◆NEWSPirates Notes: Keller, Pitching Pursuits, Lineup◆ROSTERSigned free agent RHP Enmanuel Nunez to a minor league contract◆STATPaul Skenes ranks 4th in the NL in strikeouts (200)◆STATNick Gonzales ranks 4th in the NL in batting average (.303)
◆NEWSPirates Notes: Keller, Pitching Pursuits, Lineup◆ROSTERSigned free agent RHP Enmanuel Nunez to a minor league contract◆STATPaul Skenes ranks 4th in the NL in strikeouts (200)◆STATNick Gonzales ranks 4th in the NL in batting average (.303)
The Pirates scored nine runs in an inning, blew a six-run lead and then walked it off thanks to an error by the Giants in the 9th inning to win a crazy affair 13-12. Oneil Cruz recorded four hits and four RBIs, Brandon Lowe went 4-for-6 and hit his 29th home run of the season and Nick Gonzales had three hits. Tyler and Neil broke this one down on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti Bros. You can watch/listen here:
How good has Oneil Cruz been since returning to the team on August 18? He’s helped this team in so many ways. Tuesday night against the Giants, Cruz went 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs and a run scored. He singled in the second run of the game in the bottom of the 1st inning and then had TWO run-scoring singles in the 3rd inning! First, he singled in Bryan Reynolds to make it 5-3, he came around to score to tie the game and then later in the same inning, he ripped a two-RBI single to make it 11-5. Two hits, three RBIs all in one inning for Cruz. He’s now had nine hits in the past four games.
Cruz has been a breath of fresh air since returning and has helped stabilize this lineup against righties and lefties. And we know his arm in center field keeps baserunners honest when trying to move up and take an extra base. If anyone forgot what Cruz can do while he was out, he’s been putting on a show since returning and making fans remember who he is.
Skenes Couldn’t Put Away a Triple-A Lineup
In case you were wondering if maybe, just maybe Paul Skenes was back after his last start, this start should have ended that silly thought quickly. Skenes struggled in a couple different parts of the game Tuesday that was telling to me. The first one was with the Pirates up 2-0 in the 2nd inning, Skenes had a chance to shut this less-than-stellar lineup down and put together two good consecutive starts. Instead, Skenes struggled again with control, gave up hits, got horrible defense behind him and then gave up a three-run bomb to Rafael Devers to make it 5-2 Giants in a hurry.
Then when the Pirates gifted Paul a nine-run inning to take an 11-5 lead, Skenes just had to get three more outs in the 5th inning to qualify for the win and pick up the easiest win of his career. He got the first two outs on the 5th and then gave up a single to Osleivis Basabe, a .211 hitter, on a two-strike count and then on another two-strike count, Drew Cavanaugh, a .243 hitter, ripped a double to left field to end Skenes day. Skenes was lifted for Yohan Ramirez and did not get the win. This is the most worrisome thing to me—Skenes couldn’t put away these two slap dick hitters on two-strike counts when he needed it to finish five innings to give himself the chance for the win. This has been a theme with Skenes this season, struggling with control and putting away hitters. Skenes gave up more hits (8) and more hard hits (7) than he had whiffs (6). It’s just not a good trend and not what we’re used to seeing from Skenes.
This was a Giants lineup that featured the likes of Turner Hill, Jonah Cox, Shay Whitcomb, Christian Koss and Basabe and Cavanaugh. This…wasn’t exactly the ’27 Yankees facing Skenes. Paul Skenes of 2025 would have chopped this lineup up, but that’s the problem isn’t it? The Skenes that we saw in 2024 and 2025 is not here in the room with us right now. And it’s why I said this problem he has won’t get fixed in between starts this season. He needs a full offseason to figure out his mechanics and get right.
Dumbest Win of the Year?
