Newest Pirates addition makes great first impression to help extend winning streak

The Pittsburgh Pirates fired on all cylinders to take down the Miami Marlins in an exciting 10-3 victory on Monday night. They are now riding a four-game win streak and are looking like a completely different team from the beginning of the year. Part of that is because they have changed a lot on the roster, including a brand new catcher in Brett Sullivan, who had a great first game.

After being activated a few days ago in place of an injured Endy Rodriguez, Sullivan made his first appearance with the Pirates last night and made a great first impression. He went 1-for-2 at the plate, driving in two runs, which came off a sacrifice-fly and a single. Sullivan and Bryan Reynolds were the only two players in the lineup with multiple RBI. Additionally, he added a walk and threw out a runner from behind the plate. The pop time on his caught stealing was at 2.00 seconds, which was much faster than his average the last two seasons of 2.07. All around, Monday night was a great game for Sullivan.

There aren't really any high expectations for Sullivan, as he was a far below-average hitter in Triple-A. He has gotten a few stints in the major leagues throughout his career, but has never sustained any success to earn him many opportunities. Although it was just one game, this will help his case with Don Kelly to get in the lineup more before Joey Bart returns from the concussion list. He won't catch tomorrow, as Henry Davis has caught Mitch Keller for his last few starts, but may find his way back into the lineup for Bailey Falter.

Brett Sullivan makes great first impression with the Pirates to help them extend win streak to four games.

Sullivan must find a way to get on base however he can, since his defense is kind of just average behind the dish. Once Bart is healthy, Sullivan will go straight back down to Triple-A or possibly even be DFA'd, but if he can get hot, maybe that can force Tommy Pham off the roster. Pittsburgh can only hope that such a move finally happens, at least.

Don Kelly is now 15-14 as the Pirates' manager, and his decision making has really helped this team improve. He is helping Pittsburgh win more ballgames despite not being given a great playing hand to work with. Sullivan, for example, is not an ideal player to be given, but Kelly is making the most out of his current lot. Sullivan doesn't have a very long future in Pittsburgh, so for him to have any chance of staying, he needs more nights like these.