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Pittsburgh Pirates: Bullpen, Offense Lead Way to Series Victory Over Nats
By Marty Leap
Pirate bullpen plays a big role in series victory
Prior to the start of the season we talked on Rum Bunter Radio with Jason Mackey about the Pirate bullpen and how it could be better than expected. So far this season the Pirate bullpen has been a strength for the team.
Additionally, to his credit, manager Derek Shelton has done a great job managing the bullpen. This has been extremely encouraging to see especially after how much Shelton struggled with bullpen management in his first two seasons as Pirate manager.
The Pirate bullpen pitched 19.2 innings in the series. Pirate relievers combined to allow 5 runs (2.34 ERA) on 13 hits, 12 walks and 12 strikeouts. If not for the work of the Pirate bullpen they would not have captured a series victory.
In the three games the Pirates won the bullpen helped keep the team in striking distance and then helped slammed the door shut on the Nationals. David Bednar was a top performer for the bullpen. Saturday night he battled through command issues and not having his best stuff to pitch 1.2 scoreless innings. Sunday afternoon he slammed the door on the Nats in the 9th inning for the save.
Anthony Banda pitched twice in the series, giving the Pirates 2.2 scoreless innings of relief work. Roansy Contreras looked dominant pitching 3 scoreless innings on Thursday night and Wil Crowe continues to evolve into a dominant reliever. Heath Hembree pitched 2.1 scoreless innings over the weekend, while Dillon Peters and Aaron Fletcher each chipped in 2 scoreless innings. Chris Stratton battled through some brutal luck in the 9th inning on Saturday night to close out victory the Pittsburgh Pirates.
A tip of the cap goes to the Pirate bullpen for this past weekend.