North Shore Nine

The Pirates started the week getting swept by a streaking, but otherwise poor, A’s team. Then after dropping the opener versus the Rockies they came back to win the next two ending the week on a winning streak.

In this weekly recap, we will look at each of the three major categories—Offense, Pitching, and Defense—and grade how the Pirates played.

Offense:
The offense only scored 11 runs this past week which was a big reason they had a 2-4 week. Their opponents only scored 20 runs over the week, meaning if the Pirates had scored at the rate they did the first two weeks of the season they could have potentially won all of their games. The Pirates did break out for 5 runs on Sunday, though that also points to the fact their scored only 6 in their other five games, including only 3 in the series versus the A’s. This is unacceptable for a Major League Franchise, especially one at this end of a ‘five year’ plan. Three players stood out offensively this week Connor Joe, Jared Triolo and Rowdy Tellez. Oneil Cruz also had a good weekend series with a pair of home runs and some very hard hit balls. The problem is the list of players with one hit of less on the week totaled 7, though one of those was Henry Davis who only played in one game. It is a must for this offense to start clicking before going into a stretch versus all NLC opponents. If the Sunday game can carry over into the week then it is possible, if it doesn’t, buckle up.

Pitching:
Bailey Falter, Martin Perez and Mitch Keller all had near identical starts this week. They went 5.1 innings, expect Keller who went 5, giving up three earned runs. But due to a lack of offense the solid performances did not mean much as Keller took the loss and the other two managed no decisions. Jared Jones looked like a Cy Young candidate against the Rockies, pitching seven innings of one hit no walk 10 strikeout ball. Quinn Priester also had a solid start this week going six innings giving up two earned runs, and one unearned, in a loss. Priester however was also the only Pirate pitcher to walk more than he struck out this week. The bullpen looked better this week. David Bednar did give up a run in one of his three appearance, but his WHIP was 1 and his batting average against was only .182, and he only walked one. Luis Ortiz looked good in his games, and Aroldis Chapman looked much better this week. If this is the rotation and pen Pirates get moving forward if the offense wakes up they will start stacking wins.

Defense/Baserunning:
Then there was one, only one error was committed this week. A throwing error by Cruz. The Pirates finally seem to be tightening up the defense they have been playing. On the other side they have not stolen a base this week. Mind you they had very limited opportunities due to not getting on base much. Nevertheless, the ability to cause havoc on the base paths is ideal for teams, especially those who are having trouble scoring runs. Not to add more to what the Pirates need to do but stealing bases needs to become more of a priority.

At 16-19, this isn’t a record to write home about, however they are still only 1.5 games out of the Wild Card. After the series versus the Angels they have 7 versus the Chicago Cubs and 3 versus the Milwaukee Brewers. It might be too early in the season for that stretch to be make or break, but its damn close. If the Pirates can take two against the Angles and get the offense going, then even a split of those NLC games would be a win.