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Pittsburgh Pirates: Struggling Pitchers Rebound & Other Takeaways From Series Split vs Reds
What can we takeaways from the Pittsburgh Pirates series split against the Cincinnati Reds?
Coming off an abysmal 1-5 homestand, the Pittsburgh Pirates headed to Cincinnati for a four-game series against the Reds this week. The series started with a doubleheader, which the two teams split, on Monday and finished off with a game that was delayed over two hours by rain on Wednesday afternoon.
When the dust settled, the Pirates and Reds split their four-game set in the Queen City. With the series split, the Pirates are now 8-7-3 in their 18 series played this season. Against the Reds, they are 1-0-2 in three series played, and own an overall record of 7-3. For the season, their record remains .500 at 27-27.
This series saw a little bit of everything. All four games were blowouts, there was some controversy stirred up by the Reds, and the 45+ years worth of bad blood between these two teams continues to rage on.
Next up for the Pirates is a four-game series at PNC Park against another NL Central foe – the Milwaukee Brewers. But before we turn out attention to the Brew Crew, let’s take a look back at three key takeaways from the team’s series split against the Reds.
A pair of struggling pitchers rebounded
Entering the series, the Pittsburgh Pirates pitching staff was in a bad way. In the first three games of the series, not much changed. Nick Kingham failed to get out of the 5th inning in game one, and, despite the team’s victory, four relievers were used. In games two and three, their starters struggled and the bullpen was taxed.
In Wednesday afternoon’s finale, the much maligned Steven Brault took the mound. To the surprise of many, the lefty turned in one of the best outings of his MLB career.
Brault pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed just three hits, issued two walks (one of which was intentional). and he struck out five. Throughout the start Brault looked comfortable and had the best command of the strike zone that he has all season.
This strong start was much needed for both Brault and the Pirates. If Brault can give the team anything close to this once every five days, it will help to keep this team afloat until Trevor Williams and/or Jameson Taillon return.
In addition to Brault, reliever Richard Rodriguez had a big bounce back series.
Rodriguez was promoted as the team’s 26th man for Monday’s doubleheader. Following Monday’s action, he was kept around as Mitch Keller was optioned back to Triple-A.
In the series Rodriguez pitched in three games and posted 1 2/3 scoreless innings of work. He retired all six batters he faced and struck out three of them. This was much more like the Rodriguez of 2018 that was a key member of the Pirate pen, and not the Rodriguez of 2019 that was optioned to the minors.
Best of all, Rodriguez stranded all three runners he inherited in the series. Last season, no NL reliever was better at stranding inherited runners than Rodriguez was. A big reason the Pirate bullpen has struggled this season is because they have missed what Rodriguez brought to the pen in 2018. Hopefully, this series was a sign of Rodriguez getting back on track.
Josh Bell is the front runner for NL MVP
What else can you say about Josh Bell? Other than Cody Bellinger and maybe Christian Yelich, no one else can make a strong case to be the National League’s MVP through the first two months of the season than Bell.
Against the Reds this week Bell went 7-for-18 with two walks, two home runs, and two doubles. He continued to play a strong defensive first base and drove in four runs.
On the season, Bell is now slashing .345/.409/.718 with a .374 ISO, .455 wOBA, and a wRC+ of 189. Bell’s 39 extra base hits lead the NL, and, as of this writing, his 51 RBIs are tied with Bellinger for the lead league.
Bell’s wRC+, batting average, wOBA, and slugging percentage all rank second in the NL. His OBP is third best in the senior circuit, as is his ISO. Yeah, he good.
At this point in the season a strong, strong argument can be made for Bell as the NL’s MVP. While Bellinger is having the better overall season, Bell means more to his team than Bellinger does. Without Bellinger, the Dodgers are still in first place in the NL West. Without Bell, the Pirates are multiple games under .500 and not within 3.5 games of the NL Central lead and 2.5 games of a Wild Card spot.
Through the first two months of the season, Bell is the NL MVP.
This team needs to keep battling
It feels like this has been said a million times this season, but, reinforcements are coming.
Corey Dickerson started a rehab stint over the weekend and will be back sooner rather than later. The same goes for Jung Ho Kang. Keone Kela could return to the team as soon as this weekend. Trevor Williams has started a throwing program.
The Pirates are going to start getting healthier. Until then, the team needs to keep battling and treading water. They are going to take their lumps, just as they did in the middle two games of this series, but they will have their opportunity to win games as well.
Clint Hurdle‘s in game management may leave a lot to be desired at times, but one thing he has always excelled at is being a leader. Hurdle is a great leader of men, he gets the most out of his players, and gets his players to play for him. In no season of his career has this been on display more than the 2019 campaign.
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Despite all of the injuries, the Pirates are, somehow, a .500 club and still battling in the NL. They are by no means out of contention in the NL Wild Card race or the NL Central. Right now this club just needs to keep battling, because reinforcements are coming.