Pittsburgh Pirates road trip report card for week of May 22-25

Starting Pitching

Atlanta was not kind to the Pirates ace. Gerrit Cole struggled in his outing Monday night, allowing five runs on ten hits in just 4.2 innings of work. Cole is a star, so he should be just fine. Nonetheless, it is frustrating to see any pitcher of Cole’s caliber struggle, as this team needs him to be at his best if they want to have success.

Tuesday night saw another step forward from young Tyler Glasnow. The big rookie pitched six innings allowing just two runs, and even contributed three hits at the dish. Glasnow could have come away with the W if the rains did not come in.

Wednesday, Trevor Williams pitched well for the third outing in a row. Although he picked up a no-decision, Williams is settling in ever since that awful start at Dodger Stadium 18 days ago, and his progress has been great to watch.

The series concluded with the usual shove from Ivan Nova. Although he did get hit around a little bit, allowing four earned runs on ten hits, Nova still did the job, going 8.1 innings and picking up his second straight win.

Overall, the starting pitchers were excellent. Aside from Cole’s outing, every performance was a quality one. The rotation has been a high point for Pittsburgh this season, and that doesn’t look to change anytime soon.

Grade: A-