Pittsburgh Pirates Wake Up Call: Ugly Wins Can Be Beautiful

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In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

One of the best things about the long baseball season is over the course of 162 games you see pretty much every kind of game. Last night, the Pittsburgh Pirates won ugly and that is most certainly okay. 

Trevor Williams did not pitch well once again as he lasted only three innings and allowed four runs on four hits in that time. His outing was particularly frustrating because he allowed all the damage right after the Pirates jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Williams looked absolutely incredible early in the season but there were signs of regression and you are seeing an extreme over correction right now. Willams consistently allowed traffic on the base-paths but seemed like he always avoided damage. You cannot do that forever because eventually, Big League hitters will catch up to you. That is happening right now and Williams needs to adjust, otherwise, he is in for a long season. 

If you are a fan of pitching, last night’s game wasn’t for you as both offenses exploded. Most games, when a team scores nine runs, they will be victorious. However, the Dodgers couldn’t pitch to save their lives either last night as their starter, Caleb Ferguson couldn’t even make it through two complete innings. Last night’s game was Ferguson’s MLB debut and I don’t imagine this was how he saw his first Big League action going. I’m a softy at heart, so I felt bad for the kid. Obviously, the Pirates desperately needed a victory last night but that doesn’t mean I can’t feel bad for a disastrous Major League debut. 

Today the Pirates will attempt to win their first series since their two-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox back on May 16th. When you go nearly a month without a series victory, it is safe to say things aren’t going well. The Pirates should be a desperate team because they have effectively erased their good start to the season. They have to re-start the uphill climb back to contention and it starts today with Jameson Taillon on the mound. 

Taillon has pitched well in his last handful of starts and seems to be relying more on his slider. As it turns out, throwing only a fastball/change-up combo isn’t the best recipe for success at the Big League level. The Pirates have a good opportunity to finally get off the schneid and they need to take advantage of it. 

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