Pittsburgh Pirates home stand report card for June 8-18

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Jun 12, 2017; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jameson Taillon (50) delivers a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

Pitching

The Pirates starters got off to a rough start on this homestand.

Gerrit Cole was not sharp in the series opener against Miami, allowing seven earned runs over 4.2 innings. Glasnow fared little better the next night. All that needs to be said about his performance is that the organization sent him to AAA the next day. Although the Pirates got a much-needed win the next evening, Trevor Williams’ run of form came to a halt, as he allowed five earned runs over four frames. Ivan Nova got things back rolling in the series finale, pitching six shutout innings and leading the Bucs to a series split.

After Taillon’s triumphant return in the series opener with Colorado, Cole got back on track Tuesday night. The UCLA legend pitched seven innings of one-run ball, leading the Bucs to victory. It’s fair to assume that Cole has figured things out, but it’s up to him to build off of Tuesday’s momentum.

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The series ended with Chad Kuhl being just OK as usual, as he allowed three earned runs over five innings of work. After an off day, the Chicago Cubs were in town. Williams started the series opener, and would he bounce back after his first poor outing in over a month? Eh, sort of.

Although Williams posted a modest stat line on the night, allowing three runs over five innings, there were a lot of positives to take from his outing. After giving up all three of his runs in the first inning, Williams settled down and ended the night by retiring the last twelve Cubs he faced. Williams has earned a long-term spot in this rotation, and there’s no reason he can’t be able to help the Pirates by pitching solid baseball.

Before a Saturday night national TV audience, Nova did what Nova does, pitching seven solid innings and getting the win. Nova is, without question, the heartbeat of Pittsburgh’s starting rotation. In a rainy season, Nova has been a ray of light, and we owe Neil Huntington a thank you for trading for and then resigning the man.

Taillon did not get the job done in the series finale. The Cubbie bats touched him up for four runs in five innings of work. Worst of all, the over-the-hill John Lackey out pitched him, and he is not a better pitcher than Taillon.

So to recap, the Pirates got a mix of good and bad outings from Cole, Williams and Taillon, a horrible performance from Glasnow, the usual solid work out of Nova and typical “meh” work from Kuhl. As was the case with the rest of the team, the pitching was inconsistent. Therefore, a C is appropriate.

Overall grade: C

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