WEBVTT - Ashcraft throws complete game as Rafael Flores Jr. steps up 0:00:09.960 --> 0:00:13.240 What's up, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Buco Territory, 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:16.160 presented to you by the Foul Territory Network. I'm Noah Hiles. 0:00:16.239 --> 0:00:20.439 Joining me as always is my guy Mark aka Platinum Key. 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:23.240 Josh will be on this episode. Later he'll have his 0:00:23.920 --> 0:00:27.040 weekly segment Jay Hay Now, which sends us into the weekend. 0:00:27.160 --> 0:00:30.480 We are recording this on Thursday, August thirteenth. The Pirates 0:00:30.880 --> 0:00:35.320 are gonna conclude their three games set in Miami later today, 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:39.320 but honestly, mark the games, they just kind of don't 0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:42.720 matter anymore. This is this season's pretty much over. So 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:46.600 rather than breaking down yet another series loss for the Pirates, 0:00:46.600 --> 0:00:48.680 I believe that's seven or eight in a row, I'm 0:00:48.760 --> 0:00:52.160 losing track. We're gonna talk about We're gonna talk about 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.080 the big story on the day, and then it's one 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:57.360 of the biggest stories in baseball, and that's Paul Skins. 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:01.680 Paul Skins his last start, if you looked at it 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:04.440 on paper, wasn't horrible. He went five innings, he only 0:01:04.520 --> 0:01:10.600 allowed two runs, but he was pulled after sixty five pitches. 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:14.679 His velocity sitting at ninety five miles an hour in 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:19.160 the entire Baseball world is wondering what's going on with 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.600 Paul Skins Mark all Throat Originally, I mean, I know 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:26.039 you watch every game. What are you thinking when you're 0:01:26.080 --> 0:01:29.080 watching him pitch his last outing. 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:33.440 It's a stark difference compared to the Paul Skins we 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:37.399 watched Winnisi Young win Rookie of the Year. He only 0:01:37.480 --> 0:01:41.280 had four whiffs in his last outing. That's unheard of 0:01:41.480 --> 0:01:45.520 for Paul Skins. You just don't see him having that 0:01:45.600 --> 0:01:48.560 kind of struggle where I mean he usually can find 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:50.760 a way to get the whiffs and find the way 0:01:50.800 --> 0:01:53.800 to strike guy's out. It was nice he like add 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:56.080 a double playball. We haven't seen him turn too many 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.440 of those. Get him out of some trouble there, and 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:01.600 you have the stat line didn't look that bad, but 0:02:02.400 --> 0:02:05.200 watching it, it felt so much worse. Like I was 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:08.160 kind of surprised after watching that game looking at the 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:12.040 box score, going like, oh, it wasn't terrible, but it 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:15.160 just felt bad, especially getting pulled at sixty five pitches. 0:02:16.520 --> 0:02:19.200 And I think that's like the biggest concern for me 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:23.200 is just like, if he's pitching efficiently, why aren't we 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:27.280 letting him go past the fifth inning? So that was 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:31.560 my biggest reflag. I'm just confused by that decision. If 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:35.320 he's healthy, why aren't you letting your ace throw more 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:39.799 than seventy pitches? And that leads me to think that 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:44.320 maybe there's something that's not going well that they want 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.800 to limit his pitch count to address that. But yeah, 0:02:47.840 --> 0:02:48.880 what are your thoughts on this? 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:56.360 I don't know overall. I can't say I'm super surprised 0:02:56.360 --> 0:02:58.080 by any of it, because this is where this has 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:01.160 been trending, this is where we've been heading. And there 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:04.320 was that little stretch in July where they won three 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:07.040 straight starts of his in a row. But again, like 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.120 we pointed out, a lot of that was due to 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:15.480 overwhelmingly high run support and any time that he's needed 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:18.679 to be Paul Skans really this year, he just hasn't been. 