Pittsburgh Pirates home stand report card for June 27-July 2

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ATLANTA, GA – MAY 22: Pitcher Gerrit Cole, (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /

Analysis: Another home stand has come and gone. Boy was this a week that Pittsburgh Pirates fans would like to forget.

The stretch began Tuesday night with the first of three games with the Tampa Bay Rays. Things did not get off to a good start. After scoring two runs to tie the game in the ninth inning, the Bucs were not able to close the deal, as a David Freese error led to two Tampa runs scoring in the tenth and a 4-2 loss. Pittsburgh bounced back the next night with a relatively easy 6-2 win. Rookies Josh Bell, Jose Osuna and Elias Diaz produced all six of the runs, with Bell hitting his 15th homer of the season.

In Thursday’s rubber match, the Pirates were solid all the way around. Jameson Taillon pitched 6.1 scoreless innings, John Jaso and Gregory Polanco went deep and the bullpen was stellar for the second night in a row as the Bucs cruised to a 4-0 win. As solid as the Pirates were Thursday night, they were equally atrocious in the series opener against the Giants. The 12-5 scoreline says a lot, but the Bucs were even worse than that score shows.

The offense had several chances to get to Johnny Cueto but could only manage three runs. Gerrit Cole was horrendous, as was Clint Hurdle’s managing. Friday was one to forget. Just when fans thought things couldn’t get worse, the Pirates managed to outdo themselves in the penultimate game of the home stand. The Bucs walked ten times, but only managed one run, against a less than stellar pitcher in Matt Moore, and lost the game 2-1 in 11 frames, wasting a career afternoon from Chad Kuhl.

Sunday was also pitiful. A combination of Clint Hurdle’s unwillingness to use Felipe Rivero in a high leverage spot, along with a horrible lineup selection, undid six solid innings from Williams, and the Bucs fell, 5-3. Overall, this Pirates homestand started as an opportunity to gain ground in the weak National League Central Division and ended as one big disappointment. Here is a breakdown of how PBC performed in the major areas of the game this week using a “report card” style format. Let’s get into it.

PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 02: Trevor Williams /

Pitching

Trevor William’s solid run of form continued Tuesday night with his best start as a Pirate. Williams pitched seven innings of two-run ball and again showed that he belongs in the starting rotation. He punched out 7 hitters over his 7 innings of work. Unfortunately, he was never in line for the win, as the Bucs were held scoreless until the ninth.

Wednesday, Ivan Nova showed why he is the Pirates ace. Although his stuff was as bad as it’s been all season, Nova still battled through five innings, allowing just two runs. He was not sharp but gave his team a chance to win the game, which they did. Nova’s past two outings have not been stellar. That said, he is a gamer, and he will be just fine. In the series finale, Jameson Taillon proved that he hasn’t lost a step. In 6.1 innings of work, Taillon allowed 0 runs, outpitching a tough foe in Chris Archer. JT has had to deal with much bigger obstacles than big league hitters over the past two months, and it’s wonderful to see him back doing what he does best.

As mentioned above, Gerrit Cole did not have it Friday, allowing seven earned runs in 5.1 innings of work. Cole continues to be inconsistent, and the Bucs need him to be much better than that to make a run at a division championship. Chad Kuhl had arguably the best outing of his young big-league career Saturday evening. Kuhl allowed just one run and two hits thru his six innings of work and certainly deserved better from his teammates. I’m still not sold on Kuhl, but his most recent outing is a good sign.

Sunday was a similar story. Although the offense wasn’t quite as terrible as it was in the first two games of the series, it still wasn’t good enough to do it’s starting pitcher justice. Williams was excellent for six innings, pitching into the seventh, where he faltered. The bullpen could not pick him up, and the Bucs suffered another pathetic L. So to recap, the Pirates got two fantastic outings from Williams and one apiece from Taillon and Kuhl. Nova did enough to win in his outing, while Cole bombed his. Overall, the starting rotation is the least of the Pirates concerns right now, and if not for Cole, they would have pulled out an A for this home stand. Oh so close.

