Garrett Crochet only threw two innings -- on purpose, as Pedro Grifol explained before the game -- which meant the game peaked early. He retired all six batters he faced, including four strikeouts, to put a quick stamp on a successful All-Star-caliber first half.
Crochet wouldn't have been able to control only getting one run of support from an offense that only saw 115 pitches all night, but he would've made it a little more fun to watch. Instead, Jonathan Cannon deserved better as the super bulk boy contributing six decent innings over 92 pitches, but he ended up taking the loss.
The position players didn't cover themselves in glory on either side of the ball. They scratched across a run in the third inning off Marco Gonzales -- Tommy Pham doubling with one out, then scoring on a two-out single by Luis Robert Jr. -- but that was preceded by a four-pitch second, and six scoreless innings afterward. They had two hits with runners in scoring position, but they grounded into three double plays.
Defensively, they would've had to play a perfect game to make that lead hold up, and only Danny Mendick was up to the challenge.
The game took a turn for the worse in the fifth, when Ke'Bryan Hayes led off with an infield single. Hayes then took off for second on a full count to Joey Bart, and while the pitch was a strike that Alex MacKay called a ball, that was only the start of the Sox's problems. Korey Lee, anticipating a strike, made an unnecessary throw to second, and one that was well on the first-base side of the bag to boot. Lenyn Sosa also appeared confused, and didn't make much of an effort to catch or block Lee's throw. It bounded into center, Hayes took third, and he came home on a Jared Triolo single that was well out of the range of Sosa's aborted sliding attempt. Pittsburgh tied the game at 1.
Then it was Andrew Vaughn's turn, as he fielded Jack Suwinski's grounder and fired high to second. Paul DeJong was able to get the force with a leaping grab, but it made a double play impossible, and that allowed Bart to score on Michael A. Taylor's sac fly for a 2-1 lead.
An inning later, Connor Joe reached on an infield single to the left side and scored on Nick Gonzales' double to the left-center gap. Hayes then followed with a single through the middle that Sosa slid over for two more Pittsburgh runs that proved unnecessary.
Bullet points:
*Mendick made a couple of strong plays at third, making a lunging stop on a Triolo grounder in the third, and a slick pick on a tricky hop to retire Nick Gonzales to end the fourth.
*Along with the error, Lee went 0-for-3, including a first-pitch end to the four-pitch second, and a first-pitch double play in the fourth.
