Pirates home stand report card for May 26-31

Offense

The Pirates offense complemented Kuhl’s futility Friday night with a poor effort of its own, as a Gregory Polanco homer provided it’s only run. Saturday was a significant improvement, as Andrew McCutchen turned back the clock and put the team on his back, going 2-3 with a double, home run, walk and three RBI. Even some of the Pirates outs looked good, as McCutchen and Francisco Cervelli narrowly missed homers late in the game. The Bucco bats were locked in Saturday night. Unfortunately, that trend did not continue for the rest of the homestand.

Matt Harvey pitched like the Dark Night of old Sunday, limiting the Pirates to just one run over six innings. The bats did just enough to get by the Memorial Day, scoring four runs, the last of which came on Cutch’s walk off. Just as Harvey did two nights prior, Robbie Ray shoved Tuesday, striking out ten and throwing his first career complete game shutout.

Wednesday was a roller coaster ride in all aspects, and the Bucco offense experienced more highs and lows than anything else. We saw some good things, such as Gregory Polanco’s pinch-hit RBI single and Jordy Mercer’s game-tying bomb with two outs in the 11th. We also saw plenty of frustration, with Adam Frazier going 0-7 and Josh Bell striking out three times despite coming off the bench.

When the Pirates left Atlanta, it looked like the bats were beginning to turn things around. Those positive vibes did not continue through this homestand. Aside from Saturday, where it seemed like every ball traveled 400 feet, the offense sputtered. The lineup has been a mess for most of 2017, and hopefully, Cutch and Polanco will continue to progress and be the driving forces of the Bucco attack.

Grade: D