Pittsburgh Pirates: Pitching Staff Steps Up in Series Sweep of the Red Sox

Starting rotation's big horses step up

If the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to surprise people and contend this season Mitch Keller and Roansy Contreras will need to be two catalysts. The Pirates need both of them to take the next step in their development as they look to build upon strong 2023 seasons. The Pirates need these two to step up as the horses of the starting rotation, and in this series they did just that.

Contreras took the ball for his first start of the season on Tuesday night and was terrific. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing a run on three hits, a walk, and two strikeouts. After allowing the first two batters of the game to reach base Contreras put a foot down and dominated.

There are few starting pitchers in the National League with a greater breakout potential this season than Contreras. He pairs a plus fastball with a curveball/slider combination that can be elite. Hopefully, Tuesday night's outing was the first step toward Contreras putting together that breakout campaign.

Wednesday afternoon's series finale saw Keller turn in one of the most impressive starts of his MLB career. He held the high-powered Red Sox to just 1 run on four hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts in 7 innings pitched.

With multiple relievers unavailable Shelton needed Keller to go deep into the game, Keller stepped up and did just that. He was in total control of the Red Sox throughout the start. He generated 10 swings-and-misses and limited hard contact throughout the start.

Most impressively, Keller put a foot on Boston's throat in the 7th inning. Shelton put faith in Keller allowing him the opportunity to try and finish the 7th inning despite a run being in with two runners on base. Pinch-hitter Reese McGuire hit a ball that originally was ruled a 3-run, game-tying home run. Unfortunately for McGuire, the ball jerked too far to the right of pesky pole and was a foul ball. The umpries quickly overturned the call and Keller responded by stirking out McGuire looking to end the inning.

Keller and Contreras are at two very different places in their development as MLB starting pitchers. However, both have the tools to help anchor a rotation. They could develop into one of the most underrated one-two punches in the majors. In this series they both pitched that way.

Pirate bullpen pitches lights out

Without a doubt the biggest surprise of the road trip was how well the Pirate bullpen pitched. Entering the season there was legitimate reason to fear this group could be the worst in the National League and one of the worst in all of baseball. Yes, it's a small sample size, but the bullpen capped off a strong road with a great series at Fenway Park.

Facing a potent Red Sox lineup the Pirate bullpen allowed just 1 run in 10.2 innings pitched. The lone run that scored came on Monday night when Duane Underwood Jr. sawed Adam Duvall's bat in half, but the ball dropped in shallow left field allowing a run he inherited to score.

It was a group effort from the Pirate bullpen. Colin Holderman and David Bednar each pitched a scoreless inning in both Monday and Tuesday's victories. This included some excellent work by Holderman to work out of a two on with one out situation in the 8th inning on Monday.

Rule 5 Draft addition Jose Hernandez got a huge out in Tuesday night's victory when he stuck out Christian Arroyo looking to end the 7th inning. Dauri Moreta continues his bullpen ascent by stranding two runners while getting the final out of the 5th inning in game one, then in game two he got the final out of the 6th and the first two outs of the 7th.

Lefty Rob Zastrzny continued his strong start to the season during the series as well. He allowed a run in game one, but also struck out a pair, then fired a 1-2-3 8th inning in game three. This was followed by a 9th inning by Underwood Jr. where he flipped a double play after allowing a lead off single, then induced a pop out to end the game.

The bullpen took on a larger workload than Shelton and his staff would have liked in games one and two. This led to the team being without their three best relievers in game three, but Zastryzny and Underwood Jr. stepped up to slam the door on the Red Sox and complete the sweep.

Bryan Reynolds is LOCKED in at the plate

Throughout his MLB career Bryan Reynolds has typically been a slow starter in the regular season. Well, this season, he is off to a historically fast start at the plate. This was put on display in the Red Sox series where Reynolds was absolutely locked in while in the box.

Reynolds went 3-for-5 with his 2nd and 3rd home runs of the season in game one. He had three more hits in game two including his 4th home run of the season, as well as a double that went off the Green Monster and was nearly a home run as well.

Game three saw Reynolds somewhat kept in check, as he went 1-for-3 with a walk and a RBI.

If Reynolds is going to avoid his typical slow start to the season then he will likely put up huge numbers. Hopefully, these huge numbers will come after he and the Pirates are finally able to finalize a long-term contract extension.

Hopefully Oneil Cruz will be ok

While all around it was a great series for the Pittsburgh Pirates, there was one potential negative that came out of the series. Potentially a major negative. In the 7th inning of game three Oneil Cruz was sliding into third base and took a knee to the face from Boston third baseman Rafael Devers.

The Pirate medical crew came onto the field to check on Cruz. After being examined, Cruz remained in the game to finish the half inning on the base. However, in the bototm half of the 7th he exited the game as Rodolfo Castro slid over to shorstop.

After the game the Pirates announced that Cruz was being evaluated for a potential face injury. So, hopefully, that is more promising than the potential concussion that it first appeared to be.

It goes without saying that losing Cruz for any extended period of time would be a major blow to the Pirates. While Reynolds is the better player right now, Curz has a higher ceiling and potential than anyone on the roster. Additionally, the Pirates have very little shortstop depth.

Let's hope Cruz being lifted was precautionary and that he will be in the lineup for Friday's home opener against the Chicago White Sox.