Pittsburgh Pirates homestand report card for week of 5/25-5/30

PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 30: Javier Baez #9 of the Chicago Cubs has words with Joe Musgrove #59 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third inning at PNC Park on May 30, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 30: Javier Baez #9 of the Chicago Cubs has words with Joe Musgrove #59 of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third inning at PNC Park on May 30, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
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PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 30: Felipe Vazquez #73 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with Francisco Cervelli #29 after defeating the Chicago Cubs 2-1 at PNC Park on May 30, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 30: Felipe Vazquez #73 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with Francisco Cervelli #29 after defeating the Chicago Cubs 2-1 at PNC Park on May 30, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Overall

This week’s home stand and the six games that preceded it an indicator of what the rest of the season is going to be like? Who knows. One thing that’s for certain is that the Pirates aren’t playing good baseball.

Now there are 107 games left, so it’s still difficult to make much out of anything. It;s obvious that the Pirates need to step it up, however. Whether that be from their big guns like Bell and Polanco, or some of their more unheralded players like Musgrove and Colin Moran, things need to change. Hopefully, the series finale against Chicago will serve as a starting point.

The road won’t get any easier with four games at Busch Stadium coming up. Once again, the Bucs have a chance to show that they might be different from the disappointments of the 2016 and 17 teams. Hopefully, unlike this past homestand, they don’t let an opportunity slip through the cracks.

Schedule