The Pirates reinstated Braxton Ashcraft from bereavement leave prior to the game and he had his worst start of the season as the Cardinals hit him hard for six runs on six hits in 4.1 innings of work in an 11-7 loss to the Cards. The Bucs have now lost two straight at home to this devil magic team and drop to 16-14. Jim and Doug summed up their thoughts on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti’s Bros. which you can watch and listen to below.
Here’s my three takeaways from this dud of a game…
I’m Almost Out on This Team
They say don’t write angry. Well, I don’t know who they is, but they probably didn’t have to watch the less-talented Cardinals spank their baseball team for the second straight game so screw that. I’m seething after the first two games of this series. I’m a poker player on tilt and the Cardinals just rivered a straight to crack my aces. I’m a road rage driver and the Cards just cut me off.
Am I really out on this team? Probably not…it’s only April 28 and the Pirates are 16-14, but that’s what losing to the Cards does to me. Getting shut down by two 5+ ERA pitchers (Dustin May and Kyle Leahy) in back-to-back games sucks and then the Cards randomly hitting Dennis Santana Monday night after being no hit for nearly 7 innings is annoying. And then the Cards ripping Braxton Ashcraft’s offering all over the park is equally annoying. The Pirates score three runs to cut the lead to 6-3 Tuesday as they tried to scratch their way back and Hunter Barco immediately gives three runs right back. This series is so annoying. Cardinals/Pirates games are bad for the soul and your health.
This team needs to figure something out and soon. Dropping a series at home to this Cardinals team would be stupid. They have two more games against St. Louis and if they continue to lose to them, I may just cancel the season and the blog altogether.
The Power Returned At least
I was getting a bit worried about the lack of power that went away the past three games (in fact they had just two doubles in the past three games which won’t cut it), but at least it returned in this game even after the Pirates were cooked at 6-0. Oneil Cruz hit his team-leading 9th home run in the 6th inning off Leahy. And then Ryan O’Hearn belted a two-run shot off Leahy just three batters later. Then in the 9th inning, Konnor Griffin hit his second home run and first at PNC Park for the Bucs third dinger of the game. If the pitching hadn’t given up a million, it would have been enough runs most nights. But some silver lining in this one was at least the bats battled back and showed the power is still there.
What’s the Plan with Barco Exactly?
I’m confused with what the Pirates are doing with Hunter Barco. Last season, Barco made 23 starts in the minors last season between Double-A and Triple-A and posted a 2.91 ERA in 99.1 innings. And then in late September, they called him up and he pitched out of the bullpen two games with three scoreless innings. Solid, right? Most had him as the Pirates 5th starter when they break camp or at Triple-A in the rotation. But they did neither…when this season started, the Pirates put him in the bullpen to, and most were thinking he would be a bulk reliever and follow Carmen Mlodzinski and help limit innings there. But he never really followed anyone and the most he pitched in an outing was 2.1 innings. After four appearances and mixed results, he was sent down to Triple-A and began starting in the rotation.
And then literally 12 minutes before first pitch Tuesday and with the bullpen massively taxed and in a precarious situation, they call Barco back up and throw him in a lost cause game when they just needed a fresh arm after his plane was delayed and he barely got to the ballpark before game time.
So he shows up 25 minutes before first pitch and ends up having to pitch nearly 5 innings in the game. Not great, hard to get in your routine when you’re delayed on a plane. I don’t agree with the strategy and don’t really understand what they’re doing with Barco. How is moving him up and down from Indy to Pittsburgh just because you need a fresh arm good for his development? He goes from an inning or two in the bullpen to starting at Indy back to Pittsburgh because the pen needed a fresh arm. And we’ll see if he goes back down Wednesday for another fresh arm. I’m not sure what they’re doing with Barco, but it doesn’t seem like the Pirates think very highly of him at the moment. He hasn’t pitched well at all for the Pirates this season either, but bouncing back and forth doesn’t seem the smartest strategy for his development.
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