Seriously though, what in the hell was that game? Here’s the scoring changes:
The Pirates had 19 hits for 13 runs and 17 of those hits were SINGLES. This team goes back and forth on being a power team and then will hit nothing but singles for the longest stretch. They had a 9-run inning that saw 15 baserunners come to the plate that featured nine runs on nine singles. Oneil Cruz had two hits in the inning and three RBIs. Then of course Skenes can’t throw strikes or put away bad hitters. And then the bullpen blows a big lead to lead to a walkoff groundout error in the 9th inning. What a wild, stupid, crazy, good win Tuesday. At the end of the day, you’ll take a dumb and ugly win over a pretty loss. Pirates somehow win their third straight game and we can dream for at least one more day that they might run the table.
Comments· 1
The Debate
After Evan Sisk threw 8 strikes in 22 pitches with a five-run lead, should the Pirates DFA him or just option him down for Noah Murdock?
lisamenfingerProspect· 71d ago
Great analysis, as always! Definitely an ugly win is better than a pretty loss. 😁
With Tyler Sweeney and Neil Lucas.
Chapters
Key takeaways
1
Bringing the infield in to protect a 2-0 lead in the 2nd inning was 'stupid baseball.' Just take the out on Horwitz's grounder, and Paul Skenes probably doesn't give up five runs.
2
Given how weak the Giants lineup is, this may be Paul Skenes' worst start of the year: 4.2 innings, 3 walks, 8 hits, 5 runs and nothing to hang your hat on.
3
The Pirates have overused Yohan Ramírez. He has thrown 73 innings in 57 games, already more than in either of the past two seasons with a month left, and he's starting to look fatigued.
4
Don't DFA Evan Sisk after throwing 8 strikes in 22 pitches. He's been decent most of the year, so use his options to send him down and call up Noah Murdock.
5
Oneil Cruz's four-hit night is the breakout fans have begged for: consistent production night to night, not just 20–30 homers.
You are listening to the North Shore Nine podcast presented by FanDuel.
I'm Tyler, with me is Neil.
And you are also listening to the NS9 Post Game Show, powered by Primanti Brothers, where we are giving away sandwiches after one of the dumbest wins I've ever seen in my entire life.
I was fully prepared to come on here and scream about firing everyone, but instead we get to give away sandwiches, which is always a good thing.
Neil, how are we doing tonight, my friend?
It could not be a worse time to be a fantasy owner who has Paul Skenes and Logan Webb on their team.
And it's a playoff night for you.
It's rough.
Luckily, I have Oneil Cruz and Brandon Lowe as well.
But yeah, watching those runs come in early on was really disappointing.
I can't lie.
I was I was really banking on a pitcher's duel.
Yeah, you didn't get one of those.
No, not even close.
Not even close.
But I agree.
What a stupid game.
What an absolutely stupid game that the Pirates walk off.
They win 13 to 12.
They walk it off on a Rafael Flores ground out that just didn't get fielded by the Giants.
Yeah, just like the most routine ground ball you could imagine after they blew a five run lead after the Giants themselves blew a three.
It was everything about this game was just it was two triple A teams out there tonight.
Justin, you know what?
Not putrid because the Pirates bats.
They came alive today.
They ended up with 19 hits, 13 runs.
Again, man, like you scored 13 runs.
This should have been an easy, happy-go-lucky game where we're giving away Sammies.
We're all chilling.
We're talking about, what should have been probably a good Paul skiing start because you actually gave him run support tonight.
Instead, we did not get that.
We got hang on to your asses, pray, get bored, watch TikTok at some points.
Who knows?
But we got sandwiches out of it.
Yeah.
And like I was, I was fully convinced they were going to lose after they, after the five run eighth, like there was like, there's no shot they're winning this.
I was fully expecting that.
Well, I was mad because I'm like, we're going to go into extras.
I don't want to do extra innings again.
I don't want to do this on and dance again.
But no, 13 runs is always exciting.
Ideally, the other team doesn't score 12, especially when Paul Skenes is on the mound.
really in all reality, this thing, and we'll get to pretty much everything that happened here and quite a bit did over this almost marathon of a game, for a nine in a game.
She took her good old time.
