The Pittsburgh Pirates finish this week just where they left off last week going 3-3 while facing the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pitching was not very good this week, with a few exceptions, and the offense has kept on the hot streak that it has been on throughout the season.
Three weeks into the season and the Pittsburgh Pirates currently sit one game above .500 at 10-9 and are currently in third place in the National League Central. This week, they faced off against both the San Diego Padres, losing two out of three games, and the Arizona Diamondbacks, winning two out of three games.
Pitching in general was definitely a problem this week and as a result the offense had to pick up the slack and score a lot of runs. The one thing the Pirates have been missing this year is a dominant start from one of their pitchers. They have had glimpses of success from all five of their starters, but none of them have been able to put it together and go seven to eight innings consistently.
As a result, the bullpen has been taxed and the effects are starting to show as the entire shark tank has been bit by the wildness bug. Command has gone down and it is allowing the other team to take advantage and score a lot of runs. The Pirates are currently in the midst of a 16 games in 16 days stretch, and for them to be successful the starters are going to have to go deeper into ball games.
In the San Diego series, starting pitching was very shaky in what is known to be a pitchers ball park in Petco Park. Francisco Liriano started game one and was really shaky giving up four runs in just 4.1 innings pitched. The Pirates had a 3-0 lead early on in the game, but saw it fall through as Liriano struggled and Arquimedes Caminero gave up a run in his inning of work as the Pirates fell 5-4.
Game two, the starting pitching got worse. Jeff Locke took the mound and got obliterated by the San Diego offense. He gave up eight runs in just three innings of work putting the Pirates down big early. The Pirates offense was stifled in this game by left-hander Drew Pomeranz as they were only able to score one un-earned run off the lefty. The bullpen did a great job in this game however as Kyle Lobstein and AJ Schugel combined to throw 5.0 innings of shut out baseball giving up one hit and striking out four. However, it was not enough as the Pirates fell in game two by a score of 8-2.
Game three, finally saw the first good starting pitching of the week for the Pirates. After two rough starts, Gerrit Cole took the hill and was able to give the Pirates 6.0 strong innings giving up no runs on four hits and striking out seven. The offense jumped on San Diego pitching scoring 11 runs including an eight run seventh inning. That was more than enough offense for the Pirates pitching as they cruised to an 11-1 victory.
The series in San Diego was kind of a disappointment especially on the pitching front. Two of the three Pittsburgh starters got knocked around and it caused the Pirates to have to try and score more runs then they are used to. If you are asking your team to score six or more runs a game, it is not going to turn out well for you in the end. However, nothing will top the offenses showcase by both teams in the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Game one was the first of two back and forth affairs as the Pirates took it by the score of 8-7. Jon Niese had an ok start at best going 5.1 giving up four runs on 10 hits. The offense was lead by three of the longest home runs the Pirates have hit all season as Jordy Mercer, Sean Rodriguez, and Gregory Polanco each hit solo shots that went more than 420 feet. The Diamondbacks rallied late off of Tony Watson scoring three runs, one earned, but it was not enough as the Pirates pulled out the victory.
In game two, Juan Nicasio was very inefficient with his pitches on the mound as he only threw 5.0 innings giving up two runs on three hits while walking four and striking out four. AJ Schugel got knocked around out of the bullpen giving up five runs, four earned, in 1.1 innings of work. The Pirates were met by great staring pitching by Ruby De La Rosa as they could only muster a Rodriguez home run in what would turn out to be a 7-1 loss.
The final game of this series was a wild one going 13 innings. Both offenses scored a lot of runs and fought back and forth all afternoon. The deciding blow came in the top of the thirteenth inning when a Rodriguez double and a Niese pinch-hit single put the Pirates up for good with the final score being 12-10. The bullpen was very shaky and Rodriguez saved the game in the tenth by throwing out what would have been the winning run at the plate to extend the game. It was a wild one, but in the end the battling buccos pulled through.
The Diamondbacks series showed what this Pirates offense is capable of run production wise. It showed that they can battle with the bets of them and can score a lot of runs when they need to. While the pitching needs some improvement it was overall a good series win for the Pirates in Arizona.
Play of the Week: Sean Rodriguez Cuts Winning Run at the plate
The play of the week has to go to Sean Rodriguez's game saving play in yesterday afternoons contest. With the infield drawn in and runners at first and third a sharp ground ball was hit to Rodriguez, and he quickly back handed the ball and threw a strike to Chris Stewart for the out at home saving the game. The game would evetually go thirteen innings before the Pirates pulled out the 12-10 victory.
Hitter of the Week: Jordy Mercer (.454, 1 home run, 3 RBI)
Jordy Mercer had a great week for the Pirates hitting .454 and getting on base consistently for Pittsburgh. He got his first shot at the top of the lineup this week and produced against left-handed pitching. He also hit the longest home run of the season for the Pirates with a 466 foot blast in Arizona. He raised his average from .227 to .303 in the course of a week. This has been one of Mercer's hottest starts of his career and if he can keep it up he will be a very productive member of this Pirates lineup.
Pitcher of the Week: Kyle Lobstein (5.0 innings, 0 runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts)
Kyle Lobstein has been very effective out of the Pirates bullpen so far this season and came through for the Pirates in a big way this week. He threw 5.0 shut out innings out of the bullpen and in both cases was tasked with keeping the opposing team off the board. He had to do it both in a blow out and a high pressure situation and came through both times. Lobstein has been a reliable member of the Pirates bullpen and looks to continue it into the fourth week of the season.
Up Next:
The Pirates start the first of a four game series with the Colorado Rockies tonight at 8:40 p.m. The Rockies will have right hander Chad Bettis (2-0 3.33) on the hill. Last time out, Bettis threw 6.0 innings giving up three runs against the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates will counter with Jeff Locke (0-2 7.24) who is looking to rebound after a rough start in San Diego where he gave up eight runs in just three innings of work. Going into a hitters ball park like Coors Field, Locke will have to be on his game if he wants to win and the offense will look to pile on the runs as they did against Arizona.
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