Something funny happened during this extremely long Pirate game tonight. I was out watching the hockey game, I checked my phone, saw that the Pirates have fallen behind 3-2 and that Charlie Morton was struggling to get out of the fifth inning, and I thought to myself, “We got this.”
Why would I think that? With a scuffling offense and another long night for an increasingly shaky bullpen ahead, this game could’ve been a disaster for the Pirates. And yet, it wasn’t. The offense strung hits together in a way they haven’t in quite some time and tossed five runs up on the board between the seventh and eighth. Xavier Paul had two big hits, Neil Walker pushed the offense along early in the game, Dan McCutchen turned in a huge three-inning relief stint, and here we are.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a game over .500 on June 16th. I’m not sure I understand how they do this on most nights, but I don’t really care.