And a lot of that had to do with the, I believe 34 minute third inning or bottom of the third inning.
I should say where the pirates were able to put up nine runs, which truthfully should have put this game away.
It put the pirates in front 11 to five.
They were up by six, carried that into the sixth inning, still up by six, still almost found a way to lose it.
But that third inning, Neil, the pirates just poured it on the giants or web.
He didn't stand a chance there.
he couldn't throw strikes.
it was so weird.
Cause like when Devers hit that three run Homer, I was checked out.
I'm like, great.
We're dealing with this.
And then like the runs just kept coming.
Like it was a slow burn at first, right?
Like it was a crew single, but then Gonzalez walks in a chair triolo walk.
And then I knew something was crazy when Henry Davis singled in two runs and gave us the lead like that's when we went from like, this is cool to a bizarro world.
Like Henry Davis getting a single in a clutch situation.
Like it never happens.
And then we didn't even stop there.
It was absurd.
We batted around.
We had a lot of fun and that, no, that was awesome.
It was, it was quite the inning.
you mentioned that the giants had the lead at that point.
It was a five to two game.
it started with a Bryan Reynolds single Nick Gonzales followed that up with a single Oneil Cruz, who had a huge game today, four hits follows that up with a single, which drove in Bryan Reynolds Esmerlyn Valdez singles.
Jake Gonzalez walks, Jared triolo walks.
And then, like you mentioned, Henry Davis with the big two run single there.
And it wasn't over yet.
Logan Webb gets pulled from the game at that point.
He ends up giving up nine runs over two innings.
I'm sorry, Neil.
Like you said he's on your fantasy team.
My ERA for as a team is seven 89.
And so far this week, the whip is 1.88.
It could not get worse.
That's pretty darn close to, Luke Weaver's ERA as a pirate.
So yeah.
Oh my.
That's about how well it's going.
We'll get to him.
Don't worry.
I want, I hope that's not true.
I'm sure it is, but I really hope it's not.
I'm pretty sure it's over seven.
Oh, that's rough.
That's real rough.
Yeah.
As that was happening and Logan Webb gets pulled, Henry Davis does steal second base his third of the year.
Spencer Horwitz in singles, extending the lead nine to five.
Where it's not just the 20 home runs, the 30 home runs in this deals, but also putting together on a consistently night, because it's a night to night basis.
He was incredible tonight.
four hits today, I think four for six, if I'm not mistaken.
Yeah.
Just an absolute stud of a ball player.
I love him.
I will defend him for as long as I can.
I don't know how often it happens that a team scores nine runs without hitting a home run.
I don't feel like it's that often.
I think we did that back against the Cubs against Lester.
It feels like the Pirates do it.
I feel like they've done it.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Maybe I'm lying.
It feels like they've done it before this year, but that's a, it's a monster inning.
Should have put the game away.
It didn't.
No.
again, like it went from, I was checked out because, well, this game's over to like, oh, this is easy street.
Like there's no way the Pirates bullpen blows this.
Even when, and I'm sure we'll get to, even when sis gave up the three runs, I was very calm.
I really didn't think there was any worry whatsoever.
And yet this team still finds ways to amaze.
That they do.
And before we get any further here, just a couple people to get through in their comments here.
We got to give a shout out to Silas.
Silas says they were ready to officially clock out on the season when Weaver blew it in the eighth, but we live to see another day.
Padres lost day two D backs down to nothing.
I'm not going to lie.
Thank you for the comment.
And thank you for the five here.
But I quit scoreboard watching about a month ago.
we are only five out.
And we have a very easy schedule in September.
And then another shout out here to Dean.
What a stupid game.
I don't know why my heart was beating so fast in the ninth.
I might be a psychopath.
We all are.
Yeah, we're all here.
It's like below 500 Pirates baseball in September and year seven of Ben Cherington.
And we're still here.
And then also a shout out to Blake Hunter for becoming a member for 16 months.
Appreciate all you guys.
Again, make sure we drop hashtag raises here to be entered into the Romani Brothers sandwich giveaway.
