The Pirates completed their sweep of Colorado with a 14-3 laugher. Yes, the Rockies are really bad, but this is how it’s supposed to work against bad teams. So, it counts.
The rout got underway quickly. Ke’Bryan Hayes led off the first with a double and Andrew McCutchen doubled with one out. Eventually in the inning, Carlos Santana drove in a run with a single, Connor Joe doubled one in, and Jason Delay singled in two. That made it 5-0.
The Pirates added four in the second to make it officially a blowout, then added three in the sixth and two against a position player in the top of the ninth.
Altogether, the Bucs piled up 18 hits, eight for extra bases. Joe and Delay each had two singles and a double. McCutchen hit his fourth home run of the year in the second and Rodolfo Castro hit his second in the sixth. For the day, Castro drove in four runs. Hayes, Santana and Mark Mathias each had two hits. Oddly, Bryan Reynolds went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. He also got ejected for opining that pitches outside the strike zone aren’t actually strikes.
Johan Oviedo continued doing what he’s been doing. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth, which was also when he gave up his only run. He went six innings in all, throwing 84 pitches and allowing just three hits and three walks. Oviedo fanned six.
Yohan Ramirez and Dauri Moreta each allowed a run. Neither of the two threw an over-abundance of strikes. Ramirez threw the seventh and eighth, and Moreta the ninth.
The Pirates are now 12-7. Five games is the furthest over .500 they’ve been since April 21, 2019.
Having followed the Pirates fanatically since 1965, Wilbur Miller is one of the fast-dwindling number of fans who’ve actually seen good Pirate teams. He’s even seen Hall-of-Fame Pirates who didn’t get traded mid-career, if you can imagine such a thing. His first in-person game was a 5-4, 11-inning win at Forbes Field over Milwaukee (no, not that one). He’s been writing about the Pirates at various locations online for over 20 years. It has its frustrations, but it’s certainly more cathartic than writing legal stuff. Wilbur is retired and now lives in Bradenton with his wife and three temperamental cats.
A team like Colorado is who BC should be on the phone with early this season. Their must be some talent worth making a fair trade for. Show this team that management is committed.
Brent Suter and/or Brad Hand.
BC should be looking to trade for a LHRP like, yesterday. Time to graduate from the waiver wonders.
Their roster is so bad, I wonder even one of our AAAA OFs would be enough to entice them. Our pen would look mighty nice with one or both of those guys in it
I was watching that last Reynolds at bat on gameday, and I called it when that last strike was called that he would be ejected. There were two god awful strikes called that were actually balls, and Reynolds had to already have been frustrated by some poor at bats earlier in the game. But those two strikes…..yikes.
My take on this team: the Pirates are considerably better than the last few years. The veteran additions are of much better quality and it really stands out in their plate discipline and how they work counts. Imo the starting pitching will not hold up. VV has good stuff but struggles with location. You can say the same about Oviedo and Roa, but they are young and developing. Hill is a pro, but he’s also in his 40’s…this Will lead to some inconsistencies and reliance on a below average bullpen. This team is fun to watch. They have youthful energy, veteran professionalism and some real talent, but there will be….moments. It’s all a part of the process of building a winner. So far, I am thoroughly enjoying the process.
I keep telling myself this team doesn’t have the ammunition to make a true run and it probably doesn’t. But then I wonder… what if we get a popup 3-4 WAR season from someone no one really saw coming. Castro? Suwinski? Oviedo? Even at his age Connor Joe never really got consistent at bats that he’s getting this year at MLB level.
Seems like ages ago but I remember watching a fair amount of Joe in I want to say 2018 in Altoona. And he certainly wasn’t flashy but I do remember him seeming to almost always take quality at bats. It’s neat to see him finally get a real chance on the stage.
Any thoughts on Jason Delay. Just small sample or is a later developing catcher with the bat?
A few totally speculative points:
— It’s probably a fluke, first off, but what the heck . . .
— Catchers DO develop later as hitters. Or at least that’s the conventional wisdom. I’ve always figured that, first, they’re so focused on the rest of their duties that it’s just harder to develop with the bat. And second, the average catcher probably starts off with a good deal less hitting talent than most other players, but will get more reps than the typical not-very-good hitter because of his defense. So the catcher may develop where a guy playing another position won’t because he’ll be out of baseball by then.
— Delay has had some brief stretches where he did hit a bit, but his playing time has always been sporadic. He’s never really had a chance to consolidate whatever he’s picking up.
So, basically, I figure regression is inevitable, but I wouldn’t be totally shocked to see him turn into a Stallings Lite or thereabouts.
I’d also add that I think catcher offense fluctuates a lot due to the physical toll they go through.
Thanks. It is a really small sample but independent of results he seems to have a very nice approach most at bats and has not looked overmatched for the most part.
Ignoring Davis for the sake of argument, I’m starting to think I’d be OK with Endy/Delay at catcher.
Give Davis a 1b mitt
Maybe Tank becomes part of the future OF in a corner. He has the arm for it, and the bat should play. Or 1B/DH? Either way, he gets less of a physical toll (saving it for his HBPs) and more games played.
I’ve been thinking the same thing.
He noticed Heineman tearing it up in AAA!
