Pittsburgh Pirates: More Bullpen Struggles, Other Takeaways From Third Straight Sweep

The bullpen continues to struggle, putrid offense, and more takeaways from the Pittsburgh Pirates being swept in a third straight series

Following a strong start to the season. Not just a strong start, a start that saw the Pittsburgh Pirates own the best record in the National League at the end of April, it apears that the clock has struck midnight.

Although, this version of the clock striking midnight is a bit different. After all, general manager Ben Cherington has done almost nothing to prevent that. Yes, he promoted former no. 1 overall pick Henry Davis, but, even though the team was in dire need of an offensive boost for weeks, Cherington waited until they were below .500 2.5 games out of first in the NL Central to promote him.

The latest woes of the Pirates continued in their brief three-game homestand as they were swept by the Chicago Cubs. This marked the second time in a week the Pirates were swept by the Cubs, falling to 0-6 on the season against their divison rivals.

With the loss, the Pirates have now been swept in three straight series suffering nine straight losses. All of these losses have come against NL Central opponent. Pittsburgh is now 34-39 on the season, a season-high five games below .500, 10-11-1 in series played, and they have plummeted to fourth place in the NL Central.

Before we begin to look ahead to what will be a challenging series in Miami against a surging Marling club, let's take one more look back at the team's latest poor series. Here are series takeaways from the Pirates being swept by the Cubs.