Like we said, they're in that third inning.
Extended the lead to 11 to six.
The Giants were able to jump out to a five to two lead.
And that, Neil, was because Paul Skins was on the mound.
Paul Skins might stink.
I will say this.
I think that might be the worst start of the year for him.
Just in terms of the quality of opposition he was facing.
And how badly he got beat around while doing that.
That was rough.
That was real rough tonight.
just pretty much nothing redeemable.
A lot of hits.
A lot of walks.
A lot of runs.
Like, not a whole lot that you can even, like, look and hang your hat on.
Nothing.
I got closer to wanting to shut him down.
Just because I don't want to watch him pitch anymore.
We're closing in on a four-year right here.
He goes four and two-thirds.
Not enough to get to win, which...
Didn't deserve it.
Neil, Facebook's an interactive place.
And I know DiNardo has an ongoing feud with our Facebook.
But I just saw some comments out there complaining that the Pirates pulled Paul Skins.
One out away from being able to get the win.
That's where we're at.
That's where we're at, my friend.
When you come to the realization the manager simply exists as someone for fans to yell at, everything becomes much more clear.
Because in what universe is anyone else getting mad about Paul Skins being pulled there?
He was about to give up more runs.
As weird as it sounds, I had zero confidence he was going to get.
I don't even know who was up.
But there were runners on second and third in that fifth inning with two outs.
That was a single with two more runs coming home written all over it.
Four and two-thirds.
Three walks.
Four strikeouts.
Eight hits.
Five runs.
The five runs came in that second inning, which...
I do have to nitpick one thing about that second inning there, Neil.
It is a 2-0 lead by the Pirates.
Runners on second and third.
No, I believe there were no outs at the time.
And this isn't...
Maybe this isn't just zeroed in on Don Kelly here.
Because it's what we're seeing teams do in baseball.
Just to wrap up Paul Skenes's here real quick before we move on to the rest of this game.
I don't have an answer for him.
It's bad.
Do you want to see him turn this thing around?
I thought we might be moving in a better direction after his last outing.
But, no, it's just bad right now.
I don't know if I want to watch him pitch the rest of the year again.
I don't.
from a team perspective, you have no choice.
You have to give him the ball every five days.
You really do.
And just put it on the screen.
Just put it on the screen.
All right.
Let's get it over with.
I know this guy.
I wanted to buy his jersey.
Jared Saltamalachia.
That's how you pronounce it.
Don't tell me wrong.
We're going to put this back up here and shout out to Steel City DW.
Can Neil say, Jared?
Go ahead, Neil.
Saltamalachia.
That's how you pronounce it.
Okay.
I think you got it that time.
I don't know about the first time.
I got it the first time.
You're just hearing things.
You were trying.
You were looking for things this year.
I don't know if you got it that first time.
I'm 100% certain I got it right.
Chat, I'm going to need your help here.
I don't know if you got it the first time.
The chat has my back.
You know what?
Steel City DW is saying that.
You got it correct.
Yeah.
You don't trust Jim?
No.
Oh, Neil.
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Go ahead and give that a little shot as Neil here wants, or not Neil, God, Jim says, I have to say science words.
Guess what?
I cut those science words out.
I'd be curious to know because BPM says that new sponsor to save the season.
I want to know, and I wonder if we can track this, what our record is since we stopped doing IQ Bar, and whether or not the new ad, we have to have a mid-show ad read if we're going to be good.
Maybe we do.
We just need Cody saying $64,000.
Exactly, yeah.
$4,000.
It's like a little soundbite every time.
Whenever we're at $64,000, like how many runs did Paul Skenes get up today?
Like $6,400.
And that about took us through halfway through this game.
We've started to see, I think, a little bit of fatigue out of Yohan Ramirez.
He has been used a lot.
He's also came in a weird spot there, but not much really for me to add there on Yohan.
It still felt like it should have been a comfortable lead.
Yeah.
Sometimes it happens, but he was bad tonight.