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:23.040 And I think he is. He's lost right now. Yeah, 0:03:23.040 --> 0:03:25.160 and I've said that on the show before too, that 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:28.760 I don't know if he knows what's wrong, or if 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:31.080 he's able to admit what's wrong even if he does know. 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.280 So when I saw that stuff, it wasn't a surprise. 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:42.960 So to me, where my mind immediately wondered was how 0:03:43.040 --> 0:03:45.280 much longer are they going to let this go on. Yeah, 0:03:45.280 --> 0:03:48.040 because this is a guy who's just simply never going 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:51.680 to be allowed to fail in quiet. Every time that 0:03:52.200 --> 0:03:55.360 he does not look like Paul Skins, it becomes a 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:59.760 bigger conversation. And it's really been a way overshadowing the 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:03.320 Pos season collapse because he is in a way bigger 0:04:03.320 --> 0:04:05.720 than the Pirates as far as the National Baseball steam 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:10.080 is concerned. He is the headliner here, especially now that 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.440 they're not really a relevant team in the playoff race. 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.400 This is the story around him, and how do you 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:18.359 get out of this type of funk when it's lasted 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:21.320 this long and when everyone's watching. So that's where my 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:23.760 mind wandered, is how much longer do you let him 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:26.680 try to figure this out before you just shut him down? 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:30.240 Which we can talk about now, because there's two sides 0:04:30.240 --> 0:04:33.839 of that coin. I'm a big believer that young players 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:38.080 should be allowed to struggle, That young players should be 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:42.000 given the opportunity to figure it out, if they are 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:46.040 healthy enough to figure it out, if they are mentally 0:04:46.080 --> 0:04:51.719 capable of figuring it out, if there is no sign 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:55.719 of significant damage on the horizon, if you allow it 0:04:55.760 --> 0:04:58.680 to keep going, then let someone punch their way out 0:04:58.680 --> 0:05:00.719 of it, or at least try because you never know 0:05:00.760 --> 0:05:06.160 what you're gonna learn. I also think that shutting schemes 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:10.280 down right now is the clearest waving of the white 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:15.080 flag on the season that you can have. Yep, unless 0:05:15.080 --> 0:05:17.680 if you're putting him on the IL, which I mean, 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:19.880 and maybe that's how you do it. You just say 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:22.560 like he has arm fatigue or something. But anything you 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:25.599 put him on the IL for, if it's related to 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:29.400 an arm is going to create like a massive panic. 0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:32.880 So if you were to give him an IL thing stint, 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:35.040 it would have to be for like an oblique or 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:38.839 something in the mid section. I don't know, it could 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:43.760 not be for anything arm related, unless if that's the 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:47.840 actual case, then you're just telling the truth. But if 0:05:47.839 --> 0:05:52.120 you if you shut him down, that they're the clubhouse 0:05:52.920 --> 0:05:55.680 is dead. Like that the twenty twenty six season for 0:05:55.760 --> 0:06:00.680 the Pirates, which is essentially over at anyway, they're done. 