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

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