A Sunday lineup or a white flag game. Call it what you will but the Pirates didn’t go into Thursday afternoon’s game in St. Louis like they’re battling for a Wild Card spot.
The Pirates could’ve won their third-straight series and continue the momentum going into a series in Colorado this weekend.
But instead, seemingly half the team got the afternoon off.
The bottom five of the lineup including Rowdy Tellez (.211), Jared Triolo (.212), Jack Suwinski (.170), Yasmani Grandal (.167) and Michael A. Taylor (.204).
With those five batters instead of Andrew McCutchen, Connor Joe, Nick Gonzales and Henry Davis all the day off…at the same time!
It’s a day game, okay, give McCutchen the day off.
But with Gonzales, he’s 25-years-old. He can’t handle a hot afternoon game in St. Louis?
Henry Davis is only batting .157 but he hit his first home run of the season on Tuesday. He’s only 24, see if he can keep the momentum going.
And the Pirates don’t play until 8:40 on Friday evening. That’s over 24 hours off before the next game.
None of those players came in during the bottom of the 9th to pinch-hit to help give the Pirates a spark.
Maybe someone is hurt?
Mitch Keller has been pitching well, but even with that lineup You needed Keller to have a stellar start.
It wasn’t a great start, but it wasn’t bad. It shouldn’t come down to Keller.
“Derek Shelton waved that white flag in the 9th inning, which to me was unforgivable,” said Adam Crowley on The Fan Morning Show.
“He waved the white flag before the game, he was just like ‘here’,” said Dorin Dickerson.
If the Pirates are in the Wild Card race in September and they miss out, look back to games like this as to why.