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:03.960 They're done anyway. But I mean for a team that 0:06:04.000 --> 0:06:06.440 Wednesday night, their manager talked about how they look like 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:08.480 they were feeling sorry for themselves. They didn't have a 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.320 lot of fight. That's just gonna be the vibe from here. 0:06:11.320 --> 0:06:13.880 On out if they shut down schemes. So I see 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:17.800 that side of the coin. All that being said, I'm 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:21.359 not convinced that he can't do further damage to himself, 0:06:21.800 --> 0:06:26.560 like mentally or if this is a physical thing, then 0:06:26.600 --> 0:06:30.240 this isn't even a conversation. Yep, Right, Like we saw 0:06:30.600 --> 0:06:35.160 Mitch Keller's VLO drop and just Mitch Keller hadn't looked 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:37.280 like himself this year and then all of a sudden 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:44.240 season ending injury. You know, I don't think the Pirates 0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:48.200 are letting Paul Skins pitch through an injury. I think 0:06:48.200 --> 0:06:53.160 Paul Skeins is mature enough to recognize how stupid it 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:55.400 would be for him to pitch through an injury at 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:58.960 literally any point in his career, especially right now, especially 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:01.320 considering the state of the team. I know he's the 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:04.320 ultimate competitor, but like, I think Paul Skins is able 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:07.520 to recognize, like, hey, I'm not helping anyone if I'm 0:07:07.600 --> 0:07:11.160 not a hive percent here. But then there's also the 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.880 element of like, well, maybe they just don't know right now, 0:07:14.320 --> 0:07:18.520 but this was this was the first sign where they're like, 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.559 all right, we need to explore this further, right, Because 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:24.720 there's clearly something and if they find something, then this 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:29.040 conversation's meaningless. He's done, even if it's something small. If 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:32.520 there's an injury, he's done. Yeah, done for twenty twenty six. 0:07:33.080 --> 0:07:35.720 I don't care if it's turf tow. I don't care 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:39.320 if it's an oblique or a hamstring or a blister 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:43.080 on his thumb or whatever it is. He's done. He's 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:47.920 done because it's clearly been impacting him to a point 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:51.760 where he's just not effective, not as effective anymore. But 0:07:51.800 --> 0:07:54.040 then you go to the mental side of it, and 0:07:54.080 --> 0:07:57.920 then I'll throw this to you, Mark. You know, you 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:01.800 risk a lot of things going wrong if the player 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:05.640 isn't mentally capable of handling this right now, and maybe 0:08:05.680 --> 0:08:08.760 getting away from it would be the better option. And 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.200 I'm not suggesting I don't think that's what Paul Skeens 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:13.320 wants at all. I think Paul Skeens wants to keep 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:18.240 fighting through this. But if there is something wrong up 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:22.000 there and he starts to because I'm a firm believer 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:26.679 of this mess developed from Paul trying to do too much, 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:31.360 from him training differently, from him maybe overthinking the way 0:08:31.400 --> 0:08:35.760 that he goes about getting hitters out game after game, 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:38.960 at bad after at bat, and so giving him an 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:44.559 opportunity to keep overthinking could lead to further mental duress 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:48.560 or even physical duress where he might push himself too far, 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:51.160 and then you do have a really big problem. So 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:54.040 I'll ask you, Mark, I mean, if they were to 0:08:54.080 --> 0:08:56.080 come out and just say, hey, Paul Skeins is done, 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:58.200 what would your reaction be? 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:01.920 Yeah, I mean I would support it one hundred percent. 0:09:02.080 --> 0:09:05.160 That's when we last talked about schemes prior to his 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:08.240 last start. I said, you know, if things aren't going 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:12.480 well continuing into September, I would fully support shutting him down. 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:16.559 He's just too important of an asset to this team 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:19.000 and you need to find a way to get him right. 