Looking to even their record at 19-19, the Pittsburgh Pirates took the field last night under a dark, gloomy sky. Charlie Morton allowed one run after giving up three straight hits with two outs in the second inning, and that’s when the sky opened up.
I have been at PNC Park during a rain delay and it gets old quickly. Granted it was around 50 degrees when I was there, and last night was a nice 73 degrees; either way, rain delays are boring and annoying. After waiting it out for over two hours, the game was called and the score card thrown out. There is no word yet on when this game will be played again.
The delay during that ugly evening in Pittsburgh, allowed time for players to reflect on their performances and overall attitudes. One such player was center fielder Andrew McCutchen — one of the fastest and most talented players in the game — who was benched after Wednesday night’s game for failing to run out a ball. Manager Clint Hurdle has never been one to show favoritism and made it clear that all players were going to be treated the same throughout the season. The young superstar, McCutchen, should have learned when shortstop Ronny Cedeno was benched in April for the same offense. McCutchen responded in a clubhouse interview following the incident with, “I know that’s not the type of person I am.” The benching of these starters by Hurdle is yet another example of a new attitude and fresh start of Pirates baseball, something that has been long overdue.
Pittsburgh heads to Milwaukee to take on division its rival, which sits two games behind the Pirates in the NL Central standings.
