The Pirates bat came alive Sunday afternoon and scored just enough to defeat the Cubs 8-7 to avoid the sweep. The Pirates belted three home runs including the first MLB home run and hit for catcher Shawn Ross. Ryan O’Hearn also smoked a grand slam on his birthday and it was the second grand slam he hit this month. The pitching made it closer than it should have been, but Mason Montgomery was able to hold the lead for his second save of the season. DiNardo and Doug break down this win on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti Bros. You can watch or listen here:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5FBkByRF0COb2w7ZyJg2CL?si=72299da753814b4b

Here’s my takeaways from this big win:

Shutdown Innings and Ashcraft’s Strong Finish

The Pirates had just hit three home runs and took a 7-1 lead in the 3rd inning. Braxton Ashcraft came back on the mound and immediately gave up three runs that included an RBI triple from Pete Crow-Armstrong. Thankfully, we won’t have to see PCA again until mid-September. Usually when you’re team scores a bunch of runs and take the lead, you look for your starter to go out and put up a shutdown inning. Ashcraft didn’t do that here. BUT what I thought was huge was his 5th and 6th innings. Ashcraft came out and got the Cubs to go 1-2-3 in the 5th inning and then same in the 6th, he went 1-2-3 with a strikeout of Carson Kelly to finish his mixed outing with 6 innings and four runs allowed. Those innings were huge to put up zeros. If Ashcraft gets into trouble in the 5th after giving up 3 in the 4th, they could have pulled him early and then who knows if the bullpen holds the lead. And as it turned out, they did need those zeros cause the bullpen gave up three runs and barely hold onto the one-run win.

I don’t think Ashcraft needs to skip a start or go to the bullpen, I think he’s going to be just fine. He just had an up and down start against a good and red hot Cubs lineup, but he finished strong and got his 10th win of the season.

No More Lefties, Please

Google tells me there are apparently about 10.5% of people in the world that are left-handed. It also tells me that 25% of the MLB pitchers are southpaws. Well, if you just watched the Pirates recently, you’d think half of the league was left-handed. They’ve been on a wild stretch of facing lefty starters and they’ve been struggling as they normally do against lefties. Well that changed Sunday when finally a nice old right-hander was on the mound in the form of old pal Jameson Taillon. And the Pirates lit him up like a Christmas tree. Esmerlyn Valdez got the party started in the 2nd inning with his 14th home run of the season. That home run broke a streak of 32 innings with no extra-base hits for the Pirates. But wait there’s more. Shawn Ross (who!?), making his first MLB start, who was called up for catching depth he takes Taillon deep to left for a two-run blast in the same inning to make it 3-1 for his first MLB home run. They didn’t stop there though. The Pirates then loaded the bases in the 3rd inning and Ryan O’Hearn belted a grand slam for his second granny this month! And it was his 33rd birthday as well.

O’Hearn now does it on July 7 and 26 of this month. Brandon Lowe went 3-for-4 and for the folks wondering what happened to this legit offense? Where did they go? How are they all slumping at once? Well, I think they just need to face righties. This team crushes RHP, not so much LHP. Besides Valdez, this team just doesn’t have very many great hitters against left-handed pitching. They’re slated to face two righties to start the Diamondbacks series so that is good news.

It’s Never Easy with this Team

O’Hearn deposited Taillon’s 0-1 fastball into the seats in right center to make it 7-1 Pirates. That should have been pretty much it for this game. Game, set, match. But as we’ve seen time and time again with this team, the pitching immediately gives up a bunch of runs to keep the other team in it. Ashcraft gave up three in the next inning but then came right back and put up zeros. And Valdez added an RBI single to give the Pirates some insurance back making it 8-4. Even THAT was barely enough. The Pirates had their two best options out of the bullpen for this game and used both. Carmen Mlodzinski and Mason Montgomery. They had three innings to cover. The game should have been locked down right there, but Mlodzinski falls into trouble and gives up one run and then Montgomery gave up a two-run blast to Seiya Suzuki in the 9th inning to make it 8-7. A little too close for comfort. Montgomery bounced back and got the next two outs and the Pirates won the game, but man it’s never easy with this team and bullpen is it?

Thankfully, Ashcraft was able to go six and we had Mlodzinski available. I probably would have just pitched Mlod for the 9th too since he’s probably going to be unavailable for the next three days anyway with the weird situation they have set up with him currently. But Montgomery is who you’d want in there before anyone else in the pen and it still was a struggle. Until Ben Cherington acquires a real relief arm or two and a starting pitcher to conserve some of these innings, it’s going to continue to be an adventure when you have to rely on the pen for a bunch of innings with a lead.