Pittsburgh Pirates: Grading Series Against the Milwaukee Brewers

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PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 28: Nick Burdi #57 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on July 28, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – JULY 28: Nick Burdi #57 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park on July 28, 2020 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

The Bullpen

It was another roller coaster of a series for the Pirate bullpen.

Monday night was a disaster. Nik Turley allowed a run in the 7th inning, then Michael Feliz and Kyle Crick combined to blow a 5-1 9th inning lead. Dovydas Neverauskas then allowed the winning run to score in the 11th inning.

Then on Tuesday night, the roller coaster ride continued.

After Chris Stratton got the final out of the 6th inning, he walked the first two batters of the 7th inning and was lifted. Miguel Del Pozo entered the game and walked three batters, in addition to allowing a double before being lifted.

Geoff Hartlieb replaced Del Pozo, and started to right the ship. He put out the 7th inning fired and pitched a scoreless 8th. Nick Burdi then did what Nick Burdi does and mowed the Brewers down in the 9th inning to close out the victory.

Wednesday was the lone game in the series where it was all good work from the Pirate bullpen.

Neverauskas replaced Musgrove with two outs in the 6th inning and runner on base, and he stranded the runner. Veteran lefty Robbie Erlin then pitched a pair of scoreless innings for the Bucs, before Richard Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning.

Next. Three Players Whose Roster Spot is in Danger. dark

The Verdict

As was the case in St. Louis, there was some good and some bad out of the bullpen for the Pittsburgh Pirates in this series. The bad, however, certainly outweighed the good. In fact, the bullpen is what cost the Pirates their first series win of the season. The bullpen also tried their best to blow Tuesday night’s game. So far this season the bullpen has been either excellent or a disaster. Fun stuff!

Grade: C