Cutch gets plunked and no retaliation. -- Team immediately goes into major funk for this last month.
Maybe, just maybe, this Alverez awakinging with these two long homers tonight signals the beginning of another great month for our Pirates.

Harrison torpedoing Molina is probably a better omen.

Was hoping winning the 19 inning game this year instead of losing it would fall into this category, but I was wrong.

I hesitate to blame the Reds plunking Cutch for the recent subpar play. That stuff will happen for the rest of his career, especially if he maintains his standing as a top 5 player in baseball. Professional athletes need to shake that kind of stuff off. It's an easy place to go for blame but the team hasn't been good.

With that said, Harrison doing his best Jerome Bettis impression on Molina could result in a brief momentum upswing but it's all going to come down to how Cutch, Pedro, AJ, and J Mac play down the stretch.

So far, so good. J Mac 2 good outings in a row, and Pedro hitting lights out the past two nights. With Cutch and A.J. as our best hitter and pitcher, you've got to hold out hope that we'll somehow find our way into the wildcard race at the end of September.