But like, how many innings is he at for this year now?
Like, is it a lot?
This is his 57th game.
73 innings.
That's a lot for a reliever.
A lot, man.
Especially for someone who hasn't been like on a major league roster all that much.
That is a lot of stuff.
That's a lot of pitches thrown.
Yeah, so last year it looks like 64 innings.
Year before that, 65-ish.
So, yeah, we're already over that with a month left to play.
Yeah, they've used the living hell out of him.
And, good for him.
He's been effective.
So, just not as effective tonight.
Yohan does give up the two runs.
Gregory Soto comes in after that.
He was clean.
Camilo Doval comes in following that who just we talk about him I feel like in passing more often than not.
He's been really good since coming over.
Been fantastic.
Like, genuinely amazing.
And it's great that he has another year of control.
But, yeah, no.
I think he's given up like one or two runs tops in his I think he's at 14 or so innings.
15 innings since coming over from the deadline.
Fantastic pitcher so far.
No, with that being said, he does have a 458 FIP with the Pirates.
He's walking a shit ton of people.
But it's been effective.
You signed up for the walks and strikeout factory.
You're going to get a lot of walks and strikeouts.
Sure are.
All right.
Evan says time.
Oh, man.
Remember when he was like a low two ERA?
I remember when Evan says got a low two ERA.
Yeah.
Yeah.
He goes a third of an inning, gives up three runs, walks three.
High leverage and this wasn't even high leverage.
This was probably low leverage at that point.
Pirates had a big lead with Evan says coming in.
He basically hands it straight over to the Giants or at least any insurance they had gone.
It's a five run lead in the eighth inning.
Like, yeah, just throw strikes.
Yeah.
That was impressive how unable he was to throw about throwing strikes like that.
That wasn't crazy.
What was it?
It was like eight and eight out of twenty two.
That's he.
Yeah.
Twenty two pitches, eight strikes.
I am fairly confident I can do that.
Like I can do better than that right now.
You want to get an out, but you could throw more strikes.
I think I had a better out of getting two outs tonight than Evan says did.
And that's just throwing the ball across the middle of the plate.
I guess the position players can do it.
Don't get me wrong.
Just yeah, I'm not DFAing him.
I know the comment section here really wants him to be DFA'd.
he's still been more times than not decent this year.
My God, he sucked at me.
You've gotten way more out of the Bailey Falter trade than I think anyone ever could have imagined for like how he's performed like most of the year he's been on the team.
But recently, yeah, it's shown why he's been optioned and like he hasn't been a full time major league player like yeah, just I don't really I don't know.
I don't mind him as a he's what like the sixth guy off the bench in the bullpen.
I think that's fine.
like for what he's provided.
I think that's pretty good.
Actually, just tonight was horrific and made you want to die.
Six earned in about eight innings pitched as a pirate.
That's about a 70 ERA.
Yeah, you're right.
You are correct.
That's do you think it's like just he hasn't pitched much because the pirates have been so bad that like there hasn't been any reason to throw Luke Weaver out there or like.
Yeah, I'm not worried about him.
I do.
I don't understand what they've done with him.
Like they just don't use him.
Six 48 ERA as a pirate.
I like close seven.
We're getting there.
Also, I checked Luke Weaver actually is on my fantasy team, so.
It's also September 1st and it's been a month.
Yeah, like.
Yeah, no, that's the crazy thing.
Like I feel like I've barely like the reason I didn't believe that you said like 70 ERAs is I don't feel like I've seen enough of him to have a seven ERA.
I think he's at two games where he gave up runs and that just that's it.
Yeah, I don't know what they've I know what they've done.
They haven't been winning, so they really haven't used them, but just use them.
Like I got a shiny new toy.
Let me see them.
Not if he's going to do this.
This is what he's going to do.
I don't want to see him.
Fair.
Let's see.
Yeah, he had that game against Boston where he gave up the three earned that one is really the thing that killed.
But yeah, it's.
All of a sudden it was a tie game.
