2025 Pirates - "Look Guys, We're Competitive! We Got Tommy Pham!!"

[JackOnAMacYT]

The Pirates are my favorite team, so I figured a dynasty with them would probably be a good idea. That being said, this roster doesn't inspire much hope outside of Paul Skenes, who will probably be wearing Dodger blue once his current contract is done.

Here's our lineup and rotation to begin the year.

[JackOnAMacYT]

Got a new manager for the club in Chris Cron.

[JackOnAMacYT]

Pitching for Pittsburgh: Paul Skenes (0-0)
Pitching for Miami: Sandy Alcantara (0-0)

PIT: CF Suwinski - 1B Triolo - RF Reynolds - SS Cruz - DH McCutchen - LF Valdez - C Davis - 3B Hayes - 2B Kiner-Falefa

MIA: DH Edwards - 2B Lopez - RF Conine - 1B Belt - C Ramirez - CF Hill - 3B Bride - LF Myers - SS Ahmed
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Bottom 3rd: Two outs, Bride on 3rd, Ahmed on 1st, Lopez at the plate. Lopez hits a ground ball to drive in a run, Miami leads 0-1

Top 5th: One out, Valdez on 3rd, Hayes at the plate. Hayes hits the ball into centerfield, Emmanuel Valdez scores. Pittsburgh tie the game up, 1-1

Top 7th: No outs, Davis on 1st, Valdez on 2nd, McCutchen on 3rd, Hayes at the plate. Hayes walks. Pirates now lead 2-1

Top 7th: Two outs, Hayes on 1st, Davis on 2nd, Valdez on 3rd, Triolo at the plate. Triolo gets a single, Valdez and Davis score. Pirates lead 4-1

Bot 8th: Two outs, Ahmed on 3rd, Conine at the plate. Conine hits the ball to left field, Ahmed scores. Miami scores a run, Pittsburgh still leads 4-2

Game ends 4-2, Pirates win.
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Overall, we did well here, although we did rely on a rally in the top of the 7th. A win's a win nonetheless, our Opening Day matchup vs the Marlins goes down as a Pirates victory.

[JackOnAMacYT]

We win one more game and lose two, ending our opening series with the Marlins at a 2-2 record.

[JackOnAMacYT]

Pitching for Pittsburgh : Bailey Falter (0-0)
Pitching for Tampa Bay: Taj Bradley (0-0)

PIT: CF Suwinski - 1B Triolo - RF Reynolds - SS Cruz - DH McCutchen - LF Valdez - C Davis - 3B Hayes - 2B Kiner-Falefa

TB: RF DeLuca - CF Mangum - 1B Diaz - 2B Lowe - LF Morel - DH Aranda - 3B Caminero - C Jansen - SS Walls
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Top 6th: Two outs, nobody on, Suwinski at the plate. Suwinski hits a Home Run. Pirates now up 1-0

Top 7th: Two outs, nobody on, McCutchen at the plate. McCutchen hits a Home Run. Pirates still up, now 2-0

Top 8th: No outs, Davis on 3rd, Hayes on 1st, Kiner-Falefa at the plate. Kiner-Falefa hits a popout to right field, Davis scores. Pirates up 3-0 now

Top 9th: No outs, nobody on base, Reynolds at the place. Reynolds hits a home run. Pirates now leading 4-0

Game ends 4-0, Pirates win
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Good shutout.

[JackOnAMacYT]

We won one and lost another.

[JackOnAMacYT]

Pitching for Pittsburgh: Braxton Ashcraft (1-0)
Pitching for New York: Carlos Rodon (1-0)

NYY: 2B Chisholm Jr - LF Dominguez - RF Judge - DH Bellinger - 1B Goldschmidt - C Wells - SS Volpe - CF Grisham - 3B Cabrera

PIT: CF Suwinski - 1B Triolo - RF Reynolds - SS Cruz - DH McCutchen - LF Valdez - C Bart - 3B Hayes - 2B Kiner-Falefa
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Top 4th: One out, McCutchen on 2nd, Valdez at the plate. Valdez hits the ball deep in center field. Valdez gets a double, McCutchen scores. Pirates take the lead, 0-1

Top 4th: Two outs, Valdez on 2nd, Hayes at the plate. Hayes hits the ball to left field. Valdez scores and Hayes gets a single. Pirates score another run, 0-2

Top 5th: Two outs, Grisham on 3rd, Cabrera on 2nd, Chisholm Jr on 1st, Dominguez at the plate. Dominguez hits a ball to left-center field. Two runs score off of Grisham and Cabrera, while Chisholm Jr heads to third. Yankees tie the game, 2-2

Bot 5th: Two outs, Reynolds on 1st, Cruz at the plate. Cruz hits a HR to left-center field, 2-4 Pirates

Top 9th: One out, No runners on, Volpe at the plate. Volpe hits a HR to left field. The Yankees score one with a solo HR, 3-4 Pirates

Game ends 3-4 in favor of the Pirates
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Pretty close, but it was a great game for us nonetheless. The home run from Cruz makes me think he'll do better soon, since before this game he was on a cold streak.

