Pittsburgh Pirates road trip report card for 8/6-8/15

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – AUGUST 14: Josh Harrison #5 of the Pittsburgh Pirates reacts to striking out against the Minnesota Twins during the second inning of the interleague game on August 14, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Looking back at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 4-5 road trip

Over the past week, the Pittsburgh Pirates played seven games on the west coast and two more in the Twin Cities. The road trip had a promising start, with the Bucs winning four of their first six. It went south, however, starting with a 4-3 loss in Sunday’s series finale with the Giants, followed by two more losses to the Minnesota Twins. The Pirates continued their mediocre August and finished the trip a ‘meh’ 4-5.

There were some good things to take from this stretch. Offensively, Adam Frazier and David Freese are stepping up as useful part-time players and Josh Bell has been a stud since coming back from the DL. Pitching-wise, Jameson Taillon is further distancing himself as the anchor of the starting rotation, and Trevor Williams has been a monster since mid-July.

Overall, however, the Bucs aren’t playing good baseball, and here is a breakdown of how they performed in the key facets of the game with this edition of my “report card.”

PITTSBURGH, PA – AUGUST 24: Adam Frazier /

Offense – the good

There were a few positives to take from this road trip for the offense, highlighted by a trio of 10+ run performances.

Josh Bell has stepped up since returning from the DL last Wednesday, but the biggest story from an offensive standpoint this week is Adam Frazier. 2018 hasn’t been easy for the utility man, but he’s come on in the second half of the season and is hitting .438 in August. If Frazier can keep up this hot stretch, he can be a wildcard in the Pirates postseason push.

Offense – the bad

While Bell has been excellent since returning from injury, the same can’t be said for the Pirates outfield. Corey Dickerson and Gregory Polanco are hitting under .200 for August, and Starling Marte hasn’t been much better at .216. Since those three were the driving forces behind the team’s surge in July, and August hasn’t been as good, it’s safe to say that the Pirates’ success, or lack thereof, goes hand in hand with what their outfield is going.

It’s hard to say a stretch in which the Pirates scored 10 or more runs three times in nine games was bad, but in the end, this road trip was mediocre largely because of the offense not getting the job done when it needed to. So, overall, I think a fat C is in store.

C

DENVER, CO – AUGUST 7: Jameson Taillon #50 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning at Coors Field on August 7, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Starting pitching – the good

Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams each tossed gems with Taillon pitching a complete game in Denver and Williams throwing seven shutout frames in San Fran. The road trip also featured gritty performances by Chris Archer and Ivan Nova and hard-luck outings from Archer and Joe Musgrove. Over the past seven games, there was only one starting pitching performance that can be classified as bad, and I think we all know what that was.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – AUGUST 10: Clay Holmes #68 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park on August 10, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images) /

Starting pitching – the bad

Although the decision to start Clay Holmes Friday night has been talked about more than necessary, it was a head scratcher, and thus became the only glaring negative to take from a starting pitching standpoint this road trip.

Overall, the Pirates starting pitching has stepped up, and is certainly not to blame for the teams “meh” August thus far.

B+

BALTIMORE, MD – JULY 13: Keone Kela #50 of the Texas Rangers celebrates with Robinson Chirinos #61 after a 5-4 victory against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 13, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /

Bullpen – the good

The bullpen stepped up big time in last Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Colorado. Picking up Archer after he could only go five innings which was partly due to food poisoning. Aside from that, the ‘pen collectively didn’t have to preserve a tight lead late, which they obviously had no control over.

Individually, Felipe Vazquez remains dominant, Keone Kela has been solid albeit with limited exposure, and aside from Wednesday’s blip in Minnesota, Edgar Santana has been stellar.

Bullpen – the bad

Much like the starting pitching, Friday night brought out the worst in the bullpen, and, again, it all could have been avoided. To have Casey Saddler on the mound for four innings should never happen, and the Bucs got burned as a result.

The ‘pen struggled in the two games against Minnesota, allowing two big insurance runs Tuesday night and the go-ahead run Wednesday afternoon. Overall, there isn’t a lot negative to say about the bullpen. It’s a talented unit, and this week didn’t change that.

B+

Overall

The west coast portion of this road trip was pretty good for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although, it could have and probably should have been better. Going 4-3 in the west is respectable, and a lot of good came out of those seven games.

Minnesota is where this road trip went south.

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With Taillon and Archer on the mound, there was no reason for the Pirates not to sweep the Twins and finish the stretch at 6-3. Instead, they got swept by the lowly Twins and ended the road trip at 4-5, which is fitting for how this month is going.

The Pirates have been mediocre, and there’s no other way to put it. It seems that as every week passes by the buzz around that the trades for Archer and Kela created decreases, and the only way to get that excitement back is to win.

With two first-place teams in Chicago and Atlanta coming to town, things aren’t going to get easier, and the homestand is already off to a poor start following a 1-0 loss to the Cubs Thursday night. Not going at least 4-3, which now requires a 4-2 stretch, against those teams could make the failure to capitalize on this road trip more frustrating.

The Pirates had a chance to move up in the National League Wild Card race this past week and didn’t do it. It’s fitting, however, that the Bucs are playing like an average baseball team, because they are one.

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