Yeah, Mason Montgomery decided that he wanted to almost blow it because my word like that was it was everyone.
It was all our supposedly elite pitchers and I just got whopped around by the Giants like it was crazy.
Well, yeah, that's what happens when you give up 16 hits and walk eight dudes not to mention they hit how many how many hit matters we have
here?
One that looks like just the one.
Yeah, but we hit Hill and then reach base five times that is nine free bases plus 16 hits that yeah, that accounts for 12 runs.
God what a nightmare of a game.
Could you imagine because like I just how awful this would be if like we were seriously in a playoffs like push right now.
I would have died.
Yeah, I was imagining like the anxiety and the heart palpitations I'd be getting if this game like had serious implications and maybe it does.
Maybe this game does have serious implications, but like, oh my gosh, I couldn't even imagine trying to deal with like us blowing that lead tied for a playoff spot.
again, I would have came on here screaming.
Yeah, I'm not screaming tonight.
So with that tied game there and also you mentioned Mason Montgomery who almost blew it as well.
Thank God again that Eldridge is extremely slow and could not score from first.
My God, he looked like he was crawling.
I literally got two flashbacks there.
But that takes us to the bottom of the ninth.
Brandon Lowe, who had a nice day today, also including a home run.
Oneil Cruz is able to beat out a ground ball that turns into a fielder's choice.
It was also dropped by the pitcher.
I think he beat it anyhow.
And then Rafael Flores, it's a ground ball to third that goes past Rafael Devers.
Yeah.
And that's your ball game.
Naturally.
Yeah, like I was getting set up for postgame, and so I didn't see the final play live, and so I saw that they won, like, oh, it was great.
And then I'm like, oh, I want to see, how did Rafael Flores win the game for us?
Was it a single?
Was it a ball that was going to go to the wall and the outfielder couldn't get?
No, just a ground ball to third that got thrown away.
Yep.
A fitting end to a terrible baseball game.
Yeah, just a disaster of a game.
However, three games under 500, so that's something.
Yep, crawling our way back to 500.
And another shout out to our guy Michael B here.
Look at this organization's philosophy of taking starters out way too early.
In parentheses, not tonight.
Correct.
It has caused the bullpen to be overused all season.
They're stupid.
They are stupid, Michael.
They are.
So that is your ball game.
Make sure we get the hashtag raises in here.
You're ready to give away sandwiches, Neil?
Yeah, let's give away sandwiches.
I think I covered it all there.
The show's been off the rail since minute five.
So yeah, let's give away sandwiches.
Also, make sure we drop more names here in the chat that we want Neil to try to pronounce.
And hashtag raises here as we get ready to roll for our first set of Sammies.
Good luck to everybody.
Winner number one is going to be Stephen Hartnett.
Stephen, congratulations.
Send us over an email at northshore9 at gmail.com with your email that is associated with your Primanti Brothers account so we can get them loaded on there for you.
And winner number two is going to be Howard Black.
Congratulations, Howard.
Send an email, northshore9 at gmail.com.
That is all spelled out with your email associated with the Primanti Brothers account.
Congrats to both of our winners.
Wild one, Neil.
As the guy who just won, absolute Donnie ball.
Apparently, that's Pete.
There we go.
We're back at it tomorrow, though.
Jared Jones is on the mound for the Pirates, where, according to FanDuel, they are minus 154 favorites on the money line.
I had to get really close to the screen to see that.
I guess the Giants and the Giants have been abysmal, but, it's Jared Jones tomorrow.
We're going to have to score 13 runs again.
Yeah, probably.
All right.
Appreciate you all for hanging out.
We'll be back with you tomorrow.
hopefully an easier Pirates win.
That would be nice.
But until then, like, subscribe, do all that fun stuff.
We'll be back.
See you all later.
Peace out, Griscouts.
All right.
That wraps up this episode of North Shore Nine.
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Comments· 1
After Evan Sisk threw 8 strikes in 22 pitches with a five-run lead, should the Pirates DFA him or just option him down for Noah Murdock?