Recapping Pirates @ Phillies 9/24/2021

The Pirates vs. Phillies game on 9/24 was definitely a game to remember. I actually had the privilege of being at this game. The crowd went nuts so many times while I was there and the atmosphere was so intense. That all started after Bryce’s at-bat in the first inning. The TV camera picked up some of his frustration after his strikeout, but in person, it was definitely a lot worse and I know at least the people around us in my section were worried about ejection. Bryce definitely made up for all of that though with his RBI double in the 5th inning. That hit was something that we really needed and got everyone in the park energized. One of the biggest surprises I think was when Gibson, our pitcher, hit a solo home run to kick things off for the Phillies. Typically, pitchers get a bad rep when it comes to hitting but Gibson definitely broke the stereotype that night. Gibson also pitched for 6 innings and threw 6 strikeouts. Overall, the 4 pitchers from the night had 11 K’s, but after Gibson most of the other pitchers did struggle. One of the things that really helped the Phillies a lot was that there were a lot of balls that bounced off of the gloves of Pirates’ players and we were able to capitalize on those opportunities. What solidified the game for us though was Gregorius’ 3 run HR in the 7th inning. Up until that point, the score was 6-5, and then that pushed us to the final score of 8-6 Phils win. I know a lot of us were worried that the Phillies’ bullpen issues were going to lose us the game in the 9th inning, but somehow the Phils pulled out a win and put themselves 1.5 games out of first place. Sadly though, we couldn’t finish what we needed to in our series against the Braves and got eliminated from playoff contention, but this game truly was one to remember and I am so glad that I was able to experience it.