With the Pirates up 4-2 in the top of the third last night, I told my dad that I thought the Pirates would need six or seven runs with the way that Liriano had been pitching. Franklin Gutierrez hit the next pitch out of the park to tie the game at four. We went outside to walk the dog, came back, and it was 7-4. We spent the next couple hours watching the Pirates put runners on base and not score them and lose by that score.
Effectively, you can take this recap and just flip it on its head. All of the things about Liriano’s importance in there are true, but we now have to consider that dominant start against the Brewers a mirage. Certainly, nights like last night complicate the Pirates’ goals at the trade deadline quite a bit.
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