Pirates Take Two, Win Series Against Angels
The Pirates came into their first West Coast road trip at arguably the lowest point the team has been in for a generation. The lineup had been reeling, and, well, things weren't looking good. That all changed as the Pirates arrived in Orange County. Pittsburgh took two of three against the Angels while outscoring LA 15-7 and outhitting the Halos 38-13. Los Angeles came into the series leading the majors in home runs with 34, but the Pirates held LA to just two home runs.
CRUZ BREAKOUT SEASON?
There are three players in the Major Leagues with at least five home runs and ten stolen bases, and they all reside in the NL Central. Oneil Cruz is in elite company with Elly De la Cruz and Pete Crow-Armstrong as the thunder in the box and lightning on the bases. With two bombs over the fence in the series, Cruz ranks in the top ten of MLB in home runs (7) and is one steal ahead of Crow Armstrong and De La Cruz with 11.
Four of Cruz’s seven home runs have come when he is batting first in the order, as he has settled in at the leadoff spot. His shot on the second pitch of the game on Thursday came off lefty Tyler Anderson, his first of the season against a southpaw. Oneil had six hits in the series, with three going for extra bases.
Oh, did I mention he hit a ball 463 feet at 118 MPH?! It was the second-longest home run of the season in Angel Stadium, while also being the second-longest of Cruz’s career.
IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T FIX IT
For the first time this season, Pirates manager Derek Shelton paraded out the same lineup in consecutive games. What did the offense do in those two games? 29 hits, 12 runs, with all nine of the starters reaching base at least once in both games. The lineup changed on Thursday due to the lefty pitching for the Angels.
It was a game of singles, as 25 of the Pirates’ 29 hits were singles, but even more encouraging for the bats and new hitting coach Matt Hague, most of the hits were either up the middle or went the other way.
BEDNAR BACK?
David Bednar looked to be back to his old ways in his two appearances against LA. The Renegade went two innings over two appearances while striking out three batters and not giving up a hit. While Bednar went heavy curveball in his first appearance after coming back from a stint in Indianapolis, his fastball was PLAYING against the Angels’ batters.
You could see some sort of relief as the camera panned to Bednar while he was walking to the dugout in between innings. A resurgence of Bednar’s confidence would go a long way to elevating the Pirates’ high-leverage relievers.
CALL TO THE BULLPEN
Everyone in Pittsburgh, except the Shelton and General Manager Ben Cherington, knows that Carmen Mlodzinski belongs in the bullpen. Mlodzinski once again cruised against the Halos’ batters in their first time seeing him. However, it all came crashing down in the fourth inning. A Taylor Ward single, side note, wouldn’t it be nice to have Ward in left field, and a Logan O’Hoppe two-run home run tied the game.
Batters are hitting .167 in the first two innings against Carmen. Mliodzinski has not given up an earned run in the first two innings through five starts. It elevates to four runs in the third, and then jumps to nine earned runs in the fourth inning with a 17.36 ERA in that inning alone.
Paging Mr. Shelton, this experiment is not working out. It’s time to put Mlodzinski back in the bullpen and let him dominate batters and see them ONCE.
UP NEXT
The gauntlet begins with a SKENES DAY in Chavez Ravine on Friday as the Pirates stay in Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers. What a pitching matchup it will be, as Skenes will face off against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Dodgers' Ace comes into the game with a 0.93 ERA and 38 strikeouts on the season.
The Pirates will look to get after 23-year-old rookie Roki Sasaki in game two. Sasaki is still looking for his first win in The Show. He has struck out 16 batters over 19.2 innings and sports a 3.20 ERA. Bailey Falter is scheduled to start game three after leaving his start on Monday with back tightness. Former Pirate Tyler Glasnow will be on he mound for the Dodgers.
The Pirates will try to tread water over the next three series, as their opponents are a combined 22 games over .500: the Dodgers (16-9), the Cubs (16-10), and the Padres (17-8).
