Pittsburgh Pirates road trip report card for June 20-25

Starting pitching

Monday night, Cole picked up where he left off the past Tuesday when he dominated the Colorado Rockies with seven innings of one-run ball. Cole had the same solid stat line in Milwaukee and even contributed a single late in the game. As we all know, the Bucs need Cole to be at his best, and he has done his job the past two outings.

Chad Kuhl did not have his best stuff Tuesday night, again failing to get through six innings. He was good enough, however, allowing two earned runs over five to accommodate the offensive attack. Kuhl always seems to be unsatisfying. He hasn’t been great, and he hasn’t been terrible, but his outings leave a lot to be desired. The good news is, Kuhl is young and has a lot of upside that he will hopefully fulfill soon.

Wednesday was a bittersweet night for Trevor Williams. On the one hand, the 25-year-old showed that he belongs in the Pirates starting rotation, pitching six great innings and striking out a career-high seven batters. Sadly, his manager spoiled the night, making the curious decision to have Williams start the seventh inning. He promptly allowed two men to reach base, ending his evening. Williams allowed two earned runs over six solid frames of work and deserved to come away with the W.

Nova showed heart in the series finale, as he made it through seven innings despite clearly not having his best stuff. Seven innings may have been one too many, however, as Nova allowed an insurance run to push the Brewer lead to 4-2, which is what the final score would read.

After a rough performance on Fathers Day, Jameson Taillon bounced back Friday night against the Cardinals. JT threw six innings and 104 pitches, allowing just two earned runs, and giving his team a chance to win the ballgame. Taillon’s return from the DL gives this rotation a huge boost, and Frida night was evidence of that.

Cole’s dominant stretch continued the next night. The Pirates ace pitched six innings of one-run ball, propelling his team to a big 7-3 triumph.

Kuhl’s performance Sunday night mirrored the one Tuesday, with slightly worse resultes, as he allowed four runs over five innings. The bullpen was not able to help him out, and the Bucs ended up taking the L this time.

So the Pirates got two solid outings from Cole, another from Williams and Taillon, along with gutty efforts from Nova and Kuhl. Overall, the starting pitching did its job this week. It wasn’t spectacular, but it was good enough, and the starters deserved better from their relievers.

Overall grade: B+ 

Offense

The bats arrived at Miller Park in style. Pittsburgh exploded for eight runs in the series opener, with McCutchen leading the way. Cutch went 2-5 with a two-run homer and a RBI single, continuing his torrid month of June.

The next night was just as good. Pittsburgh put up a six-spot in the top of the first and never looked back. Once again, Cutch played like a hero, going 3-3, hitting another bomb and reaching base in all four of his plate appearances. Jose Osuna also flexed his muscles, as his fifth jack of the campaign scored three of those six first-inning runs.

More from Rum Bunter

• Pittsburgh Pirates News: Team Re-Signs Tyler Heineman to a Minor League Deal
• Pittsburgh Pirates Breakout Candidate: Robert Stephenson
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Current Look of the Bullpen
• Pittsburgh Pirates Continue to Spend Embarrassingly
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Potential AL West Fit For Bryan Reynolds

Wednesday was frustrating, to say the least for the Bucco bats. McCutchen reached base three times and Josh Bell smashed his 13th home run of the season, Pittsburgh did not make the most of its opportunities. The Pirates left 18 men on base. Although that wouldn’t have mattered if not for Hurdle’s tactics, it is still troubling to miss that many chances to push runners across the plate.

Thursday featured more of the same. Despite Gregory Polanco’s fifth dinger of the season, the Bucs managed just two runs in a losing effort.

Although Pittsburgh couldn’t get a lot going against Adam Wainwright Friday night, they got the job done when Wainwright gave way to the bullpen. Freese and Jaso came through late, propelling the Bucs to a much-needed late win.

Home runs from Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison powered the bats to a busy Saturday night. The Bucs scored seven runs, which was much more than Cole needed in this romp.

Despite the losing effort in the series finale, the offense did hit St. Louis ace Mike Leake well, scoring four runs in six innings off Leake.

