Red-hot Pederson powers LA over Virtual Bucs




I will be serving as general manager/manager of the Pirates in a 2020 season simulation along with 29 others using Out Of The Park Baseball. Feel free to check here for daily updates. I realize baseball is a lot less important than what is going on in the world today but perhaps it can provide a diversion for a few moments.

LOS ANGELES – One bad inning cost Trevor Williams and the Virtual Pirates on Friday night, tagging the right-hander with his first loss of the virtual season.

The Virtual Los Angeles Dodgers and red-hot Joc Pederson scored all their runs off Williams in the third inning and beat the Pirates 4-2 at Virtual Dodger Stadium.
The Pirates lost for the third time in four games and fell to 9-11.

Williams took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the third. However, starting pitcher Julio Urias led off the inning with a single and eventually scored the tying run on Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly.

One out later, Joc Pederson lined a three-run homer into the right-field pavilion to put the Dodgers on top 4-1. Pederson leads the major leagues with 11 longballs.

Williams (2-1) pitched four innings and allowed four runs and four hits while striking out five and walking one. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter.

Williams had given up just three runs in 15 innings over his previous two starts.

Both Pirates’ runs came on solo homers off Urias. Frazier connected for his first of the season in the second inning and Jacob Stallings hit his second in the fourth inning.

Urias left the game with an undisclosed injury immediately after Stallings’ homer drew the Pirates within 4-2.

Chris Stratton, Richard Rodriguez, Blake Weiman and Brad Brach combined for four scoreless innings of relief for the Pirates.

Stallings also doubled. He and Guillermo Heredia both had two of the Pirates’ seven hits.

Brusdar Graterol (1-0) got credit for the win by pitching 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Urias. Kenley Jansen worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his second save.

It was 65 degrees at game time with the wind blowing out to center field at 9 mph. Attendance was 44,276 as Pirates bench coach and Southern California native Craig Wilson proved to be a huge draw.

Wilson, as usual, was at the ballpark early despite spending most of the morning packing up air mattresses at his Orange County home to return them to Amazon.

Pirates owner Bob Nutting had wanted the Pirates to stay at Wilson’s house this weekend. However, Nutting scrapped that plan when union rep Jameson Taillon threatened to file a grievance through the Players Association and the Pirates are instead staying in a hotel this weekend.

The middle game of the three-game series is set for Saturday night with unbeaten Chris Archer (3-0, 3.00) pitching for the Virtual Corsairs against left-hander Clayton Kershaw (3-0, 0.93).

Should be a good ballgame.

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