Pittsburgh Pirates home stand report card for 8/17-8/24

This past week’s home stand was not a good one for the Pittsburgh Pirates

Another home stand is in the books. This week, the Pirates hosted the St. Louis Cardinals for four games and the white hot LA Dodgers for four more, going 3-5 in that stretch.

The home stand started last Thursday. The frustration of that night would be a sign of things to come for the rest of the stretch. After taking a 5-1 lead into the fourth inning, Pirates starter Jameson Taillon fell apart. Jamo allowed three runs over the next two frames to cut the lead to 5-4. After a lengthy rain delay, the Pirates bullpen lost it, giving up seven more tallies. A late mini-rally was not enough, and the Bucs fell, 11-7.

The next night saw more excitement, but the same result. Trailing 11-3 in the bottom of the eighth, the Pirates scored seven times over their final two at bats and were one hit away from completing a historic comeback. It was not to be, however, as Ellias Diaz struck out with the bases loaded to end the game, and the Bucs fell 11-10.

Pittsburgh snapped its six-game losing streak in the penultimate game of the series. Home runs by Adam Frazier, Starling Marte and Jose Osuna propelled another encouraging performance from the offense. Although the bullpen again made things interesting, the Pirates held on for a refreshing 6-4 win.

Saturday’s positive vibes carried over into Williamsport. The Bucs won the first ever Little League Classic, 6-3, capping off a unique event by salvaging a series split.

Monday’s series opener looked promising. Six stellar innings from Gerrit Cole, along with home runs by Osuna, Sean Rodriguez, and Josh Harrison had the Pirates in the driver’s seat, as they took a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning. The wheels fell off from there. Manager Clint Hurdle stuck with Cole too long, and he allowed five runs in the seventh to give LA the lead. The Bucs pushed the contest to extras, but a 12th inning jack by Yasiel Puig proved to be the difference in a heart breaking 6-5 loss.

As became a pattern on this home stand, the Pirates offense showed up Tuesday night, while the pitching did not. Five runs were not enough, as another poor start from Taillon and another poor performance from the bullpen were too much for the Bucs to handle, and they fell, 8-5.

If you’re a baseball fan and are unaware of the events of Wednesday’s game, you’ve been living under a rock.

As expected, the series finale was anti-climatic. Chad Kuhl was off his game, while Angel Sanchez entered the big leagues with a bang. In his first inning as a major leaguer, Sanchez allowed back to back jacks. Welcome to the show, Mr. Sanchez.

As usual, there were a few good things and plenty of bad things that took place this past week. Here is a breakdown of how the Pirates performed in the key areas of the game, using a “report card” format.

Starting Pitching

The past month has not been kind to Jameson Taillon, and this week was no exception. In two starts, Taillon allowed nine earned runs over ten innings of work for a horrendous 8.10 earned run average. Some of Taillon’s more advanced numbers suggest that he has been unlucky, but one can’t deny that he has not been the same pitcher ever since that nine-run clunker in San Francisco. Jamo has a bright future, but this past month has been one to forget.

Trevor Williams followed up his worst start of the season with perhaps his best. After getting shelled by St. Louis last Friday night, Williams bounced back in a big way the following Wednesday. Having to go against Rich Hill’s historically dominant outing, Williams held his own, tossing eight innings of shutout ball. Williams’ ERA for this home stand still came out pretty crappy at 6.55, but Wednesday’s performance certainly is encouraging as this young pitcher continues to grow.

Ivan Nova was solid for the second straight outing. Pitching on a national stage, Nova did well, as a two-run blast from Jedd Gyorko was the only major blemish in his 5.2 innings of work. Nova allowed another run in the sixth inning, but the bullpen picked him up, and the Bucs held on.

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Gerrit Cole got a raw deal Monday night. In his lone start of the home stand, he shut out baseball’s best team for six innings. After Cole had allowed a run in the seventh and was clearly out of gas at over 100 pitches, Clint Hurdle inexplicably stuck with him, and it cost the Pirates. Cole allowed a grand slam to Curtis Granderson, giving the Dodgers a 5-3 lead, and screwing up what should have been a solid stat line. Cole has not lived up to expectations this season and deserves criticism for that. But what happened Monday night was not on Hurdle, not Cole.