Love the way the game has slowed down for Suwinski. He’s tracking the ball and his last dozen AB’s he’s rarely gone outside the zone for a pitch. His development is key for the Pirates. Power like that is so valuable.
Of the Pirates’ next 13 games, seven are against the Reds and Gnats, six are against the Dodgers and Rays. And they alternate bad and good — Reds, Dodgers, Gnats, Rays. Gonna be some interesting contrasts.
⁸it’s less important that they win or lose, though wining is certainly preferred. It’s how they play these games that are important. Not only has this team shown the ‘grit’ to compete, it’s shown the ability to control an outcome. Not always yet but it’s learning. Let’s look forward.
I just hope the Rays have come back to earth a bit by then. They’re annihilating everybody. Sometimes you just run into a buzzsaw.
They’re annihilating bad teams. The Blue Jays won the series vs them last weekend.
It sure seems that folks here are over analyzing the “losing record” bit. The Red Sox, despite getting swept by both Tampa and the Bucs aren’t bad.
and noone expects the Cardinals to be under .500 when all is said and done.
Right. Same with Houston.
One thing I liked about this series was Bob Prince’s Rule of HIdden Vigorish. The Rockies were a bad team and the Bucs came to town and took them to the woodshed! Remember last year when they faced the Reds who started 3-23 and of course dropped 2 of 3 to them! Different team this year!
Of course, it’d be nice if they’d go out and hammer the Reds this weekend.
Will have a very good idea of real or not real in the next two weeks thats for sure
They’re for real. You don’t hit like this and play like they have these first three weeks without being for real. It’s just a question of HOW real are they.
Well, they’re now sixth in MLB in runs per game. Also sixth in dingerz. Yeah, Coors, early season, etc. But I wouldn’t have expected those spots in the standings more than three innings into the season.
How about Third in slugging percentage?
Good early test.
Oddly enough, like the Cards and Astros, the Dodgers aren’t playing all that well now. The Rays, otoh, . . . .
Due to regress! 🤞
That Rays-Reds series was kind of funny–it appears as if the Reds got Rays’ attention with their 8-1 win on Monday and all the Rays did then was to outscore the Reds 18-0 over the next two games.
What if I told you at the end of our God-awful, train wreck of a Spring Training that :
Yes that has 12-7 written all over it 😆 . Raise it 🏴☠️
Beat Cincy. LETS GO BUCS
Well, they reached a deal with the ushers. That was key.
Hayes brokered the deal with the ushers? He really does have hidden value!
A very nice road trip for the Pirates…
The pirate announcer used the term lumber company to describe the Pirate hitters. What a wonderful reference to past pirate teams that hit the he’ll out of the ball. I hope they can keep this up.
12-7 and in 3rd place.
Go figure the division is on fire when we’re on a good streak.
Yes but right now we are in the WILD CARD spot baby!!! With a chance to get a revenge game with Bumgarner game 1 in Arizona . End the season now!!!
If we keep playing well, we’ll find out a lot June 13-21 when we play the Cubs and Brewers nine straight games. The Brewers have been particularly impressive.
I refuse to believe Bryse Wilson is that good. 0.82 ERA??? 11 innings 10K??
thats when the calvary arrives
Endy, Ortiz, Nick
I got new for you…Nick and Endy will not be up. Nick is easy…Castro “might” be an elite MI hitter and Tuca is fine getting 8 ABs per week. Also Bae is getting 3 starts a week at 2nd/SS so Nick will not be up. He’s not as good as either of those two and is more valuable than Marcano and will therefore remain at AAA and is the most likely high end prospect to be dealt and easily the most easy to give up. I have no doubt Endy can hit ML pitching, but allow me to defend Hedges. Last night it was 5-3 and Rox and guys at 2nd and 3rd and VV fell behind 2-0 to Buc-Killer Bryant. Hedges came out and talked to VV and next pitch is a pop out. We will never know, but that moment may well have won last nights game by itself. Endy doing that? Endy needs to call and manage about 100 games this year. If the rest of the lineup is taking we’re fine with Hedges if he’s managing the staff like this. Also Delay is no defensive slouch and is hitting well. Ortiz yes, but again, who’s he replacing as a starter?
Am I beginning to be actually impressed and not just happy to see some fun games? 9 straight quality starts AND lineup wide offensive production? Bucs actually have a legitimate run differential for their record too?
All without Cruz and Choi who would make the team even better in theory? Am I phrasing all this in the form of questions?
I am!
Last year I believe we were 6-5 at one point with a -15 run differential and strange wins over the equally bad Nats and Cubs. You knew that was one bad team beating another bad team 5-4 a couple of times. It beat being 1-8 but you could see the 90-100 L’s coming. This is completely different
Right, I remember them having blowout losses (like the Rockies this series) then a tight win somehow. This time even the run differential is positive and it really vibes different!
Many pleasant surprises early on so far. It seems unreasonable to expect this string of quality starts to continue but man is it fun to watch along with this surprising offense. I wasn’t a big fan of the Santana signing but man is he proving me wrong. His hustle going from first to third on a single today was a thing of beauty, lol. Getting really good vibes watching the activity in the dugout!