3 Takeaways From The Pittsburgh Pirates Being Swept By The Diamondbacks

It was an ugly, ugly series for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Arizona Diamondbacks this week. Mercifully, it is over.

There was a point in time when the San Diego Padres seemingly never lost at PNC Park. Now, those sentiments are true about another National League West team – the Arizona Diamondbacks.

This week, the Diamondbacks came into PNC Park and swept a four-game series against the Pirates. With this sweep, the Diamondbacks have now won 10 games in a row at PNC Park. Following this series, the Pirates are now just one game over .500 this season at 12-11.

Prior to getting swept by the Diamondbacks the Pirates were among the hottest teams in baseball. The Bucs had won three series in a row, and were 6-2 overall in those series. However, the team’s hot streak has now stopped in its tracks.

It was an ugly series for the Pirates. The team did not pitch well, played poor defense, and the offense was non-existent after the 5th inning of game one on Monday night.

Next up for the Bucs is a trip to the West Coast for a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. But before the Pirates kick off their series against the Dodgers, let’s take a look at a trio of takeaways from being swept by Arizona.

Hitting with runners in scoring position was a major issue

The Pittsburgh Pirates offense is not built around power or the long ball. Due to this, the team must manufacture runs and take advantage of the scoring opportunities they generate. Against Arizona, they did not do this.

On Monday night, the team went 4-for-13 with RISP. This prevented them from busting the game wide open and kept it close, allowing Arizona to rally past the Bucs and eventually blow them out. The Bucs went 1-for-10 with RISP in game two, this was the biggest factor in their 2-1 loss on Tuesday night. They were then 0-for-6 in game three and 0-for-3 in game four on Thursday afternoon.

Going 5-for-32 with RISP simply is not going to cut it. Especially against an offense as potent as Arizona’s. The Bucs drew just three walks with RISP, one of which was intentional, and collected just two extra base hits in these situations. All of them came in game one.

Hitting with RISP has been a problem throughout the season for the Pirates. It was a big reason the team got swept in their two-game series against the Cardinals earlier this month, and it was a major role in getting swept this week by Arizona as well. Hopefully, the bats will pick up with RISP this weekend in LA.

Steven Brault should not be on the 25-man roster

Right fielder Gregory Polanco was activated off the injured list on Monday. To make room for him on the roster, the Pirates optioned lefty reliever Steven Brault back to the Triple-A level. Well, Brault’s trip to the minors never even happened.

Before he even left for Indianapolis, Nick Burdi got hurt in Monday night’s loss. After Burdi was placed on the IL, Brault was added back to the 25-man roster.

On Wednesday night, Brault then made his first appearance in a game since April 8th. As one would expect, it did not go well for Brault. In his 2 innings of work Brault allowed a three-run home run to Ketel Marte. He now owns a 10.80 ERA and a 6.86 FIP in 6 2/3 innings pitched this season.

The Pirates have a better long relief option in Nick Kingham, Brault does not throw strikes consistently enough to be a lefty specialist, and right-handed hitters crush him. Right now, Brault serves no purpose on this roster. It is clear that Clint Hurdle does not trust Brault much as he went three weeks without using him.

Brault should not be on the 25-man roster. Clay Holmes, Dovydas Neverauskas, Geoff Hartlieb, and Michael Feliz are all options at Triple-A that would be better suited for the Pirate bullpen then Brault. It is time for the Brault Era in Pittsburgh to end.