Like Williams, Chad Kuhl had an up-and-down week. Overcoming a rain delay Saturday evening, Kuhl pitched well, allowing one run over five innings of work. Thursday afternoon was a different story. Although Kuhl’s stat line doesn’t look horrible- he only allowed two runs, he was not efficient. Kuhl only lasted four innings, walking five while striking out just two, and did not have his best stuff.

Over his short career, Kuhl has shown flashes of being a good starting pitcher. But someone of his attributes, in my opinion, would fit perfectly as a late-inning reliever. Kuhl has electric stuff but has problems with consistently putting it together, similar to what Juan Nicasio had to deal with as a starting pitcher in 2016. Nicasio has found a home in the bullpen as the Pirates set-up man. While Kuhl can be a decent starting pitcher, he can be a dominant reliever, and if the Pirates are smart, that is how they will use him in 2018 and, hopefully, beyond.

Overall, the Pirates got four shaky outings and four good ones. The rotation had an inconsistent week. They weren’t terrible, but aside from Trevor Williams, they didn’t give fans anything to get excited about, either. Kind of like the 2017 season, eh?

Grade: C

Offense

The Pirates offense has been frustrating all season long. What was thought to be a strong point of the club has turned out to be frustrating and at times non-existent. This week, however, the bats showed up and did what they could to win ballgames.

It started Thursday night against the Cardinals. In what would be a preview of how the majority of the home stand would go, the Pirates scored seven runs and lost the game. The next night, the Pirates scored ten runs and lost the game. The offense was potent again in the final two games of the series, scoring six times each. The pitching held up its end of the bargain, and the Bucs salvaged a series split.

When the Dodgers came to town, the Pirates continued to score, putting up a combined ten runs in the first two games of the set. Once again, the Bucs did not execute in other aspects and dropped both games. Ironically, the Pirates managed to win Wednesday’s contest despite going nine innings without a hit. Thank you, Jay-Hay

Overall, the bats are finally starting to show some life. The offense averaged 5.25 runs per games over this home stand, while Josh Harrison and Starling Marte are on fire, and Josh Bell and Jose Osuna are continuing to show promise. The team might be plummeting, but the offense could be on the rise.

Grade: A 

Bullpen

Joaquin Benoit pitched the seventh inning of a one-run game in last Thursday’s opener with St. Louis. Shockingly, this did not go well. Benoit allowed three earned runs, Wade LeBlanc allowed four more in the ninth, and the Pirates lost. Both Benoit and LeBlanc have been horrendous recently, and both are now on the disabled list. As much as I hate to see players on the shelf, hopefully, younger guys like Steven Brault can step up in their absence.

Saturday night, Juan Nicasio and Felipe Rivero both allowed home runs to make a 6-1 game a 6-4 game. Fortunately, Rivero closed the door without any further damage. In an unusual turn of events, the bullpen did a good job Sunday night. Four relievers combined to shut out the Red Birds over 4.1 innings, making for a perfect ending to what looked like a perfect day in Williamsport.

After Benoit shocked the world by pitching not one, but two shutout innings Monday, one bad pitch from rookie Dovydas Neverauskas to veteran Yasiel Puig gave the Dodgers what proved to be the winning run. Neverauskas has shown promise in his first season, and it will be interesting to see if he will make the most of his chances to shine.

Johnny Barbato and Edgar Santana scuffled the next night, combining to allow three runs. Like Neverauskus, Barbato and Santana are two young guys that can benefit from Benoit and LeBlanc being on the shelf. Even if these youngsters struggle, at least we know they have a chance get better. It is unlikely, if not impossible, that LeBlanc and Benoit will ever be much different than what they are now. Santana, Barbato, and Neverauskus all can improve.

Thanks to Trevor Williams, the bullpen only pitched two innings Wednesday night. Nicasio and Rivero did their thing, allowing Josh Harrison to do his.

As has become the status quo, the relievers allowed plenty of runs this week. Unlike most weeks, however, we got to see young players in action. We’ve seen far too much of the Daniel Hudson’s of the world in 2017. It’s time we see more of the Edger Santana’s.

Grade: C-