Pittsburgh Pirates series review vs. Reds

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Game Three: J.A. Happ (6-2, 2.04ERA) vs. Josh Smith (0-3, 7.22ERA)

Result: Pirates win 4-0

Winning Pitcher: J.A. Happ (7-2, 1.85ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Josh Smith (0-3, 6.89ERA)

• What went right:
  • J.A. Happ was outstanding when he needed to be. His stellar pitching helped lead the Pirates and guaranteed us another PNC Park Blackout. He went six innings, allowed zero runs on three hits and struck out seven.
  • Josh Harrison was fantastic and is making it very difficult to leave him out of the Wildcard game lineup. He went 3-4 with an RBI and a run scored. He’s hitting .400/.429/.650/1.079 over his last seven games.
  • Jordy Merer also played well. Made some solid defensive plays and went 2-4with an RBI.
  • The bullpen was shutdown again as Joakim Soria, Tony Watson and Mark Melancon shut the door to clinch homefield in the Wildcard game.

• What went wrong:
  • Todd Frazier reached base three times as he went 2-3 with a walk.
  • Neil Walker was weirdly caught stealing on what looked like a botched delayed steal attempt.
  • Andrew McCutchen went 0-4 with two strikeouts for the second game in a row.
  • Joey Votto reached base twice, going 1-3 with a walk.

Next: Final Takeaways