0:09:19.800 --> 0:09:22.240 I really like what you said about letting him work 0:09:22.280 --> 0:09:26.960 through these struggles, learn from these mistakes, learn from the adversity, 0:09:27.120 --> 0:09:29.640 learn how to overcome that, not let it, you know, 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:32.120 get too much into him. But at the same time, 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.240 trotting him out there just for like a humiliation ritual, 0:09:36.600 --> 0:09:38.959 that's not going to help his mental side either, if 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:42.559 he's just getting shelled all the time. So it's it's 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:44.880 you gotta find that balance there As to what's best 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:48.000 for Paul Skins. He's such a competitor that I feel 0:09:48.040 --> 0:09:51.520 like shutting him down may not be what he wants, 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:55.000 but it could be what's best for him. It could 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.760 be what's best for this team. Could give some guys, 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:00.320 some younger guys in the rotation a shot to figure out, 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.480 you know, what she got, or give them a chance 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:06.080 to show off before the off season if you're trying 0:10:06.080 --> 0:10:10.120 to move one of these starting pitchers that's younger. But yeah, 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:14.360 I mean, it's it's concerning, and there's no easy way 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:16.520 of handling this. I don't know if there's a right 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:21.040 way or but it's yeah, you gotta do something because 0:10:21.080 --> 0:10:23.160 you can't just lems go out there for and throw 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:25.640 seventy pitches in outing the rest of the year. I 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:28.800 don't think what do you think? I mean, could you? 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:31.439 Well? I mean, I'm just more concerned now if I'm 0:10:31.480 --> 0:10:34.440 the Pirates, I'm not even thinking about twenty twenty six. 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:38.600 It's just like, yeah, how does this affect the orgin organizations? 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:44.160 Should direct? Should direct trajectory long term? 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:45.120 Yeah? Right, right? 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:50.120 I mean, if it's an injury, what do you what 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:53.080 do you even do? If this is a serious injury 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.199 and I'm not, you know, wishing that or anything. I 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:58.520 just knocked on wood because I mean, no one wants 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:00.920 to see Postkins hurt. But what if you is, what 0:11:00.960 --> 0:11:02.920 does that mean for the Pirates next year if there 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:05.400 is a baseball season, right? I mean if there's not. Heck, 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:09.480 if he's out next year, then it would be best 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:11.840 for everyone in this town for their ado to be baseball, right. 0:11:11.880 --> 0:11:15.319 But yeah, and what does that mean for their relationship 0:11:15.320 --> 0:11:18.040 with Paul Skins moving forward? As far as the expectation 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:20.240 and value that you would hope to get from him, 0:11:20.520 --> 0:11:24.280 and even if it's not injury, Like, what is the 0:11:24.320 --> 0:11:27.360 expectation from this guy moving forward? 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:27.640 Now? 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:30.880 If he's hurt or even if he's not hurt. Something 0:11:30.960 --> 0:11:36.560 is so wrong right now? And yeah, it's it's it 0:11:36.640 --> 0:11:39.959 seems like you're in a catch twenty two where if 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:43.880 you pull, if you wave the white flag, that's gonna 0:11:43.920 --> 0:11:47.439 haunt him. Yeah, that's gonna haunt him, and it's gonna 0:11:47.480 --> 0:11:51.680 follow him and you might force him to press even 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:55.080 harder in the off season, and you might be creating 0:11:55.120 --> 0:11:57.720 a mental situation that I could allow it to continue 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:01.040 to spiral. Exactly if he's hurt, then that's the other 0:12:01.120 --> 0:12:04.920 part of it, where how hurt is he? How long 0:12:05.000 --> 0:12:08.080 has he been hurt? There's so much into this and 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:12.240 it expands way, way, way further than twenty twenty six. 0:12:13.720 --> 0:12:16.320 And it's it's interesting because, I mean, there's a chance 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.079 that people who are making these decisions aren't even gonna 0:12:19.080 --> 0:12:23.600 be around right to be there for the results. And 0:12:24.280 --> 0:12:27.640 I mean, it's just scary if you're the Pirates or 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:30.880 if you're a Pirates fan, because you've got to figure 0:12:30.920 --> 0:12:35.080 out a way to you know, stop the bleeding in 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:39.160 twenty twenty six. It cannot go any further than this year. 