With the latest Pittsburgh Pirates homestand now in the rear view mirror, it’s time to dish out some grades for the team
The most recent Pittsburgh Pirates homestand started with a beat down, ended with a collapse and featured some exciting baseball in between. So, in short, it had a little bit of everything!
Pittsburgh started a six-game stretch against the AL West Friday night and lost to Josh “Mike Piazza” Phegley and the A’s, 14-1. The Bucs gutted out a 6-4 win Saturday night and ended the series Sunday with a three-run walk-off homer from Starling Marte, capping a four-run 13th inning.
After an off-day Monday, the Texas Rangers came to PNC Park. Behind a gutsy bullpen and a Gregory Polanco homer, the Pirates earned a gritty 5-4 victory on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh should have earned a sweep of the quick two-game series on Wednesday afternoon, but thanks to their manager and Michael Feliz, fans watched a 6-2 lead quickly, and painfully, turn into a 9-6 loss in just two innings.
Here is a breakdown of how the Pirates performed this week in the game’s key areas. This is my first “report card” article of 2019. Here it goes.