Pittsburgh Pirates report card for week of May 8-14

Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Defense

Without question, the Pirates have been a horrific defensive team this season. With that said, there was some good to take out of this road trip in the field.

On Sunday, defense was a huge reason why Pittsburgh picked up a much needed W. Great plays by Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer kept the Bucs in the game. Given all the negative that has come from the Pirate gloves in 2017, Sunday’s game was great to see.

Sadly, defensive issues still plagued the Pirates this past week, as evidenced by the ninth inning of Tuesday’s contest with the Dodgers. With one out and Tony Watson trying to lock down a 3-2 lead, Corey Seager came to the plate. The LA shortstop hit a line drive to right fielder Gregory Polanco that should have been out number two. But El Coffee misplayed it, and Seager wound up on first base. This led to the Dodgers tying the game and eventually, winning 4-3 in 10 innings.

The Pirates are probably not going to turn into a sound defensive team in 2017. So, all we can do as fans is hope to see as many flashes of brilliance as possible, while limiting the number of gaffes that can be the difference between winning and losing.

Overall Grade: D