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:42.320 And if that, and if you believe, for one reason 0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:45.000 or another that the best way to do that is 0:12:45.000 --> 0:12:47.680 by just shutting him down, then that's what has to happen. 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:51.319 His feelings be damned right. You know, you get him 0:12:51.360 --> 0:12:55.319 with your mental skills, coaches, and you just kind of 0:12:55.559 --> 0:12:59.719 allow him to get right mentally and physically. Maybe send 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:04.120 him to Bradenton, keep him away from the team. You 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:06.640 got to figure out something though that to me, for 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:09.360 the remainder of the season, that's their top priority because 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:11.280 it's not making the playoffs. They're not going to make 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:13.320 the playoffs. They're probably not going to be a team 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:17.000 that finishes above five hundred, and that's disappointing. But now 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.880 the story of the season for the from here on 0:13:19.960 --> 0:13:23.840 out to me is figuring out what the hell's wrong 0:13:23.880 --> 0:13:27.320 with Paul Skins and putting together a plan to make 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:29.800 sure that if there is baseball in twenty twenty seven, 0:13:30.080 --> 0:13:33.679 that this guy can be. I mean, forget what he 0:13:33.760 --> 0:13:36.560 was in twenty twenty five or twenty twenty four, excuse 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:40.559 or twenty twenty five, forget getting him back to cy 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:42.199 young for him, You've just got to get him back 0:13:42.240 --> 0:13:45.000 to being an All Star, right, You've got to get 0:13:45.080 --> 0:13:46.720 him to look right. 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:49.680 Yeah, we don't need an era under two. I'll just 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:51.720 take in the era right around three, you know. 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:57.240 So yeah, just get him looking something like his old self. 0:13:57.280 --> 0:13:59.760 So all right, well, we're gonna take a quick break. 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:01.640 We're going to play a few ads, and then when 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.400 we come back, we will round out our show with 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.520 our weekly segment, Jay Hay Now with our pal Josh 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:09.479 Harrison here on Bucko Territory. 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:15.760 Let's talk Fabletics, shall we. They have apparel for every season. 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:18.360 We're wearing it as we talk about it. It's soft, 0:14:18.400 --> 0:14:20.920 it's comfortable, I wear it on the show sometimes on FT. 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:22.360 What else do you love about it? 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:25.360 Krats, Well, I have it on right now, and I'm 0:14:25.440 --> 0:14:28.720 all about quality. 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So Josh and 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:24.600 I are coming to you after the Pirates game today. 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:29.640 Pirates beat up on the Marlins thirteen to one, and 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:33.640 they did it with some big help from Rafael Flores Junior. 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:37.960 We got news before the game that Andy Rodriguez had 0:15:37.960 --> 0:15:40.640 to go on the injured list with some hip discomfort, 0:15:41.560 --> 0:15:44.400 and so Rafael Junior stepped up to be He's now 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:47.520 basically the Pirates catcher or backup catcher, I should say, 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:52.040 moving forward, and what a day for Rafael Flora's junior. 0:15:52.600 --> 0:15:55.360 Not only did he catch a complete game, which we're 0:15:55.360 --> 0:15:58.680 gonna discuss here in a little bit, but he also 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:02.760 picked off his first run trying to steal, which was 0:16:02.800 --> 0:16:06.960 great to see, and then also just you know, casually 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:11.160 throw in a couple homers for six RBI. His ops 0:16:11.200 --> 0:16:13.560 now is up to nine to twenty eight on the season. 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:17.520 So I love seeing the pop and Rothy's bat here. 