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Pittsburgh Pirates: A Big Weekend For Kevin Newman & Other Takeaways From Sweep Of Cincy
For the first time in what feels like forever it was a great weekend for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Since the All-Star Break almost nothing has gone right for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Entering this weekend’s series against the Cincinnati Reds the Pirates were 8-30 since the All-Star Break. This included being 1-11 in 12 series played.
Over the weekend, the Pirates put things together for their best series since the break. The Pirates outscored the Reds 26-10 on their way to sweeping their divisional rivals. By sweeping the Reds the Pirates improved to 7-0 against the Reds at PNC Park this season and 11-5 overall.
With the sweep, the Bucs are now 55-75 on the season. This was also their first series sweep since before the All-Star Break. Yay winning!
Next up for the Pirates is a trip across the Keystone for a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies. But before we dive into that series, let’s take a look back at three key takeaways from their sweep of the Reds.
It was a good – and needed – weekend for Kevin Newman
Entering the weekend Pirate rookie Kevin Newman was in a rut. In the month of August he was slashing .231/.286/.323. He had collected just three extra base hits and struck out in 14.3% of his bats. While this strikeout rate is still below league average, it is higher than his season long strikeout rate of 12.1%.
This weekend, however, Newman appeared to get back on track with a strong series against the Reds. Newman made two starts at shortstop over the weekend and one at second base. Regardless of his position in the field, Newman found himself hitting the ball and getting on base throughout the weekend.
Newman was 5-for-14 with a double and two walks over the weekend. In his 16 trips to the plate he struck out just once. He also stole a pair of bases. Following his weekend performance Newman is slashing .302/.348/.414 on the season with a 102 wRC+. While you would like to see a little more power from Newman, if he can be a .350 OBP player with a speed element to his game and strong defense up the middle of the infield then he will fulfill his billing as a former first round draft pick.
While the Pirates have nothing left to play for over the final five weeks of the season, watching young players such as Newman is what Pirate fan will have to look forward to. Hopefully, this weekend was Newman getting back on track on his way to finishing his rookie season on a high note.
A good weekend for the starting pitchers
As the old saying goes, ‘you’re only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher’. Well, for the Pirates, their starting pitchers set the tone this weekend.
Mitch Keller set the tone for the weekend with the best start of his MLB career on Friday night. For the first time in his six career starts Keller pitched into the 7th inning. He allowed just 1 run and struck out a career high nine.
Saturday night Trevor Williams turned in his best start since before he went on the injured list in May. In 6 shutout innings of work, Williams induced soft contact, kept the ball in the park, and had his best control since before being placed on the IL.
The worst start of the weekend came from Dario Agrazal on Sunday afternoon. He allowed 4 runs on seven hits, two walks, and five strikeouts in 5 innings of work. 4 runs in 5 innings of work from your fifth starting pitcher is not the end of the world by any means.
Also, the runs Agrazal allowed were not completely on him. With runners on the corners and one out in the 1st inning Colin Moran missed a ball that would have been a routine 5-4-3 inning ending double play. This led to Agrazal allowing 3 runs in the 1st inning. To his credit, Agrazal settled in after that and kept the Reds in check.
Winning is still fun, especially against the Reds
No matter what, winning is always more fun than losing. Always. Pirate fans got a reminder of that this weekend.
Watching the team rally to tie the game and then win on a Pablo Reyes walk off single on Friday night was fun. So was the Pirates steamrolling the Reds 14-0 behind a Moran grand slam and Josh Bell‘s 32nd home run of the season on Saturday night. Even as the bullpen started to struggle and the Reds crept their way back into the game, Sunday’s victory, as tense as it became, was still a lot of fun.
Adding to the fun is the fact it came against the Reds. It’s not secret that there is a lot of bad blood between these two teams. So, sweeping the Reds to improve to 11-5 against them this season has to put a smile on the face of the Pirates and their fans.
Fittingly enough, this fun weekend came on Player’s Weekend. A weekend that is supposed to be all about having fun.
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No matter what transpires the rest of the season the Pirates can not finish with a losing record against the Reds. With everything that has unfolded between the two teams this season, that feels pretty good.