Alex Avila’s bat has risen from the dead

Game Recap | Box Score

With a six-run lead by the end of the 2nd inning, the Diamondbacks already had done enough damage to the Pirates to secure their eventual 9-3 win. The day belonged to Alex Avila who came into the game hitting a miserable .108, and ended up going 2 for 4, with a home run and 3 RBI’s. I’m sure it feels nice to add 20 points to your batting average.

Coming into the game in first place in the National League West, the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup stood out as stronger than the Pirates, with some substantial power. While Paul Goldschmidt started off the season slowly, he’s core batting statistics are on the rise.

The Pirates were overall, not great, but the biggest problem was that Chad Kuhl gave up eight earned runs over two innings, and had to be saved by the bullpen taking card of the next seven. Left fielder Austin Meadows had a solid evening, going 3 for 4 with one run scored.

I last visited PNC Park in 2016, and I remembered the experience being pretty spectacular. On a second visit, it was just as impressive. Other than the Pirates playing below .500 baseball, everything else was perfect. The sightlines, the concessions, the intimacy, the ticket prices and the overall experience is ten on ten. While there are five or six parks that I would call ten on ten experiences, PNC is currently my favourite park in baseball.