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.400 But Jay, I just want to talk to you about 0:16:21.720 --> 0:16:24.480 how Flow had to step up. You know, we saw 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:27.720 Andy go down. What does that mean for a team 0:16:27.720 --> 0:16:30.040 when you see a guy that you know the next 0:16:30.080 --> 0:16:33.000 man up and he instantly starts to succeed. 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:39.720 Well, right away, we've talked, you know, just in general 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:43.240 about next man up when injuries happen or you know, 0:16:43.640 --> 0:16:46.680 pretty much what they dealt with all year missing key guys, 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:49.800 and you know when Andy goes down before the game, 0:16:51.080 --> 0:16:53.120 you know he's got to step right in. And you 0:16:53.200 --> 0:16:55.200 mentioned he called a complete game but threw in two 0:16:55.200 --> 0:16:59.160 home runs six RBIs as well, especially in a time 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:03.120 where you know team is really struggling, and you know, 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:05.080 every win right now, as we said, is going to 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.080 be important. You want to win every series, even though 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:08.800 they didn't win this one, but you still need to 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:11.639 win games, and any given night, you want it to 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:15.359 be you know, a collective effort or somebody different than today. Yes, 0:17:15.440 --> 0:17:17.120 I think they put it on them thirteen to one, 0:17:17.240 --> 0:17:21.240 but you know Flow had his his DNA, his fingerprints 0:17:21.280 --> 0:17:24.320 all over this one. And you know it's nice because 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:27.480 as you mentioned, or as we've talked about the injury 0:17:27.520 --> 0:17:30.600 bug and you know, some unfortunate situations, you know, he 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:32.919 stepped right in and made his presence felt. Not that 0:17:33.000 --> 0:17:36.320 he you know, was expecting to do this, but you 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:38.000 know that's all you can really ask for is when 0:17:38.000 --> 0:17:40.879 you get an opportunity is to contribute, and today he 0:17:40.920 --> 0:17:44.159 contributed in a big way, both offensively and defensively. 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:45.199 And in a. 0:17:45.240 --> 0:17:50.239 Time like this, you know they needed someone to step up, 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:52.879 and I think they had a meeting yesterday, and uh, 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:54.679 you know, it's always nice to come out of a 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:57.840 meeting like like that, and you know, not saying that 0:17:57.880 --> 0:18:00.359 the meeting made them go score thirteen runs, but at 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:03.320 the same time, you know, attention to detail, to say, hey, 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:04.840 this is what we got in front of us, guys, 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:08.200 let's go give it everything we got. And nobody really 0:18:08.240 --> 0:18:10.320 knows what we said behind those closed doors, but at 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:12.680 the end of the day, you know, it must have 0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:15.080 resonated among some ears. And you know, I know a 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:17.159 man flow was just waiting on an opportunity and he 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:18.600 did a good job. 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:22.679 Yeah, oh absolutely, And I loved that Don Kelly, you know, 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:27.359 responded to another just backbreaking loss the way he did 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:30.600 by you know, holding these guys accountable. I think the 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:34.679 offense knows that it's been really, really bad lately, so 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:39.040 having a breakout game where you score thirteen runs, hopefully 0:18:39.040 --> 0:18:42.600 that gets them going again. But we also saw, you know, 0:18:42.880 --> 0:18:46.240 on Jay Hey Day Saturday, they put up nine runs then, 0:18:46.960 --> 0:18:49.560 and I don't know if they scored nine runs the 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:53.160 rest of the games up until today's game out here 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.800 on Thursday. So nice to finally see the offense get going, 0:18:56.920 --> 0:19:01.240 especially having guys like Rafael Floor's junior or Jared Triolo, 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:06.600 you know, contributing the back third of the lineup, just 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:09.840 providing a bunch of spark, and so you'd love to 0:19:09.880 --> 0:19:12.919 see that, especially