Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – Everything clicks

The Pittsburgh Pirates exploded for eight runs in the seventh inning and received an outstanding start by Gerrit Cole as they coasted to a 11-1 win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday.

Gerrit Cole was outstanding all night, never putting himself in any damage during his six innings of work in his first win of the season. Here are the takeaways from the big win.

Takeaways

• Cole struck out seven through six innings and allowed just four hits and no walks. He was zoned in all night and gave the Pirates exactly what the team needed. The bullpen wasn’t taxed for any unnecessary work and Cole pitched like he did last season.
• The offense had their best performance so far this season, scoring a total of 11 runs. While the team continues to not be anything close to a home run threat, they are getting on base better than anyone else in the league. They tallied 11 hits and walked five times as opposed to seven strikeouts. This team is going to frustrate pitching staffs all summer, because their plate discipline is unmatched right now.
• A lot of players contributed to the run scoring, but Josh Harrison was the stand out on Thursday. He singled runs in during the second and fourth innings and then scored in the fourth on a wild pitch. He did strike out in the seventh but reached base on a passed ball by Christian Bethancourt, and then walked later in the inning.

W – Gerrit Cole (1-2)

L – James Shields (0-3)

Line of the night: This doesn’t go to one hitter, but to the entire lineup for what they did in the seventh inning.

• Eight runs on five hits, four walks and two hit batsmen

This was by far the most impressive inning of the season for the Pirates. No home runs were involved in scoring any of the eight runs. The Pirates had two doubles in the inning, but for the most part played station to station baseball and kept moving runners around the bases.

Up next: The road trip continues on Friday when the Pirates begin a three game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at 9:40pm. Jonathon Niese will attempt to win his third game of the season when he faces off against Patrick Corbin. Both Niese and Corbin have registered quality starts the last two times they have pitched, so Friday’s game has all the makings to be a low scoring affair.