Tough Loss Against the Astros
Oh man, fellow Pirates fans, this one stings
. Despite a strong start, our Buccos couldn't hold onto the lead against the Astros.Early Fireworks from Joey Bart!
Things looked promising right from the second inning. Bryan De La Cruz singled to center, setting the stage for Joey Bart, who blasted a homer to left center, giving us a glorious 2-0 lead.
Then Ke'Bryan Hayes continued the momentum with a single and eventually scored on Jared Triolo's double. Finally, Andrew McCutchen singled to right, driving in Triolo to cap the inning at 4-0! What a start! Astros Crawl Back
Unfortunately, the Astros started their comeback in the bottom of the 2nd, capitalizing on a couple of errors. Jeremy Peña scored on a wild pitch by Woodford, making it 4-1. Then more defensive mishaps in the 3rd inning allowed the Astros to chip away at our lead. Once those errors piled up, Yainer Diaz doubled to center, driving in another run.Dubón’s Dagger in the 6th
The momentum shifted in the 6th inning. With Yainer Diaz on base, Mauricio Dubón came in as a pinch hitter and launched a homer to left center, putting the Astros ahead 5-4.Fighting Till the End
Heads high, Pirates fans! We had our chances. Bryan Reynolds and De La Cruz particularly tried to rally in the 8th inning, but we couldn’t capitalize. With Rowdy Tellez hitting into a double play and Hayes grounding out, our rally fell just short. In the end, McCutchen's ground out in the 9th extinguished our last hopes.Looking Forward
Despite the 5-4 loss, there were bright spots. Joey Bart had a spectacular game with that homer early on, and it’s clear we can compete against strong teams like Houston. We just need to tighten up our defense to support our pitching staff better. Let’s get them next time, Buccos!
️Scoreboard for Pirates @ Astros (August 1st, 2024)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 4 |