3 Takeaways From Pittsburgh Pirates First Home Series Of 2019

The infield defense would make the Bad News Bears proud

When previewing the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the start of the regular season, I mentioned that the middle infield is the team’s weakest spot. You can read about that here. Four games into the season, unfortunately, the middle infield has lived up to the low expectations.

In Monday’s home opener, however, the poor defense was not just a problem for the middle infield. Neither Colin Moran nor Josh Bell are known as good, or even average, defenders. This was on display in the team’s 6-5 loss.

While Moran had a huge day at the plate in the loss, he committed a key error in the top of the 7th inning. His error cost the team a double play and led to the Cardinals scoring an unearned run that cut the Pirate lead to 4-3. While it did not cost the team, a lack of communication between Bell and catcher Francisco Cervelli led to a ball that should have been caught for an out dropping in foul territory.

Two other key plays in Monday’s loss came via poor middle infield defense. St. Louis slugger Paul Goldschmidt reached on a Gonzalez error to start the top of the 9th inning. Felipe Vazquez then induced a double play ball off the bat of Paul DeJong, but Gonzalez and Frazier failed to turn two and only retired Goldschmidt. This led to Jose Martinez hitting a game-tying pinch hit double in an at bat that should have happened with the bases empty.

The overall play of the middle infield and the defense of the corner infielders were a major concern for the Pirates entering the season. Two series into the season, these preseason concerns are becoming a problem that may prove to hold the team back throughout the season.