The Pirates went into Milwaukee and jumped all over the Brewers to go up 4-0 in the first four innings and held on for a 4-3 win to get back to .500 and it’s their fourth straight win over the Brewers. Bubba Chandler had a strong five innings and gave up a couple in the 6th, but the bullpen came in and fired 3.1 scoreless innings to hold the lead and get the win. Neil and Doug break down this one on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti Bros. You can watch/listen here:
Here’s my 3 takeaways from this one…
With the Trade Reinforcements Coming and Montgomery Emerging, This Bullpen Could Be Very Good
Ben Cherington went out and added three proven Major League relievers in about three hours at the deadline Monday. Plus Camilo Doval the other day. Mason Montgomery nailed down his third save in this one as he struck out the side in the bottom of the 9th and working around one single. With Montgomery emerging and the Pirates adding Doval, Luke Weaver, Kirby Yates and Lake Bachar at the deadline, they now have a lot of options that can save games. Montgomery pitching the 7th inning with Weaver, Doval or Yates behind him is kind of a scary thought. Don Kelly will certainly have his options for how he wants to play this bullpen because all four pickups at the deadline have multiple career saves to go along with Montgomery, Soto and Ramirez. The reinforcements weren’t here yet for this game, but the bullpen still held a one-run lead for the win thanks to Soto, Doval and Montgomery. The other three should arrive and be activated for Tuesday’s game and suddenly will make this bullpen intriguing. I’m kinda excited for it.
Can We Try Something Else Out at Third Base?
Nick Gonzales has been playing out of position all season as he’s not a third baseman. He hasn’t been great, but recently it seems like he’s developed a bit of the yips where he can’t throw to first base now and does this double pump before throwing it and who knows where it’ll go. He had a wide throw in this game, he had a ball thrown to him that he missed and allowed a run to score and ended Bubba’s outing. I don’t see how you can go another game with him at third base. You have two other options on the active roster that have played third base before: Jared Triolo and Jacob Gonzalez. I’m fine with either of them starting at third and I’m completely tired of seeing Triolo at the plate, but I don’t even care at this point. They’ve prioritized offense to this point, but maybe let’s play Triolo at third and see if shoring up the defense at third would help. Let’s try that out for a week and see what happens. Please? Start Jacob Gonzalez at short and Triolo at third and let’s see how prioritizing defense goes for a little bit. Nicky G would be a solid option to pinch-hit late in the game and be your first option in those situations. His bat has been good, but it’s not like he’s some power option that you need in the lineup everyday. I’m just not sure how you can go another game with him starting at third base.
It’s Good to Have Horwitz Back
The Pirates have been banged up for injuries among position players for months now. Ryan O’Hearn went down for 6-8 weeks as soon as Spencer Horwitz returned. It stinks to lose O’Hearn, but man does it feel good to have Horwitz back. You know he’s going to put the ball in play and rarely strike out and then he comes up with some big hits like he did in this 4-3 win. In the 3rd inning, the Pirates loaded the bases with singles from Brandon Lowe and Bryan Reynolds and a walk by Esmerlyn Valdez all with two outs. Horwitz came to the plate, watched two changeups for balls and then ripped the 2-0 sinker to down the right field line to clear the bases with a double and give the Pirates a 3-0 lead. It was a huge hit with two outs that the Pirates have been missing in high leverage spots and it gave the Pirates a huge early lead and set the tone for this game.
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