I didn’t get to watch most of the game today because I was busy doing Father’s Day stuff with my dad that did not include watching the Pirates waste a great start. I turned the game on about 40 minutes after first pitch to find that JT Brubaker was already 5 innings in to another fantastic start (he gave up his first baserunner of the afternoon a few minutes later, so sorry about that everyone). When he ran into “trouble” in the 7th inning — which meant a runner in scoring position with 2 outs — Derek Shelton decided to pull him despite a pitch count in the 70s. The move immediately backfired when Chasen Shreve gave up what would be the winning run a few pitches later.
The move was widely derided by everyone watching, both on Twitter and at the ballpark, so I won’t waste more time on it here. Let me just say that Derek Shelton is proving with each ballgame that the Bucs would be wise to let him walk when his contract expires (and no, I don’t miss Clint Hurdle).
Instead of railing on Shelton for 500 words — this is a rebuilding year, so I can’t really get that worked up over in-game strategy — I want to talk instead about Saturday’s game. The ship has sailed for me to write a separate post about it, so I’m cramming it into this recap instead.
The game itself was a good one. The Indians seemed in control for most of the afternoon before the Pirates strung together some walks and a couple of 3-run homers in the 7th inning for a fantastic 6-3 comeback win. Wil Crowe has a decent outing, David Bednar looked fantastic, and Bryan Reynolds continued his scorching-hot stretch by picking up a pair of hits, including the decisive 3-run blast.
But the best part by far was that I was there to see it in person. As I’ve written before, the last time I saw the Pirates play in Pittsburgh I could hardly wait to leave — the team was awful and I was convinced the front office had no idea how to turn the ship around. Two years later, the Bucs are still terrible, but at least the team has a direction and a few talented youngsters to build around. Most of all, it felt great to be back in stands — blue skies above, verdant field below, and the beautiful Pittsburgh skyline at the center of it all.
It was great — all of it. The fans, the game, hearing Tim DeBacco’s voice booming over the public address system, paying $13 for a beer, yelling at the fan who was playing the most embarrassing game of Fast Bucs that has ever been played (“Name a team in the AL East” the fan: “Mariners”). Just walking around downtown before and after the game was an awesome experience. This pandemic made me realize how many things I took for granted, like just being able to go to a ballgame. But as us Pirate fans can attest, an afternoon at PNC Park is always more than just that.
Bucco Ball 