3 Takeaways From Pittsburgh Pirates Being Swept In LA

It was a rough weekend for Clint Hurdle

For a long time I have been a big supporter of manager Clint Hurdle. He has done some incredible things in Pittsburgh. When he arrived, the Pirates had suffered through 18 consecutive losing seasons. His first two seasons in Pittsburgh ran that number to 20, but he then helped to turn things around.

Since 2013, the Pirates have had four winning seasons while going to the postseason three times. This may not seem like much, but considering they had not had a winning season since 1992, what Hurdle has accomplished here is a big deal.

That said, Hurdle has not started the season strong. It was an especially poor weekend for the Pirate skipper.

On Saturday night, he left Joe Musgrove in to face left-handed slugger Cody Bellinger in a 1-1 game with runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the 7th inning. He made this decision despite lefty Francisco Liriano being ready in the bullpen, and Bellinger’s career OPS vs LHP being more than 200 points lower than his career OPS vs RHP.

On Sunday, with the game tied at 5, the Dodgers having runners on second and third with no one out, and three consecutive lefty hitters due up, Hurdle, again, left a warmed up and ready to go Liriano in the bullpen. Once again, it burnt the Bucs as Richard Rodriguez allowed a go ahead single to Max Muncy with one out. Hurdle then made the mistake of not intentionally walking Bellinger despite a base being open. Bellinger then proceeded to single in what would prove to be the winning run in a 7-6 Dodger victory.

Worst of all, Felipe Vazquez sat in the bullpen unused in both losses. Despite the team being in need of getting lefty hitters out, and needing a strikeout to boot on Sunday, Hurdle never once had arguably the best lefty reliever in all of baseball even start to warm up. He managed for the save instead of the win, and took two losses as a result.

Injuries have been a major factor early on this season. That said, this team has lost at least six games already this season due to poor in game managerial decisions and/or poor defense. Both of these issues fall at the feet of Hurdle and his staff.

When Hurdle arrived to manage the Pirates he said he wanted to reconnect the city of Pittsburgh with their baseball team. He has most certainly done this. The passion and size of the Pirate fan base are both greater than they were when Hurdle arrived seven years ago.

All of that said, he has also helped to raise expectations on the North Shore. As a result, fans are growing restless with the Pirate postseason berth that currently sits at three consecutive seasons. Due to this, Hurdle is being viewed under a microscope and fans want and expect more from he and his team.

Moving forward, Hurdle must be better.