Pitching has been the one strength of the Pirates this season, but for the second time this month, Bucs pitchers got beat up badly as they dropped a second straight game to the Reds on a blazing hot afternoon in Pittsburgh . Greg Brown has the recap.
Manager Donnie Kelly thought the Pirates still had a chance to win all the way to the end.
On The Ben Cherington Show on WCCS yesterday, the Pirates’ general manager talked about two of his young pitchers, one already an established superstar and the other a top prospect hoping to make a splash with the Bucs.
Cherington says no matter what his won/loss record, Paul Skenes is a contender for the Cy Young Award. Skenes is 7-8 with a 1.94 ERA.
Bubba Chandler has struggled at Indianapolis the last two months, and has yet to make his Major League debut, to the surprise of many baseball insiders. Cherington says Chandler isn’t ready yet.
Chandler is 5-5 with a 3.82 ERA and took the loss on Sunday for Indy against Omaha, giving up three runs in four innings of work.
Cherington says the young righthander will make it to Pittsburgh before the season’s end…and you can bet on it.
The Pirates hit the road tonight to play the hottest team in baseball, winners of nine straight games. They travel to Milwaukee to play the Brewers, who have the best record in baseball at 73-44. In a matchup of lefties, Andrew Heaney [5-9, 4.77 ERA] takes the mound for the Pirates against Freddy Peralta [9-4, 3.57 ERA]. Airtime is 7:15, first pitch at 7:40 on WCCS.
ALTOONA CURVE
Altoona was beaten by Hartford, 11-4 yesterday. Duce Gourson had two hits for the Curve, who split the six-game series with the Yard Goats.
The Curve will open a six-game set at Richmond tomorrow.