[JackOnAMacYT]

We won one and lost one, which has somehow put us top of the NL Central heading into our next series vs St Louis.

[JackOnAMacYT]

Pitching for Pittsburgh: Paul Skenes (2-0)
Pitching for Miami: Sandy Alcantara (0-0)

STL: LF Nootbaar - 1B Donovan - DH Contreras - 3B Arenado - C Herrera - RF Walker - SS Winn - 2B Saggese - CF Siani

PIT: CF Suwinski - 1B Triolo - RF Reynolds - SS Cruz - DH McCutchen - C Bart - LF Pham - 3B Hayes - 2B Kiner-Falefa
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Bot 1st: Two outs, Triolo on 3rd, Reynolds on 2nd, Cruz on 1st, Bart at the plate. Bart walks, Triolo scores. 0-1, Pirates take the lead

Top 4th: One out, Donovan on 2nd, Arenado at the plate. Arenado hits a HR. 2 runs score. Cardinals take the lead, 2-1

Bot 6th: One out, Pham on 2nd, Hayes on 1st, Suwinski at the plate. Suwinski hits a 450 ft home run. 3 runs score. Pirates take a 2-4 lead

Bot 7th: Two outs, Pham on 2nd, Kiner-Falefa on 1st, Suwinski at the plate. Suwinski hits his second home run of the game. 3 runs score. The Pirates now have a commanding 2-7 lead

Top 9th: No outs, Herrera on 3rd, Walker on 2nd, Winn at the plate. Winn gets a single, Herrera scores.Pittsburgh still leading, 3-7

Top 9th: No outs, Walker on 3rd, Winn on 1st, Gorman at the plate. Gorman hits a fly ball to right field, Walker scores. Cardinals still behind Pirates, 4-7

4-7, Pittsburgh Wins
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Overall, nice game. St Louis was mounting something at the end, but a double play ended their hopes for a comeback.

[JackOnAMacYT]

We lost the remaining two games, moving down to second in the NL Central.

[JackOnAMacYT]

Pitching for Pittsburgh: Paul Skenes (2-0)
Pitching for Miami: Sandy Alcantara (0-0)

PIT: CF Suwinski - 1B Triolo - RF Reynolds - SS Cruz - DH McCutchen - LF Valdez - C Bart - 3B Hayes - 2B Kiner-Falefa

CIN: DH Steer - 3B Lux - SS De La Cruz - 2B McLain - 1B Candelario - RF Fraley - LF Fairchild - CF Friedl - C Banfield
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Bot 2nd: No outs, Fraley on 2nd, Fairchild on 1st, Friedl at the plate. Freidl hits a single, Fraley scores. Cincinnati now in the lead, 0-1

Bot 2nd: One out, Fairchild on 3rd, Friedl on 1st, Steer at the plate. Steer hits a single, Fairchild scores while Freidl is now out. Cincinnati extend their lead, 0-2

Top 3rd: Two outs, Bart on 2nd, Suwinski at the plate. Suwinski hits a 2-run home run to right field. Pirates tie up the game, 2-2

Top 4th: Two outs, Cruz on 3rd, Valdez at the plate. Valdez hits a 2-run shot to right field, two runners score. Pirates take the lead, 4-2

Bot 4th: One out, Fraley on 3rd, Fairchild on 2nd, Banfield at the plate. Banfield gets a flyout, Fraley scores. The Reds shorten the Pirates lead, 4-3

Top 7th: No outs, Valdez on 3rd, Bart on 2nd, Kiner-Falefa at the plate. Kiner-Falefa drives in a run after flying out in right field. Pirates return to a two-run lead, 5-3

Pirates Win 5-3
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Our relievers did incredibly well today.

[JackOnAMacYT]

We lost the remaining two games, which is the bad news. We are now 3rd in the NL Central. That being said, Suwinski leads the NL in home runs and is second in RBIs, so that's good!

