Pittsburgh Pirates: Grading the Series Victory Over the Brewers

Pirate Starting Rotation

In the first two games of the series, the Pittsburgh Pirates got good, but short, outings from their starting pitchers.

Game one of the series on Friday night saw Chad Kuhl allow just a solo home run in 5 innings of work. Outside of the solo home run, he allowed just one other hit, walked three and struck out one. Saturday afternoon, Derek Holland also allowed just a solo home run in 5 innings of work. All in all, he allowed four total hits, walked three and struck out five.

For both pitchers you would have like to see them go deeper into the game. That said, you will never complain about getting 5 innings of 1 run ball from a starter who has pitched just 19 innings in the last two calendar years (Kuhl) and your number five starter (Holland).

The Verdict

Over the weekend the starting rotation was good, not great. The only thing preventing their grade from being higher is that the three starters combined to pitch just 14 innings. You would have liked to see at least one of the three starts go for at least 6 innings.

Grade: B

The Pirate Bullpen

While 2020 has not witnessed the normal ebbs and flows of a full 162 game MLB season, it seems like the Pirate bullpen has. This continued over the weekend against the Brewers.

Friday night was a good night for the Pirate bullpen. In relief of Kuhl, Sam Howard pitched 2/3 of a scoreless inning and Geoff Hartlieb followed 1.1 scoreless innings of work. Both Howard and Hartlieb continue to pitch their way into becoming key cogs in the Pirate bullpen.

While Richard Rodriguez allowed a lead off home run in the 8th inning, he retired the next three batters. When Keone Kela exited the game after facing just two batters in the 9th inning, Tyler Bashlor retired all three batters he faced in the 9th to close out the Pirate win.

Saturday afternoon, things were hairy for the bullpen. Dovydas Neveraukas allowed 3 runs in the 7th inning, and Nick Mears allowed another while battling control issues in the 9th. In 4 innings of work, the Pirate bullpen allowed 4 runs on three hits, a home run, a hit batter, and four walks. Luckily, with the Pirate offense plating 12 runs on Saturday afternoon, the lackluster bullpen performance did not matter.

Sunday afternoon the bullpen was, overall, effective. Hartlieb, Howard, Nik Turley, Chris Stratton, and Rodriguez all pitched in relief of Brubaker. Hartlieb allowed a 2-run home run in 1.1 innings pitched, but he did flip a double play ball when he inherited a runner on first with no one out in the 5th inning. Howard loaded the bases after replacing Hartlieb, but did not allow a run. Turley, Stratton and Rodriguez combined to strikeout four batters in 3 perfect innings of relief.

The Verdict

While the bullpen struggled some on Saturday and flirted with disaster at times on Sunday, overall, it was a good weekend for the Pirate bullpen. While things have not been perfect, the Pirate bullpen has done a nice job of piecing things together this season.

Grade: B

The Pirate Offense

For the first time this season, the offense put together three consecutive good games for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Not coincidentally, the team picked up their first series win and sweep of the season.

In game one the Pittsburgh Pirates scored 7 runs. Game two, saw the Bucco bats slug their way to 12 runs. Then in game three on Sunday afternoon, the Pirates plated 5 runs on their way to sweeping the Brewers.

It is not a coincidence that the weekend the Pirate offense got going is also the weekend Gregory Polanco and Bryan Reynolds broke out of their slumps. Polanco was 5-for-10 with a double, two home runs, two walks, five RBI, and his first two stolen bases of the season. Reynolds was 6-for-13 with a home run, a double, a triple, and six runs knocked in.

It was also a good series for Cole Tucker who was 4-for-10 with a walk and two RBI. Colin Moran, prior to exiting Sunday’s game with concussion symptoms, also had a great series. Moran was 6-for-9 (nice) with a walk, three doubles and a RBI.

The Verdict

It was a great weekend for the Pirate offense. Due to this, for the first time this season, they are getting an A grade for their performance against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Brew Crew pitching staff.

Grade: A