the Pirates traveled south to SD where it seemed they had a pretty good chance to win some ball games against a fellow cellar dweller. The Padres had other plans and it seemed to be one of their games where all the offensive frustration was let loose on poor Brian Anderson. He was under siege for 5 innings, giving up 10 hits and 6 ER before the cavalry arrived to give up 7 more runs. Callasp, Howard, Aven, and Kottaras all beefed up their averages with 3 hit games. The Pirates start a new losing streak and drop to 1-3 on the sim.
5/7
Revenge is a dish served cold and it was a chilly 54 degree night in San Diego as the Pirates served up their revenge in game two to a tune of a 5-2 win. Hebson actually pitched like a pitcher! Hebson picked up his second win of the season pitching a strong 7.2 innings and only allowing 1 run. The bullpen didn't throw the game away giving up a single run and German picks up his first save. It is hard to diagnose his bp performance so far. He has a spectactular outing and then got bombed and then had another nice outting. Whatever happens, it is going better than his time in the rotation. Pirates improve to 2-3 on the sim and get season win #6.
5/8
San Diego takes game 3 in an offense shootout. The first couple of innings were quiet before the bats really began to light up the scoreboard. When the dust settled it was the Padres who were the 11-7 winners. The Pirates scored 4 in the 9th to make the game look a lot more fun than it was. In reality we sat through another drubbing that got kind of exciting at the end. Willis had to be bailed out of the 4th inning after giving up 6 ER. His long term role on the team is being questioned by many as he continues to struggle.Erstad came off the bench to pick up a couple of at bats and an RBI but not a SB. Pirates drop to 2-4 on the sim.
5/9
After getting beat up on in SD the Pirates made a stop in Arizona for what was surely to be more of the same, if not worse. We are losing to the bottom teams in the division, this can not be good. The Pirates held their own for a minute as he score was tied 2-2 through 2 innings. Arizona scored 1 in the 3rd and 2 late to take a 5-2 win and extend the Pirates new losing streak to 2 games and 2-5 on the sim. Cordova got his first start of the season and while the rust was evident, he wasn't terrible getting into the 5th. Hopefully, he can build on that during his next outing. Podsednik got his 18th SB of the season in this game and solidified his monthly claim as the SB king.
It really seems to be more of the same really bad baseball as we move through the season.
Lotto Draft Odds Standnigs
Pittsburgh 6 wins
Cincy 6 wins
TB 7 Wins
SD 10 Wins
Minnesota 11 Wins
NYA 12 Wins