[JackOnAMacYT]

Pitching for Pittsburgh: Mitch Keller (0-1)
Pitching for Washington: MacKenzie Gore (1-1)

WAS: RF Crews - SS Abrams - LF Wood - 1B Lowe - DH Bell - 2B Garcia Jr - 3B DeJong - CF Young - C Ruiz

PIT: CF Suwinski - 1B Triolo - RF Reynolds - 2B Gonzales - C Bart - LF Valdez - DH McCutchen - 3B Hayes - SS Kiner-Falefa
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Top 3rd: One out, no men on base, Crews at the plate. Crews homers to center field, 1-0 Washington

Top 6th: No outs, no men on base, Wood at the plate. Wood hits a solo HR to right field. 2-0 Washington

Bot 6th: Two outs, Kiner-Falefa on 1st, Triolo at the plate. Triolo hits the ball to the center field wall, Kiner-Falefa scores. Pirates' shrink Washington's lead to one run, 2-1 Washington

Game called due to poor weather in the Top 7th

Washington wins 2-1 over the Pirates
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Not a great game by us. That being said, it wasn't a blowout, and there was a chance we could've won if not for the awful weather.

[JackOnAMacYT]

For the rest of our series vs Washington, we lost two and won only one. We are now 4th in the NL Central. Pretty unfortunate.

[JackOnAMacYT]

I forgot to mention this before our played game versus Washington, but C Henry Davis is now a Royal. He was traded, along with unknown minor-league pitcher Connor Wietgrefe. In return we got two prospects, CF Asbel Gonzales and LF Spencer Nivens. Both have the potential to make the major league roster someday in my opinion.

[JackOnAMacYT]

Pitching for Pittsburgh: Paul Skenes (3-1)
Pitching for Cleveland: Luis Ortiz (2-1)

CLE: RF Thomas - LF Kwan - 2B Arias - DH Manzardo - 1B Jones - SS Rocchio - C Naylor - CF Jonhson - 3B Schneeman

PIT: CF Pham - 1B Triolo - SS Cruz - 2B Gonzalez - DH McCutchen - LF Valdez - C Bart - 3B Kiner-Falefa - RF Frazier
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Top 2nd: One out, Jones on 3rd, Rocchio at the plate. Rocchio hits the ball to left center field, Jones scores. 1-0 Cleveland

Bot 8th: No outs, Bart on 2nd, Kiner-Falefa at the plate. Kiner-Falefa hits the ball to right center field, Bart scores. The game is now tied 1-1

Top 10th: One out, Johnson on 2nd, Martinez at the plate. Martinez hits the ball to center field, Johnson scores. The game is back in Cleveland's favor, 2-1 Cleveland

Bot 10th: One out, Gonzalez on 3rd, Valdez at the plate. Valdez hits a ball to left-center field, Gonzalez scores. The game is tied again, 2-2

Top 11th: No outs, Arias on 2nd, Santana at the plate. Santana hits a two-run shot to left field. Cleveland takes the lead again, 4-2

Bot 11th: One out, Bart on 2nd, Frazier at the plate. Frazier hits the ball to left-center field, scoring Bart. Pittsburgh shortens Cleveland's lead to 1, 4-3

Bot 11th: Two outs, Frazier on 2nd, Triolo at the plate. Triolo hits a single, Frazier scores. The game is tied yet again, 4-4

Top 12th: Two outs, Johnson on 3rd, Kwan on 2nd, Arias on 1st, Santana at the plate. Santana hits a single deep to the outfield, both Johnson and Kwan score. Cleveland now up, 6-4

Top 12th: Two outs, Arias on 3rd, Santana on 1st, Jones at the plate. Jones hits the ball to right field, Arias scores. Cleveland takes a further lead, 7-4

Bot 12th: No outs, Gonzales on 3rd, Suwinski at the plate. Suwinski hits a groundball, Gonzales scores. 7-5, Cleveland still ahead by 2

Bot 12th: Two outs, Suwinski on 3rd, Valdez on 2nd, Frazier at the plate. Frazier hits a groundball, Suwinski scores. 7-6, Cleveland still infront

Cleveland wins 7-6 in extras

[JackOnAMacYT]

We lost both and the Pirates are now dead last in the NL Central. Not good.

[JackOnAMacYT]

I've decided that i'll only play playoff games from now on so that I can get through the save quicker. Instead, i'll post monthly recaps plus any trades that happen

[JackOnAMacYT]

Traded Oneil Cruz to the Blue Jays to get 4 good prospects. To me, this is quite a steal if at least one of the prospects becomes a great player for us. Some risk, but hopefully it works out.

[JackOnAMacYT]

We were quite middlebrow during the month of April.