Pirates Win Ugly
CHELSEA, MA — After one of the most exciting wins in PPoP history, the Pirates turned around on Sunday to win one of the most boring contests in recent memory. Played under overcast skies and the constant threat of rain, the three hour, 5-inning walk-a-thon saw the Pirates (3-0) mercy rule the Milton Fighting Irish (1-2).
The Pirates capitalized on a moving, postage-stamp strike zone to accumulate 19 walks along with four hit batsmen on their way to an 18-5 victory.
An early harbinger of the pain to be inflicted upon all those in attendance, the first inning saw the teams combine for six walks and two runs. In the third, after what appeared to be the teams settling into a rhythm in the second, the Pirates turned the slow, plodding but close game into a bit of a laugher, collecting five runs on the back of seven walks and a hit by pitch. Leadoff man Evan Adair’s sacrifice fly was the only ball put in play despite the Pirates sending 11 men to the plate. At 8-2, the game seemed well in hand.
Pirates starter Gino Beniamino, however, was not immune from the stingy strike zone. Beniamino spent most of the afternoon grinding out his performance on the bump, doing his best to minimize walks and make pitches in the tight zone. Despite a yeoman’s effort, the normally pin-point accurate ace walked a career-high six batters en route to his second win of the season.
“It was tough out there today,” said Beniamino. “The conditions weren’t great and that mound is difficult to get your footing. It just compounds the issue when strikes are constantly called balls. It takes the fun out of the game.”
Though the day included several forgettable moments (four PoPP errors), Pirates sluggers Joe Marra and Max Bogaert managed to impress with solid performances at the plate. Both Marra and Bogaert logged in with multi-hit/multi-RBI efforts in a game that was largely absent anything exciting. In the field, Marra also guided Beniamino to an abbreviated complete game victory while gunning down would-be basestealers.
Mercifully, the Pirates were able to come up with the requisite runs to end this game early. The fifth inning execution was lead by a Bogaert single, a Saad Khalid sacrifice fly, and Chris Bettano’s fourth run of the game — Bettano has been on base in six consecutive plate appearance without swinging the bat (5BB and HBP).
“What can I say, kid?” asked Bettano from first base to anyone in earshot. “It’s all about the f@&king OBP, baby!”
In the end, the packed house (3) probably found more entertainment with the homeplate umpire’s “boo,” who openly rooted for the PPoP and talked loudly on her cell phone about being at the baseball game in between attempts to have conversation with the umpire during gameplay.
“Any way you look at it, it was a terrible game,” said acting manager Jeff Francis. “It is better to be on the plus side of an 18-5 score, but I don’t think anyone would call what happened here baseball. The best thing we can do now is forget this ever happened and get ready for the Mets.”
In addition to Manager Jake Walter, the team was also missing Dan “Lil General” Bertrand. Much to his chagrin, Bertrand fulfilled his father’s prophecy of having “his mother’s weak ankles” by tripping in an unseen trench while traipsing through the tundra of Brighton.
When reached for comment, his only response was, “I hate you so much!”
Thursday night’s game against the defending champion Norwood Mets has been postponed due to rain. The PPoP’s next game is on Sunday at Kelley Field on Sunday night against the Mets.
Game Notes: Beniamino became the first PPoP pitcher to reach 10 career wins and 10 complete games…Bettano’s streak of 46 consecutive games without an error came to an end…Dan Gadbois took a fastball off the elbow in the 4th inning, but managed to stay in the game…Jay Kreisberg swiped his first stolen base as PPoP.
Photo Credit: Paul “Scoops” Crocetti
Joe is entering his third and final season as a member of the PPoP. Coming off an