Pittsburgh Pirates: 3 Takeaways From Series Split Against The Tigers

The Pittsburgh Pirates split a two-game series at PNC Park against the Detroit Tigers this week

So far this season the Pittsburgh Pirates have played 24 series. In these 24 series the team is 10-10-4. However, they find themselves 7 games under .500 at 33-40. The main reason for this is due to the team having been swept five series this season.

In their most recent series, the Pirates split a two-game set at home against the Detroit Tigers. This was a series the Pirates should have swept. Not only are the Tigers a putrid, putrid team. The Pirates also gave Tuesday night’s opener away by struggling with runners in scoring position and playing poor defense.

While a series split was disappointing, it was still a memorable series for the Pirates. On Wednesday night, the team pulled off it’s biggest comeback victory since 2011. These are the kind of fun, special games that make watching a struggling team worthwhile.

Following a day off on Thursday, the Pirates will welcome the San Diego Padres to PNC Park for a three-game weekend series. Before we turn our attention to the Padres, however, let’s take a look back at 3 key takeaways from their series against the Tigers.

The Pirates need to go in a new direction at second base

The Pirate offense has been very good this season. The outfield, first base, third base, and shortstop are all providing above league average production. Elias Diaz has been swinging a good bat for over a month now at catcher, and the bench has become one of the best in the National League.

Second base, however, has been a sore spot all season long for the Pirates.

Adam Frazier is the team’s starting second baseman, but it is time for a change. After going 1-for-7 and leaving six men on base in the two games against the Tigers, Frazier is slashing just .258/.319/.371 this season with a wRC+ of 81. He also made a pair of defensive miscues that cost the Pirates runs, with the first of the two costing them the game on Tuesday night.

Entering the season there were a lot of questions surrounding Frazier’s ability to be an everyday player. However, with his play, offensively at least, he earned the right to begin the 2019 season as a starter. He has proven – both offensively and defensively – that he is not cut out to play second base on a day in and day out basis. It is time to return Frazier to a utility role where he is best.

The team could promote Kevin Kramer from Triple-A and give him an extended look at second base. Another option would be to slide Kevin Newman to second base while recalling Cole Tucker to play shortstop. Odds are, the latter of the two is the long term middle infield pairing for the Pirates anyway.

Right now the Pittsburgh Pirates need to be playing with an eye on the future. An everyday role for Frazier is not in that future. Due to this, it is time to go a different direction at second base.

The bullpen stays hot

For much of the season, the Pirate bullpen has struggled. However, the past week the bullpen has pitched much better. This continued against the Tigers.

The Pirate bullpen pitched 8 innings against the Tigers. In these 8 innings of work the bullpen allowed just 1 run. This lone run was charged to Kyle Crick on Tuesday night, but only scored due to a defensive miscue by Frazier.

This series marked what has now been nine straight strong games from the bullpen. Dating back to the second game of their four-game set in Atlanta last week, the Pirate bullpen has allowed just 4 runs in 32 innings of work. This is a good stretch for any bullpen, but for the maligned Bucco bunch it is borderline unthinkable.

In this series relievers such as Michael Feliz and Richard Rodriguez who have struggled this season continued their recent strong work. Clay Holmes also pitched a scoreless inning as his strong 2019 season continues.

Maybe just maybe the Pirate bullpen has, finally, turned a corner. If it has, this would go a long way toward the Pirates working their way back to a .500 record.