Pirates Series Recap: A Disappointing Florida Trip
Well, that escalated quickly. The Pirates wrapped up a dismal road trip to open the season in Florida, earning two wins in seven games. Pittsburgh salvaged a game against the Rays on Wednesday, giving Paul Skenes his first win of the season, which moved him closer to his over/under (O/U) of 10.5.
While most of the series was frustrating, with more negatives to highlight than positives, it is early, and it could be worse. The Braves went into Wednesday as the last team without a win on the season. Granted, they took on the defending champions and another contender in the West, San Diego.
YOU DOWN WITH LOB, YEAH YOU KNOW ME!
The first negative I want to highlight is the offense with runners in scoring position. The Pirates are just 9-for-51 with RISP through seven games. The Bucs are getting plenty of chances while leading Major League Baseball with 19 stolen bases, but they aren’t capitalizing.
Overall, the Pirates are hitting .176 with runners in scoring position. That is a hit every 5.5 at-bats, but it seems a lot worse than that. It was a little better on Wednesday, as Endy Rodriguez and Oneil Cruz could drive in runs late with a single and a sacrifice fly, respectively.
ROOKIE JITTERS
Thomas Harrington, the Pirates' No.3 prospect,, made his debut on Tuesday, and Derek Shelton handled it terribly. Harrington gave up six runs over four innings and was only the second Pirates pitcher to throw over 90 pitches this season. The list of Pirates to reach the 90-pitch mark in their debut is, well, it leaves much to be desired.
Harrington walked four batters in the game, the most walks he has given up at any level in his professional career. It’s one thing to leave a spot starter out to dry, but a No.1 pick and your No. 3 prospect? Come on, Shelty.
FEEL THE BREEZE
The Pirates struck out a season-high 15 times on Tuesday against former Bucco Farm Hand Shane Baz. The Pirates have recorded more strikeouts than hits in four of the seven games this season. There is a lot of swinging and missing in this team. Bryan Reynolds and Jack Suwinski are in the top 15 in MLB with nine strikeouts each.
AND THE BASE KEEP RUNNIN’
The Running Bucs theme continued for the Pirates, as they now have 19 stolen bases. In the Colorado series, Danny Jansen threw out the two would-be base stealers who came to him. The Pirates went 4-for-5 in the series and have three players in the top ten in the league in stolen bases: Cruz (6), Isiah Kiner-Falefa (4), and Tommy Pham (3).
IS THE BULLPEN GOOD?
If you remove Bednar and Holderman from the Bullpen, the lower-leverage pitchers have a combined 1.77 ERA. I will answer my question…THAT IS GOOD! If the team can figure out the eighth and ninth innings, with Dennis Santana pitching a scoreless ninth and earning the save on Wednesday, the Pirates may have something cooking.
Overall, the Pirates are heading home and are looking to turn things around against the Yankees and their torpedo bats. Mitch Keller will start in the Home Opener. It's a daunting task, but just a reminder: crazy things happen in baseball.
I look forward to talking to you on Monday. Let’s Go Bucs.
