San Francisco Giants 15, Pittsburgh Pirates 4: Stars and Stiffs

After winning game one of their four game series against the San Francisco Giants on Monday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates were annihilated in game two on Tuesday night.

Well, the Pittsburgh Pirates June swoon continued on Tuesday night. The Pittsburgh Pirates were destroyed by the San Francisco Giants by a score of 15-4. With this loss, the Pirates are now just 5-15 in the month of June.

In a movie that fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates have seen far too many times over the years, Johnny Cueto absolutely dominated the Bucs on Tuesday night. However, with the way the Pirates pitched it did not matter much what Cueto did. Anyway, here are the Pittsburgh Pirates three stars and stiffs from their loss on Tuesday night.

STARS

First baseman John Jaso – There were not very many bright spots for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night, but John Jaso was one of them. The Pirate first baseman finished the game 1-for-4 with a double and a walk. Jaso now has a healthy .354 on-base percentage this season.

In the bottom of the first inning it appeared John Jaso was going to jump-start the Pirate offense when he doubled to lead off the inning. However, things would quickly fizzle out. Despite grounding out to second base, Jaso also had a strong at bat against Johnny Cueto in the bottom of the third inning when he saw eight pitches before grounding out on a 3-2 pitch. 

Catcher Jacob Stallings – In his second career Major League game, Jacob Stallings recorded his first Major League hit. The hit was a RBI double to score Sean Rodriguez in the bottom of the seventh inning. In a game full of terrible things, a first career hit is always a nice thing. Congrats, Jacob!

Jacob Stallings‘ stay in Major Leagues probably will not last long. As soon as Chris Stewart is ready to catch again, Stallings will return to Triple-A. However, he will always be able to point to this one at bat.

Third baseman David Freese – David Freese collected a pair of hits in Tuesday night’s loss, and both produced runs for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Freese lined a two-run home run over the Clemente Wall to score Chris Stewart. This was Freese’s sixth home run of the season. Then in the bottom of the ninth, Freese hit a double to score Gregory Polanco.

STIFFS

Starting pitcher Wilfredo Boscan – Tuesday night was Wilfredo Boscan‘s first career Major League start and for that reason Tuesday night will be an unforgettable one for Boscan. Unfortunately, the start itself was extremely forgettable. Boscan pitched into the fourth inning, failing to record an out in the inning, and surrendered seven earned runs.

Wilfredo Boscan‘s night actually started out well. He retired nine of the first ten San Francisco batters he faced, and as a result had thrown three scoreless innings to begin his start. However, the wheels would completely come off for Boscan in the fourth inning.

In the fourth inning Boscan would allow seven runs on five hits, two walks, two home runs (including a grand slam), and he did not record an out. This was Boscan’s first start of the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but sixth appearance. After Tuesday night’s abysmal start Boscan now has a 6.46 ERA, 5.14 FIP, 5.82 xFIP, and is averaging just 4.70 K/9 in 15 1/3 innings pitched. I would expect him to be optioned back to Triple-A for bullpen help tomorrow.

Center fielder Andrew McCutchen – Andrew McCutchen‘s miserable 2016 season continued on Tuesday night. McCutchen was lifted from the ball game after just three at bats, and these at bats did not go well at all for McCutchen. On the night McCutchen went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts.

For the season McCutchen is now slashing just .238/.316/.403/.719 to go along with a .310 wOBA and a wRC+ of 96. Most worrisome thing about McCutchen though are his strikeouts. McCutchen now has a 25.3 percent strikeout rate this season. Yikes.

The worst part of McCutchen’s home runs is when they happened. In the bottom of the first inning with John Jaso on third base and just one out, Andrew McCutchen went down swinging. The Giants hand the infield back, and a simple ground ball would have scored a run. Then in the bottom of the sixth inning with Gregory Polanco on base, McCutchen would, once again, strike out.

Relief pitcher Jorge Rondon – Jorge Rondon made his second appearance of the season out of the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen on Tuesday. Much like his first appearance on Sunday night, this one did not go well. Rondon pitched 1 2/3 innings on Tuesday night and allowed six earned runs.

Rondon allowed seven hits and walked a batter to go along with those seven earned runs allowed. In 3 2/3 Major League innings pitched this season, Rondon has now allowed seven earned runs on nine hits. He has shown why he is a career Minor League pitcher.

Next: Pittsburgh Pirates Sign Braeden Ogle

Mercifully, that will do it for this one. Tuesday night was just the latest in what is becoming a long list of ugly losses for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the month of June. Unfortunately, things do not get any easier for the Pittsburgh Pirates who square off against old foe Jeff Samardzija tomorrow evening.

Adding to the misery on Tuesday night was Starling Marte suffering an apparent ankle injury in the top of the eighth inning. As a result, Marte had to leave the game. Hopefully, the Pirates were just being precautionary and this is not a major issue for Marte moving forward. But with the way June has gone, it is hard to be optimistic.