Overall, the McCutchen-led offense is hitting the ball well, and as with the starting pitchers, deserved better than just 4-3 on this road trip.

Overall grade: A- 

The Bullpen

After a quiet series opener, the ‘pen was busy Tuesday night, pitching four innings. Although Edgar Santana was shaky, getting just one out in the sixth inning, the rest of the boys picked him up. Tony Watson, Daniel Hudson, Juan Nicasio and Felipe Rivero shut down the Brewers for the next 3.2 frames. Rivero contributed a routine seven pitches in his appearance. As for Santana, he continues to show that he has the stuff to be in the major leagues. It’s just a matter of execution, and I think with time, he will become a major player in this bullpen.

As mentioned above, Wednesday was not a fun night for the relievers. After Williams had departed, Watson came on to put out the fire. He did his job, getting the two men he had faced before Hurdle called on Hudson to face fellow right-hander Domingo Santana. That decision did not pan out. Santana hit a two-run bomb, and the Pirates lost the game.

After working just one inning in the series finale with the Brewers, the ‘pen came up big in the series opener with the Cards. Although Hudson’s struggles continued, as he allowed a home run to Paul DeJong to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead, and Nicasio put runners at the corners in the next frame, Rivero came to the rescue. He got out of the jam in the eighth, pitched a scoreless ninth, and the Bucs escaped with the W.

Thanks to Cole, Saturday night was an easy one for the ‘pen. The series finale would not be so simple. After five “meh” innings from Kuhl, the relievers were not able to make things any better. Nicasio allowed four runs (three earned), and the Bucs lost the game.

It is evident that the bullpen is an issue. Felipe Rivero aside, it’s hard to feel good about any of these relievers. The bullpen turned what could have been a 6-1 road trip into a less impressive 4-3. This is an issue that needs to be addressed, as the days of deep and dominant Bucco bullpens are not present at the moment.

Grade: D 

Andrew McCutchen es en fuego

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Andrew McCutchen has been playing pretty well since being moved down to the number six spot in the batting order a month ago. Knowing how well he;s been hitting in the six spot compared to where he was batting third for Clint Hurdle, it seems that Cutch is in the right place. The problem is that the men who have succeeded McCuctchen in the three hole have hardly had similar success.

Since the Pirates decided to move McCutchen down three spots, the three hole has been occupied mainly by John Jaso and Gregory Polanco. Jaso is little more than an above average bat off the bench, while Polanco has stunk since last June. McCutchen is better than both of those guys, which is why he should be getting more at-bats than them.

People who are in favor of McCutchen staying where he is will of course point to the fact that Cutch started to hit as soon as Clint Hurdle moved him. If that theory is legit, then couldn’t the same apply for Gregory Polanco, who’s success on offense is almost as vital to the Pirates as McCutchen’s?

I’m not big on lineup construction, and a hot Andrew McCutchen helps the Pirates regardless of where he is in the batting order. At the same time, it’s only sensible to have your best hitters hitting higher up in the lineup.

In conclusion

Overall, this was a successful road trip for the Pirates that, ultimately could have been more than it was. Yes, the Bucs went 4-3 against two division rivals. But they could have easily been 5-2 or even 6-1. The biggest problem plaguing this baseball team at the moment is relief pitching.

As mentioned above, the Pirates only 100% trustworthy reliever is Felipe Rivero. Sure, Juan Nicasio and Wade LeBlanc have been solid for the most part, while Edger Santana and Jahn Marinez have the potential to be beneficial in the ‘pen. At the end of the day, however, a team that is (somehow) in contention which the Pirates are, needs to have strong relief pitching. As good as Rivero is, he is one man, and he cannot do it alone no matter how badly Pittsburgh media and fans want him to.

Aside from that, the Pirates offense and starting pitching have both shown flashes and brilliance, and both aspects should improve once Jameson Taillon gets settled in and Starling Marte returns from suspension.

Next: A Look At The Pirate Offensive Leaders In June

For right now, The Pirates are a below average team that is in contention thanks to a below average division How long that lasts remains to be seen.

Overall Grade: B-