Pittsburgh Pirates Report Card for week of May 15-20

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May 18, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell (55) circles the bases on a two run home run against the Washington Nationals during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Offense

The Bucco bats were ready Tuesday night, scoring four runs along with several hard hit outs. The offense almost hit well to bail Kuhl out, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh before running out of steam in the 8-4 loss.

Wednesday was a mixed bag for the Bucco bats. Although the Pirates put up six runs and certainly did what they had to do, it still was frustrating to see the offense struggle against draft bust Jacob Turner, as it took Pittsburgh until the sixth inning to figure it out. Nonetheless, the Bucs lit up the woeful Washington bullpen and got a three-run bomb from Josh Bell, so there wasn’t too much to criticize.

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The bats continued their momentum Thursday with a 10-run explosion. The highlight of this outburst was Adam Frazier, who went 3-5 with two runs scored and four RBI. Frazier knows how to rake, and he has earned a spot as Pittsburgh’s everyday leadoff man for the foreseeable future. Also, Bell hit his ninth dinger of the season. He’s no slouch either.

Friday was a step back, as the Bucs managed just one hit after the first inning in a 7-2 loss to the Phillies. Bell again was a bright spot, hitting an opposite field double to the north side notch to drive in the first run of the game. But the bats went silent after that, and Philly cruised to it’s only win of the three-game set.

The Bucco bats got back on track Saturday, as a David Freese home run and three hits from Frazier contributed to a six-run output. One downside to the performance, however, was a 1-5 performance from Andrew McCutchen, who also struck out three times. Cutch had been hitting the ball hard before this weekend, and we can only hope that he will come around.

Sunday, the offense was kept in check by Philly starter Aaron Nola for most of the day. But thanks to Kuhl and the bullpen, one run was all the bats would need, and Freese provided that by getting hit by the pitch with the bases loaded in the sixth inning for the game’s lone run.
All in all, the offense is at least showing signs of life. It wasn’t great over this homestand, but the Pirate bats at least had a pulse. Although there were still some awful offensive performances, we saw enough progression to where I will give them something above a C.

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