Pirates lose shocker to Reds 1-0

These days, inevitables are death, taxes, and the Pirates losing the final game of a series.

And so it was this afternoon, with the Bucs dropping the last game of this series to the Reds, 1-0, at PNC Park.

This was not an exciting game by any stretch of the imagination, although many fans and broadcasters made the effort to get excited. Pirates starter Connor Overton went three innings, giving up two hits, one walk, and no runs, primarily using an admittedly nice-looking changeup. Such was the reaction that I had to post this in BD’s Twitter feed:

I also opined that Overton’s auditioning for a spring training invite. The guy’s been around and obviously Derek Shelton’s been treating him like a delicate little flower, but he may—may—warrant one. (adds topic to postseason discussion list)

The lone run, because that was all it took to gain a victory in this snoozefest, came in the seventh inning. Tyler Stephenson doubled off Cody Ponce, who then walked Kyle Farmer. The Reds subbed Delino DeShields for Stephenson, and two sacrifices by Shogo Akiyama (Mister Roboto) and Asdrubal Cabrera was enough to get DeShields home.

The Pirates outhit the Reds 6-5, but all their hits were singles, whereas the Reds doubled three times. Each team had three walks. It wasn’t so much a pitcher’s duel as a lazy game, played on a September Thursday afternoon in front of a sparse crowd. The announcers literally freaked out more over the pierogi race than any game play. I’m not kidding, I was in my kitchen and I heard Greg Brown and Bob Walk screaming “He’s cheating! He’s cheating!” I came out to find brightly costumed pierogies on my screen pushing each other down.

I know the pierogi races are serious business in the Burgh, but really?