Pirates Series Recap: Shelton Manages Pirates Out of Series Win
Could have, should have, would have. That is the story of the final leg of the Pirates’ Southern California trip. In reality, the team played well enough to take two of three against the defending champs. However, the man at the top of the dugout stairs inserted himself into the game on Saturday night, and, well, it all went to hell from there. The Pirates drop the series to the Dodgers two games to one, and what could have been a momentum-shifting trip has done nothing but leave a bad taste in fans’ mouths.
THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY
It is well-documented that Derek Shelton is one of the few managers to return for a sixth season with a club after five consecutive losing seasons. After he handled reinserting Bednar back into the fold seamlessly a week ago, he butchered the same task with Colin Holderman.
Bednar, who had a 27.00 ERA before he was sent down to Triple-A, has looked like the Renegade of old since returning in mostly low-leverage situations. A two-time All-Star was not trusted in high-leverage situations, but the Pirates’ setup man, who has been searching for the last 13 months, was?
Shelton inserted Holderman in the eighth inning of a tie ballgame against the defending World Champions. The Pirates were on the verge of making a statement. On Friday, Paul Skenes outduelled Yoshinobu Yammamoto. Game two saw Mitch Keller pitch six innings while spreading three earned runs over five hits. Caleb Ferguson gave up the lead, but things were still trending well for the Pirates.
Before Holderman stepped on the mound, the Pirates gave up just four runs in 16 innings against the Dodgers. Colin gave up three himself without recording an out. But hey, the good news is that after Sunday, Holderman’s ERA is down to 12.00 after a scoreless 1.1-inning outing.
TGI…SKENESDAY
Well, Skenes did it again. The Pirates' Ace stepped up in the brightest of lights and shut out what may be the best offense of all-time while striking out nine batters. In three starts against LA, Skenes is 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA over 17.1 innings. He has at least eight strikeouts in each of the three starts, with the high of nine strikeouts thrown coming on Friday.
Sknes is currently third in the MLB with 9.75 strikeouts per walk. He is appointment television.
CRUZ MVP SEASON?
Not only did Skenes impress in LA, but Oneil Cruz dazzled with another leadoff home run on Saturday. The Pirates have two of the most exciting players in the game in Cruz and Skenes, as Oneil is the only player to have seven home runs and 10+ stolen bases in the majors. I’ll repeat it: he has the longest streak of stealing bases without getting caught. He is Thunder and Lightning.
UP NEXT
The Pirates will have a travel day on Monday before the Cubs come to town. The MLB App shows TBD for the pitchers in the series. The Cubs currently sit atop the Central Division standings with a 17-12 record after losing two of three to the Phillies in the Friendly Confines.