Overall Grade: B

PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 27: Andrew McCutchen /

Offense

The Pirates offense stunk in the series opener with Tampa. Rays starter Alex Cobb took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and shut out the Bucs through eight. Although the offense fought back to tie the game at two in the ninth inning. Ultimately, that is why Pittsburgh ended up losing the game.

Rays starter Blake Snell was all over the place Wednesday night. He walked five batters in five innings of work, and the Bucs turned that into six runs, which was more than they would need. Thanks to Taillon, the offense didn’t have to do a whole lot to win Thursday’s contest. They did more than enough, as McCutchen and Josh Harrison combined to reach base eight times. The Pirates scored four runs, which is three more than they would need, and that’s what matters.

Friday was a night of missed opportunities for the Bucco bats. The Bucs did not take advantage of an awful Johnny Cueto. We’ve seen the offense look pretty good at times, but as with Gerrit Cole’s success, it has not been frequent enough. I’ve already said all that needs to be said about Saturday’s game from an offensive standpoint above.

Sunday’s performance was little better. Although the Pirates managed three times as many runs as they did the previous evening, thanks to a two-run jack by Jordy Mercer and a solo-shot from John Jaso, it was still not enough. Clint Hurdle inexplicitly sat both Andrew McCutchen and Josh Harrison, so the meh output did not come as a huge shock. Overall, the Pirates offense underachieved on this home stand. Granted, they had some stiff competition, as Alex Cobb and Chris Archer are two quality starting pitchers. Cueto, Moore and Smaradzija, however, are not exactly Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz, and all three kept the Bucs in check for the most part. Those performances, my friends, do not cut it.

Overall Grade: D

PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 17: Clint Hurdle /

Bullpen

Felipe Rivero showed that he is human in the series opener Tuesday night. The outstanding reliever struggled with command and allowed two runs. One of those runs was unearned due to Freese’s miscue. The bullpen did its job in Wednesday’s game. After Nova had departed, Daniel Hudson, Tony Watson, Juan Nicasio and Rivero shut out the Rays over the next four innings, ensuring that there would not be a comeback. Thursday, the ‘pen did the unthinkable and shut down the opposition for the second night in a row. Watson, Nicasio and Edgar Santana shut out the Rays over 3.2 innings, again securing a four-run W.

After Cole had stunk up the joint for 5.1 innings Friday night, the Bucco bullpen stunk it up for the next 3.2. The ‘pen allowed six more runs, killing any chance for a comeback, and completing a pathetic all around effort. The bullpen did its job, for the most part, Saturday, keeping the Giants off the scoreboard for four innings after Kuhl had departed. All that work was undone, however, when a wild pitch from Daniel Hudson allowed the eventual winning run to score in the eleventh.

The series ended in fitting fashion. After Trevor Williams had departed, Tony Watson came on. Watson did not do his job, allowing the go-ahead run to cross the plate, and taking the big fat L. The Bucco bullpen has been frustrating for quite some time now. This feeling was validated in this past series with the Giants was no exception. Overall, the Pirates bullpen performed well for two and a half games in this six game home stand. As anybody who follows this team should know, relief pitching has not been a strong point. Sadly, these past six games have not brought much hope for brighter days ahead.

Overall Grade: C-

PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 01: Andrew McCutchen /

Overall, the Pirates are in a pretty crappy spot at the moment. The effort that this team showed in its most recent series against the Giants was possibly the worst we’ve seen this season. The Pirates were up against one of baseball’s worst teams in their house and got swept. Not only did they get swept on the scoreboard, but the Pirates lost all three games in terribly frustrating fashion.

Next: Pittsburgh Pirates Sign Juan Pie

The Pittsburgh Pirates will not win the NL Central. I’d love more than anything to be wrong on this one, but it won’t happen. I get how awful the central is, but even knowing that, it’s still hard to imagine that the team that ends up sucking the least in this division wins less than 85 or so ballgames. Do the Pirates look like an 85+ win team to you? If the answer is yes, you haven’t been paying attention. The good news is, the Bucs are facing a team even worse than the Giants next. The Pittsburgh Pirates will face the Philadelphia Phillies for a four-game series. But after what transpired over the weekend, it’s hard to like the Pirates chances against any team that they face. Rocky Balboa summed up the 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates season 41 years beforehand with this quote; That’s right it stinks!

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