SERIES REVIEW: Pittsburgh Pirates vs Rockies

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Game One: Francisco Liriano (9-6, 3.23ERA) vs. Jon Gray (0-0, 5.94ERA)

Result: Pirates win 5-3

Winning Pitcher: Tony Watson (3-1, 2.10ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Scott Oberg (3-3, 5.67ERA)

Save: Mark Melancon (42, 1.45ERA)

• What went right:
  • A piping hot cup of coffee. Gregory Polanco continued his evolution and had an incredible game at the plate and in the field. He went 3-5 with an RBI and two runs scored. He also had two outfield assists, including throwing out Jose Reyes at the plate to keep the game tied in the eighth inning.
  • Francisco Liriano didn’t have his best stuff, but he was good enough. He went six innings, allowed three runs on four hits and struck out five.
  • Jung Ho Kang keeps showing the baseball world why he should be the NL Rookie of the Year. He went 2-4 with two RBI.
  • The Formula of Joakim Soria, Tony Watson and Mark Melancon shut the game down again as the three of them allowed no runs on one hit in three innings of work.

• What went wrong:
  • Jose Reyes had a pretty solid game for the Rockies. He went 2-4 with a home run, two RBI and a run scored.
  • Jordy Mercer was weirdly caught stealing when Francisco Liriano was attempting a bunt.
  • Jung Ho Kang grounded into a double play to end the fifth inning.
  • Carlos Gonzalez hit an absolutely towering game-tying home run. He went 1-4 on the day.

Filthy Frankie was able to lead the Pirates to a win. The Pirates would turn to another left handed pitcher to seal yet another series victory and take the Pirates to a watermark they haven’t known since 1992.

Next: Game Two: Happ vs. Rusin

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Game Two: J.A. Happ (2-1, 2.08ERA) vs. Chris Rusin (4-6, 4.97ERA)

Result: Pirates win 4-3

Winning Pitcher: J.A. Happ (3-1, 1.98ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Chris Rusin (4-7, 4.94ERA

Save: Mark Melancon (43, 1.71ERA)

• What went right:
  • J.A. Happ had another solid start for the Buccos and has been easily the biggest surprise of all the trade deadline acquisitions. He went 5.2 innings, allowed one run on five hits and struck out two.
  • Aramis Ramirez started the game off with a bang as he hit a first inning, three-run home run to jump start the sell out crowd. He went 1-4 on the day with a home run, three RBI and a run scored.
  • Francisco Cervelli reached base three times. He went 0-1 with three walks.
  • Arquimedes Caminero had another fantastic outing. He went 1.1 innings, allowed zero runs on zero hits. His 13^th consecutive scoreless appearance.

• What went wrong:
  • Chris Rusin had a mostly solid outing, outside of the first inning. He kept the Pirates’ hitters fairly uncomfortable as he completed six innings, allowed three runs on give hits and struck out three.
  • Francisco Cervelli and Jung Ho Kang both committed fielding errors.
  • Nick Hundley hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to make the game much closer than it had to be.
  • Mark Melancon was pretty shaky and never seemed settled in. He allowed two runs on three hits, but luckily the Pirates had a three-run cushion and he was able to earn his 43^rd save of the season.

The Pirates locked up another series victory and moved to 30 games over .500 for the first time since the final day of the 1992 season when they were 96-66. They looked to get the brooms out and complete the sweep of the Rockies with a little Electric Stuff on the mound.

Next: Morton vs. De La Rosa

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Game Three: Charlie Morton (8-5, 4.20ERA) vs. Jorge De La Rosa (7-6, 4.61ERA)

Result: Pirates lose 5-0

Winning Pitcher: Jorge De La Rosa (8-6, 4.40ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Charlie Morton (8-6, 4.22ERA

• What went right:
  • Jordy Mercer went 2-3 and made a nice defensive play, snagging a line-drive out of the air that saved a run.
  • Charlie Morton wasn’t as bad as the numbers indicated. He was hurt by some fielding errors. He went six innings, allowed five runs (three earned) on six hits and struck out six.
  • Antonio Bastardo pitched two very solid innings of relief. He allowed zero runs on one hit.
  • Joe Blanton had another good inning as a Pirate. He allowed zero runs on zero hits.

• What went wrong:
  • Jorge De La Rosa kept the Pirates off-balance all day and the team never figured him out. He went six innings, allowed zero runs on four hits and struck out seven.
  • Ben Paulsen had a big game for the Rockies. He went 2-3 with a walk, two RBI and a run scored.
  • Charlie Blackmon was good out of the lead-off spot. He went 2-5 with a stolen base.
  • Aramis Ramirez had another fielding error at third base.

Next: Final Takeaways

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Game three of the series didn’t go very well, but the Rockies are still a Major League Baseball team, they can and do win games. They don’t get swept every series so really just a bad game. The Pirates still won the series, which is the important thing. You aren’t going to sweep every poor opponent you play, but you must keep winning series against the lesser teams in the league. Overall, the Pirates played a fairly solid series against an inferior opponent. They didn’t blow the Rockies out, but as Pirates’ fans saw for 20 years, bad teams don’t just lose blowouts, they lose frustratingly close games that turn on a single play. The Pirates took advantage of the Rockies’ mistakes and won the series. Can’t complain about that.

The Pirates will have a much needed and deserved off-day on Monday before turning their attention to another struggling ball club, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates need to keep their focus on the Brewers and not look ahead to the St. Louis Cardinals series ahead of it. The Pirates have done good work in their two series against the Marlins and Rockies, going 5-2 against the sub .500 teams.

Miller Park is still a scary place for me and most Pirates fans as it was the House of Horrors for way too long. Even with a rebuilding team, the Brewers have enough talent to give the Pirates fits, so the team must be on top of their game to avoid falling into a dreaded “trap series.” You don’t become one of the best teams in the league by accident and I would expect the Pirates will be purely focused on the Brewers. As we come to September and the final push the playoffs, let’s just enjoy the fact that for a third straight September, the Pirates find themselves right in the midst of a division pennant race and in good position to at least host a third straight NL Wildcard Game. The times they truly are a-changing.

Series Result: Pirates win 2-1

2015 win/loss record: 79-50

2015 series record: 23-13-5

Next: Jung Ho Kang proving he belongs at Major League level?