Things were looking bleak for the first half of today’s rubber match. The offense was sputtering, Paul Skenes looked human, and vibes were very low. The power of Rafael Flores off the bench proved to be the hero today, as his 2 home runs brought the game back for a Brandon Lowe walkout in the 9th. In order to climb back into the playoff conversation, the Pirates need t continue to take 2/3 at a very minimum from this remaining August schedule and they accomplished that today. The Bucs are now 63-66 and sit 5.5 games out of a wild card spot. Watch Cody and Doug break down the game in detail here:
Rafael Flores You Have My Attention
Rafael Flores plays hero for the Bucs yet again today, with his 2nd 2-homer game this season. He even managed to come off the bench to perform the heroics. He hits 2 home runs in the bottom of the 7th and 9th innings to tie the game up and pave the way for Brandon Lowe to do Brandon Lowe things. After today’s impressive power display, Flores is now slashing .313/.411/.729 for a wRC+ of 203. It is an extremely small sample size of 56 at-bats, but he is showing the raw hitting tools that Ben Cherington bet on when dealing David Bednar. I am balking at his defensive abilities at catcher and his whiff rates, but there is enough power in Flores to carve out a Major League career if he makes the proper adjustments. It will make for a fun roster crunch moment in 2026 if he doesn’t have the chops to stick at catcher full time.
Alex Stumpf For Pitching Coach?
The Pirates really need Skenes to be better than how he is currently pitching. Every elite pitcher has a down year, and Skenes is experiencing his worst year of his professional life. Today’s outing with his being unable to complete 5 innings is becoming a consistent trend for the Pirates’ ace. He walked 4 batters for the 2nd time this month and struggles to put guys away on a consistent basis. While Bill Murphy has not been able to get the best out of Paul, our good friend Alex might have a solution. He has written an entire Substack article about Skenes’ mechanics and why he’s not able to throw as hard. Alex mainly blames his arm angle being too high, not allowing him to whip the ball into the plate as fast as he used to. I can only pray that the Pirates listen to Stumpf, because nothing else seems to be working, and 2025 Paul Skenes could play a major role in getting the Pirates to Buctober. Read Alex’s column here:
Make Brandon Lowe a Pirate for Life
Will Brandon Lowe be 33 next year? Yes. Does he have a worrying health record? Also yes. Will he be commanding a ransom in free agency? Yes again. Despite all those concerns, I would do almost anything money-wise to get this guy back in Pittsburgh for the next 3 years. Lowe wins us yet another game with a towering moon shot off of Kenley Jansen in the bottom of the 9th today. His OPS has fallen off, but his ability to change games with his elite power is a skill the Pirates have desperately needed for a long time. Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O’Hearn are both good, but they don’t have that ability, and Oneil Cruz has struggled to stay healthy to provide that over a long period of time. Home runs win you ball games, and combined with the above-average 2B defense, Lowe is a no-brainer to bring in. Nick Gonzales is talented, but the drop-off from Lowe to Gonzales would be a disastrous decision going into 2027.
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