The Pirates drop under .500 once again as they lose to the Brewers 4-2 on Tuesday night. Logan Henderson showed why he was not available in the Tarik Skubal trade, and the Brewers bullpen was lights out. Jared Jones surrendered 4 to the Milwaukee lineup and that was all she wrote. The Pirates continue to slip in the Wild Card race, and are running out of games where staying around .500 is acceptable. Watch Tyler and Doug breakdown the action further here:
The Brewers are Good, But You Need a Big Win Streak
It was always going to be a large ask to have this team go into Milwaukee and sweep the division leaders. In a vacuum, losing 4-2 against a pitcher with a sub-3 ERA is understandable. However, after dropping 3 of 4 to the Reds, the Pirates desperately need a prolonged winning streak to help them catch the Phillies and Diamondbacks. Jared Jones needed to be elite tonight and wasn’t, and the offense had to get to the Brewers bullpen and didn’t. The team now sits 4 games back of the 6th seed, which is unacceptable considering they were buyers at the deadline. .500 will not be enough to make the playoffs; they must start sweeping teams. Even 2/3 isn’t enough because of how many games the Pirates have thrown away. If they are serious contenders, they go on a run and win 9 of 10 games and catapult themselves back into the conversation. As it stands, the team isn’t playing at the level needed to make the playoffs.
The Middle of the Order Has Been a Problem
The offense has been in a slump as the days have turned hot, and the culprit has been the middle of the lineup. Tonight, the Pirates’ 3-6 hitters went a combined 0-16 with 7 strikeouts. They all failed to reach base a single time. While the Pirates do have offensive depth that has carried them through some fantastic times, they are currently being let down by the big names. Bryan Reynolds has been absent for a month and a half, Esmerlyn has cooled off significantly, and Nick Gonzales is costing the team both at the plate and in the field. The Brewers have one of the best pitching staffs in the league, but this has been a major problem since the All Star Break. Luckily, Brandon Lowe has broken out of his funk, but now it is time for the rest of the team to deliver. Far too often over the past 3 weeks have we been depending on rookies and fringe players to deliver the runs. It is time for the big boys to step up and fuel a playoff run.
It Is Time To Let Jared Jones Pitch
Jared Jones was not great tonight, as the Brewers got 4 runs off of him in 4 innings. He surrendered 8 hits, and 2 of those were home runs that proved to be too much for the offense to match. However, the bullpen did surrender a run in no small part due to the fact that they had to cover 5 innings because Jones was pulled after the 4th at 83 pitches. I understand wanting to be cautious with Jared; he is a vital part of this team right now. However, the training wheels need to come off at some point. He needs to be allowed to go to 100 pitches and not be limited to small starts. Especially with the injury to Mitch Keller, the Pirates need innings from their starting rotation. Jones needs to provide the most value possible, and that isn’t going to happen when he’s limited to 80 pitches and 5 times warming up. I don’t blame Don Kelly for this; this has to be a call made from on high and the front office.
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