Pittsburgh Pirates 6, Colorado Rockies 3: Stars And Stiffs

The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Colorado Rockies by a score of 6-3 in a makeup of Sunday’s rain out.

On Monday afternoon the Pittsburgh Pirates improved to 24-19 overall on the season with a 6-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies. This was a game that was only being played due to Sunday afternoon’s contest being rained out, and it was the first of 31 games in 31 days for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Monday’s game was a wild one. Starter Ryan Vogelsong had to exit after only two innings due to being hit in the left eye with a Jordan Lyles pitch in the second inning. Anyways, here are the three Pirate stars and stiffs from Monday afternoon.

STARS

Relief pitcher Wilfredo Boscan – Right-handed reliever Wilfredo Boscan entered the game in the third inning for the Pirates after Ryan Vogelsong was hit in the eye with a pitch. Boscan proceeded to give the Pittsburgh Pirates four strong innings of relief in just his second Major League game. In four innings pitched Boscan allowed two runs on two hits, one walk, and two strike outs.

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Furthermore, Wilfredo Boscan also went 1-for-1 at the plate on Monday. In the third inning Boscan stepped to the plate with two men on and two outs, and proceeded to collect a RBI single in his first Major League at bat. Boscan also pounded the strike zone, throwing 44 of his 64 pitches for strikes.

Through two career outings Wilfredo Boscan has allowed two runs on three hits, one walk, and four strike outs in six innings pitched. In two outings Boscan has flashed a plus two-seamed fastball and a good breaking pitch as well. Boscan is doing a good job of putting a down payment on a long-term spot in the Pittsburgh bullpen.

Second baseman Josh Harrison – The Pirates best offensive player on Monday afternoon was Josh Harrison. Harrison finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate, he drove in a pair of runs, and he stole two bases. As he often does, Harrison proved to play the role of spark plug for the Pirate offense on Monday.

Harrison also played his traditional good defense, and continues to show that Neal Huntington made the right move in going with Harrison instead of Neil Walker as the Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman this season.

Shortstop Sean Rodriguez – Even though Sean Rodriguez was 0-for-2 with a walk at the plate, he made arguably the biggest defensive play of the game. In the first inning with the game scoreless, the Rockies had Charlie Blackmon on second base. Carlos Gonzalez hit a ground ball far to Rodriguez’s right, but he ranged far to his right to glove the ball and keep it in the infield.

By doing this, Rodriguez held Gonzalez to an infield hit and prevented a run from scoring. This play is easy to overlook, but had the Rockies taken a 1-0 lead in the first inning the game could have been drastically different.

STIFFS

First baseman John Jaso – Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman John Jaso had an uncharacteristically bad day at the plate on Monday afternoon. Jaso finished the game 0-for-4 and he left five men on base. This included Jaso hitting into an inning ending double play with the bases loaded and just one out in the second inning.

Today was only the ninth time in 38 games this season. So, I would expect Jaso to bounce back at the plate tomorrow against the Diamondbacks.

Relief pitcher Jared Hughes – Ever since coming off the disabled list Jared Hughes has struggled for the Pirates, and that continued today. Hughes took the mound in the top of the 9th with the Pirates leading 6-2, but he allowed a pair of base hits which led to manager Clint Hurdle burning closer Mark Melancon today.

Ultimately, Jared Hughes pitched 1/3 of an inning today and allowed a run on two hits. On the season, Hughes has a 4.15 ERA, 6.42 FIP, 7.45 xFIP, and is averaging 7.27 BB/9 in just 8 2/3 innings pitched. Hopefully for the sake of the Pirate bullpen, he gets back to his old form soon.

That will do it for today as the Bucs only have two stiffs. My thoughts are with Ryan Vogelsong as he spends the night in the hospital recovering from being hit in the eye with a pitch. Time to go beat up on Shelby Miller and Diamondbacks beginning tomorrow.

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