when it's been such a struggle. So 0:19:13.680 --> 0:19:18.040 they this team, this fan base needed this afternoon, Like 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:22.520 the team account tweeted like the like resuscitated gift after it, 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:24.879 Like I think everyone felt like, all right, we you 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:27.200 just need to see the ball going the hoop here. 0:19:27.680 --> 0:19:32.440 Uh maybe this this sparks something, but who knows. We're 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:36.719 gonna take a quick break here and we'll be turning 0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:39.920 back over here to Brax and Ashcraft, the guy who 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:48.880 pitched a complete game to Rafael Flores Junior. On Deck 0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:53.520 is presented by Fox One. This weekend, the Pirates are 0:19:53.560 --> 0:19:57.760 taking on the Boston Red Sox Saturday on Fox Also 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:02.680 streaming on Fox one gonna be seven fifteen in Pittsburgh. 0:20:02.720 --> 0:20:06.399 We have Jared Jones taking on good old Palce Sonny Gray, 0:20:07.000 --> 0:20:09.560 who's now with the Red Sox. Red Sox were one 0:20:09.560 --> 0:20:13.639 of the hottest teams in baseball, and all of a 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:17.320 sudden they have cooled off pretty quickly. I think they've 0:20:17.359 --> 0:20:19.360 lost five in a row at the time of recording, 0:20:19.400 --> 0:20:24.080 after winning something like thirteen straight or something crazy. Just 0:20:24.119 --> 0:20:26.680 put together a really nice win streak, put themselves in 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:30.760 serious playoff competition. There's you know, talk that they might 0:20:30.800 --> 0:20:35.520 be the al representative in the World Series possibly, So 0:20:35.680 --> 0:20:39.000 big big matchup here, big test for the Pirates. You 0:20:39.040 --> 0:20:43.600 want to defend PNC Park. Make sure that the season 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:46.960 you know, isn't over quite yet. But Josh, I just 0:20:47.000 --> 0:20:50.200 want to get your thoughts. Did you ever bat against 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:50.720 Sonny Gray? 0:20:50.880 --> 0:20:51.360 What did the. 0:20:51.320 --> 0:20:55.280 Pirates expect looking up against Sonny here? 0:20:56.280 --> 0:20:59.480 Yeah, face Sonny quite a bit when it is with Rids. 0:20:59.520 --> 0:21:03.200 Thing is the twins facing when he was in Oakland. Uh, 0:21:03.240 --> 0:21:05.320 he's a guy that's gonna you know, mix his pitchers. 0:21:05.320 --> 0:21:08.560 He's gonna throw, it's gonna throw strike sinker like a curve, 0:21:10.000 --> 0:21:12.199 which he'll kind of throw in any count to be honest. 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:15.639 But he's a guy that is gonna be around his 0:21:15.800 --> 0:21:18.280 own but a guy that also knows how to pitch. 0:21:18.359 --> 0:21:22.439 Been around to a few different places. But but but 0:21:22.920 --> 0:21:24.920 definitely an interesting game. You know, you got Jones on 0:21:24.960 --> 0:21:27.120 the mound, You got him on the mound, and then 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:31.240 you mentioned you know, Boston losing like maybe five straight, 0:21:31.280 --> 0:21:33.720 but I think at one point they had won twenty something. 0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:34.240 Of the games. 0:21:34.960 --> 0:21:39.159 Crazy the complete opposite of Pittsburgh at the time, and 0:21:39.200 --> 0:21:42.120 it's like, you know, maybe this is that we can where, Hey, 0:21:42.200 --> 0:21:43.080 do the tides turn? 0:21:43.119 --> 0:21:43.439 Where? All? 0:21:43.520 --> 0:21:43.680 Right? 0:21:43.720 --> 0:21:47.680 Now Boston is doing this and is doing this? I mean, 0:21:48.000 --> 0:21:50.240 we don't know, but you know, as as we said 0:21:50.240 --> 0:21:52.600 in the previous segment, the win in Miami headed back 0:21:52.600 --> 0:21:55.600 to Pittsburgh causes for a big series because every one 0:21:55.640 --> 0:21:57.760 of these series are going to be very important. And 0:21:58.359 --> 0:22:00.159 I don't know how many guys on a pirates are 0:22:00.160 --> 0:22:03.000 familiar with you know, Sonny Gray from you know, playing 0:22:03.040 --> 0:22:04.560 them in years pass when he's with. 0:22:04.520 --> 0:22:06.040 The Red or the Cardinals or whatever. 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:08.760 But you know, he's a guy that there should be 0:22:08.760 --> 0:22:11.679 some familiarity with with a few guys. And you know, 0:22:11.680 --> 0:22:14.160 if Jones throw the ball like you know he's capable 0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:15.840 of it, it could calls for an interesting game. 0:22:16.040 --> 0:22:18.520 Yeah, we'd love to see Jared just get a nice 0:22:18.520 --> 0:22:21.199 bounce back start. I always love watching Boston as a 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:24.840 guy who loves watching defense. Their their outfield defense is 0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:27.439 fun to watch with guys like William bray U Sedane 0:22:27.520 --> 0:22:30.520