Pittsburgh Pirates: Ben Gamel, Bullpen Power 6-2 Victory

Through the first five games of the 2022 season the Pittsburgh Pirates find themselves owning a 2-3 record

Following a tough 2-1 loss against the Chicago Cubs in Tuesday’s home opener the Pittsburgh Pirates bounced back on Wednesday afternoon. The Bucs grabbed an early lead and never looked back in a 6-2 victory over the Cubbies.

With the victory and Pirates split their brief two-game series against the Cubs. The victory also improved the team to 2-3 on the season. All around it was a well played game for the Pirates who pitched well, hit well with runners in scoring position, and continued their strong early season defense.

Big day for Ben Gamel

The biggest hit of the day came in the 1st inning and it was off the bat of Ben Gamel. With two on and two outs in the inning Gamel lifted an 0-1 pitch from Hendricks over the Clemente Wall for a 3-run home run. Gamel’s 1st home run of the season gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 3-1 lead and they would not trail again.

This was just the start of a big day for Gamel. He drew a walk later in the game and came around to score on a Kevin Newman triple that made the score 5-1 Pirates in the bottom of the 3rd. He also made a tremendous diving catch in right field to take a hit away from Jason Heyward in the 9th inning.

Zach Thompson’s Pirate debut

After allowing a two-out solo home run to Willson Contreras in the top of the 1st inning righty Zach Thompson would settle into a groove. Making his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Thompson retired the Cubs in order in the 2nd and 3rd innings before allowing another run in the 4th.

Thompson put the first two men on the 5th inning, with the second of which being Nico Hoerner who lined a single off of Thompson’s shoulder. With a left-handed hitter due up and lefty Dillon Peters ready to go in the bullpen Thompson’s day was done.

When it was all said and done Thompson finished the day by allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, a walk and 3 strikeouts in 4+ innings pitched. After he was removed from the game the Pirates announced he left with a shoulder contusion. Hopefully, this will not cause Thompson to miss any starts.

More strong bullpen work

Outside of 1 bad inning by Aaron Fletcher the bullpen has been a strength for the Pittsburgh Pirates thus far. That continued on Wednesday afternoon as a pair of relievers combined to pitch 5 scoreless innings.

As was mentioned above Peters replaced Thompson. After striking out Clint Frazier he issued a walk, then got Contreras to hit into an inning ending 5-4-3 double play. Peters followed that up with a 1-2-3 6th inning that included a strikeout.

Wil Crowe then took the ball in the 7th inning. Continuing to look like a completely different pitcher out of the bullpen Crowe retired 9 of the 11 Cub batters he faced, while striking out 4 in 3 scoreless innings of work. This led to Crowe earning his first professional save.

Crowe has now pitched 7 scoreless innings out the bullpen this season. In those 7 innings he has allowed just a single hit, walked 3 batters, and struck out 9. Most impressively his fastball velocity is up and his slider looks more wicked than ever. It appears he has found a new home in the bullpen.

Other notes

Ke’Bryan Hayes continued his torrid start to the season going 4-for-4 with a double at the plate. He also drove in the 6th and final Pirate run of the game when he blooped a single to right field scoring Hoy Park in the 4th inning.

Defensively, it was another banner day for Hayes. In addition to start that vital double play in the 5th inning, and it was not an easy double play to start, he made a remarkable stop on a ball ripped down the third base line by Patrick Wisdom in the 7th inning. For most third basemen the best case scenario on the play would have been an infield hit, with it being a double for many others. For Hayes, he made the play look like a routine out. He entered play on Wednesday already leading MLB in Defensive Runs Saved and he may be on his way not just to a Gold Glove in 2022, but potentially a Platinum Glove as well.

To his credit Derek Shelton continues to handle the outfield situation at PNC Park correctly. While Ben Gamel started in left field in St. Louis, Jake Marisnick made the start there on Tuesday. Wednesday afternoon, Gamel was back in left field but slide to right field with Marisnick taking over in left in the top of the 7th.

Why is this important? Well, PNC Park’s left field is the most challenging in all of baseball. Since making his MLB debut in 2013 Marisnick ranks 8th among MLB outfielders in DRS. When he is playing at PNC Park he needs to be in left field.

Thursday evening the Pittsburgh Pirates will host the Washington Nationals in the first of a four-game series at PNC Park. JT Brubaker (12.00 ERA, 9.05 FIP) is scheduled to start for the Pirates while the Nationals plan to send Joan Adon (8.31 ERA, 8.13 FIP) to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 PM ET.