Pittsburgh Pirates: Josh Bell Bounces Back & Other Takeaways From Series Win vs Braves

In the final two games, the starting pitchers put a foot down

The biggest reason the Pirates struggled in the month of May was due to their starting rotation possessing the worst rotation ERA in the NL. In game one of the series on Tuesday night starter Steven Brault allowed just 2 runs, only 1 of which was earned, but due to inefficiency he only last 4 innings. This contributed to Tuesday night’s bullpen meltdown.

Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, the team got excellent starting pitching. And, shocker, they walked away victorious after both games.

Joe Musgrove started for the Pirates on Wednesday night and pitched into the 9th inning. Going for a complete game, Musgrove allowed back-to-back home runs to start the 9th bringing his night to an end. This did not weaken his start, though. Musgrove allowed just 3 runs in 8+ innings of work. Not only did he pitch well, he gave the Pirates something their beleaguered bullpen badly needed out of the starting rotation – innings.

Chris Archer continued this trend on Thursday afternoon. In 6+ innings of work against the Braves he allowed just 1 run. After allowing the first two batters of the 7th inning to reach base, the veteran righty was lifted for Francisco Liriano who cleaned things up with a double play ball and a fly out.

The team entered Wednesday night’s game in dire need of a starting pitcher to play stopper. Musgrove did just that, and then Archer put a foot down of his own on Thursday. For that, both starters deserve a tip of the cap.

Starting pitching has always been the most important component of a baseball team. This was on fully display for the Pirates in this series. The team lost Brault’s poor start, but won the strong outings they got from Musgrove and Archer. If Musgrove and Archer continuing to pitch well would go a long way toward getting the Pirates back over .500.