Pittsburgh Pirates Homestand Report Card 7/6

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PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 15: Josh Bell #55 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates after hitting a two RBI double in the tenth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on July 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

The Pittsburgh Pirates are on fire. The Bucs ended the first half of the 2018 season with a 10-game home stand against three playoff contenders and went 7-3, highlighted by a five-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers.

After a “meh” series with the Philadelphia Phillies to start this stretch, in which the Pittsburgh Pirates lost two of three, Pittsburgh won six of its last seven games to roll into the All-Star break playing its best baseball of the season.

Not everything was perfect.

The homestand started with an embarrassing 17-5 loss to Philadelphia, and also featured the continued disappearance of Austin Meadows, which has caused a stir among fans and media. For the most part, however, the Bucs are clicking, and because of that, people shouldn’t be complaining about much.

Here’s a breakdown of how the Pirates starting pitching, relief pitching, and offense performed over this past homestand. Let’s get into it.

PITTSBURGH, PA – JUNE 24: Clay Holmes #68 of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the seventh inning during the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at PNC Park on June 24, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Pitching – the good

After the beatdown that started this stretch, the Pirates much-criticized starting rotation stepped up for the rest of the homestand.

Jameson Taillon is finally starting to pitch like the No. 1 that the Bucs need him to be, dominating in both of his outings this homestand Nick Kingham continues to show promise, tossing a gem in Sunday’s finale against the Phillies. Since coming back from injury, Ivan Nova has pitched well, tossing a gem Monday night against the Nationals and following that up with a solid outing against the Brewers in the first end of Saturday’s double header.

This is still a rotation that has a lot of holes, and we don’t know if guys like Kingham, Trevor Williams or Clay Holmes will become consistently good. Over the past two weeks, however, there’s been little to complain about with the starting rotation.

Pitching – the bad

PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 17: Trevor Williams /

Williams was the starting pitcher of that 17-3 game. Joe Musgrove had a rough fifth inning against the Nationals, and was left in a batter too long against the Brewers Sunday, a decision that should have cost the Pirates the game. Aside from that, the rotation did its job. Hopefully, this group can continue to impress going forward.

B

PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 14: Starling Marte #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with Gregory Polanco #25 after hitting a solo home run in the eighth inning during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 14, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Offense – the good

Starling Marte has been the furthest thing from a liability recently, and fellow outfielder Gregory Polanc o has been raking as well. Josh Bell is starting to come around at the dish, ending a good week with an epic walk off hit Sunday afternoon.

Even role player Jordan Luplow made a big splash with a two home run game in the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader. Overall, the Pirates averaged nearly five runs per in this ten game stretch. As I’ve been saying all year, for the Bucs to make the most out of their talent, the bats have to lead the way. Right now, they are doing their part.

Offense – the bad

While the success of the outfield has made Meadows’ continuous isolation easier to understand, the way the Pirates have handled the rookie, who is now in Triple-A for the time being, is still frustrating. While Luplow has shown flashes of brilliance, he isn’t better than Meadows. This kid needs at-bats, and Clint Hurdle isn’t giving them to him.

While the organization deserves criticism for how they’ve handled their 2013 first-round draft choice, It’s unfortunate that fans appear to be more upset about Meadows than they are happy about the team winning, but cynicism is nothing new here.

Overall, the offense is doing its part to help the Pirates win, and this lineup has the talent to keep it rolling.

A-

PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 12: Felipe Vazquez #73 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates with Elias Diaz #32 after defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 at PNC Park on July 12, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /

Bullpen – the good

Felipe Vasquez continues to dominate. After a rough patch in May, the Pirates closer hasn’t allowed a run in over a month and has reestablished himself as the anchor of the ‘pen.

Aside from Vasquez, Kyle Crick and Edgar Santana remain solid, as they’ve been all season. Like the starting rotation, the Pirates relief pitching has its question marks. But right now, the relievers are picking up right where the starters are leaving off, and for once, that’s a good thing.

PITTSBURGH, PA – APRIL 25: Michael Feliz #45 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers during game two of a doubleheader at PNC Park on April 25, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

Bullpen – the bad

Michael Feliz still hasn’t figured it out. He’s allowed runs in two of his three appearances since being activated off the DL, and his 1.57 WHIP for the season speaks for itself. More so than other positions, relief pitchers are capable of getting hot at any moment, however, and a stretch of dominance by Feliz would be huge to this young and inconsistent group.

The ‘pen allowed 12 of the 17 runs in that woeful loss to the Phillies, and it would be unfair to single out one person for that train wreck. The next days 3-2 loss was also disappointing, as Santana couldn’t come through after Taillon’s curious removal with a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning.

Aside from the Philly series, however, much like the rest of the team, the bullpen was good and deserves a pat on the back for the time being.

B-

PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 15: Starling Marte #6 of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Gregory Polanco #25 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrate with fans after a walk off win in the tenth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on July 15, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

Conclusion

There isn’t a lot to say about the Pirates right now except for that they’re playing really well. Of course, people in this city will always take any positivity the wrong way, not understanding that acknowledging a quality run of baseball isn’t the same as proclaiming the Pirates to be World Series contenders. Any reasonable person should be pleased with what’s transpired over the past two weeks.

One good stretch isn’t enough to put the Pirates into playoff contention. They’re still 5.5 games out of a wildcard spot, with six teams to jump over, so the chances of a magical run remain slim. With the last place Reds first on the horizon after the break, Pittsburgh has another chance to creep further in the standings and finally move back above .500.

Maybe the Pirates will continue to ride this wave, and maybe they won’t. But when these guys are playing well, it wouldn’t kill fans to enjoy it for a few minutes. Unfortunately, most people won’t take that advice.

Overall grade: A

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Pittsburgh Pirates Homestand Report Card 7/6 – 7/15