Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call: A Much Needed Win

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

Much needed victory

Yesterday the Pirates beat the St. Louis Cardinals 10-5 and more importantly won another series against the hated Red Birds. The first two games of the series were the usual Pirates-Cardinals games. Both came down to the wire and were close two run games. The third game of the series was a slugfest that ended with a mostly comfortable five run win for the Pirates. John Jaso was the hero of the game, as he went 3-4 with a home run, two RBI and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Jaso wasn’t the only hero of the game, as Starling Marte, Gerrit Cole and Chris Stewart all played vital roles in the victory. Here are the results of our player of the game poll:

Who is your #Pirates player of the game after 10-5 win? #Raiseit

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) May 8, 2016

As good as the offense was, the bullpen once again let an opponent get back into the game and despite a five run lead in the ninth inning, Mark Melancon had to be used as St. Louis loaded the bases with one out, luckily Melancon was able to induce a double play off the bat of Yadier Molina, which ended the game and clinched the series victory.

Cole Train

Gerrit Cole has received some minor flack for his up and down performance so far in 2016, but he returned to his ace form yesterday. He went six innings, allowed one run on six hits and struck out seven. He had a 33 pitch first inning, but after that, it was pretty much smooth sailing for Cole as he never really let the Cardinals mount much of a threat.

This kind of outing was much needed for Cole as he’s struggled, which has lead to a small section of the fan base to start questioning his status as an ace. He’s clearly the Pirates number one and his career so far speaks for itself. Is he Clayton Kershaw or Jake Arrieta? No he is not, but it’s a bit short sighted to take for granted how lucky Pirates’ fans are that they get to watch one of the game’s best young pitchers.

Elementary

Tony Watson had another scoreless outing and finally looked like the pitcher he was from 2012-2015. He retired the side in order and it looked fairly easy for the left hander.

Watson has allowed just one earned run in his last six outings and seems to be turning the corner. He’s lowered his ERA from 3.86 to 2.87 and while ERA is not a great stat to judge relievers, it is good to see Watson getting back to his normal, boringly dominant form.

Baseball talk on the web

David Schoenfield writes about the amazing return of Jung Ho Kang to the Pirates’ lineup.

In yesterday’s game against the Cubs, Bryce Harper went 0-0…with six walks and one HBP. Tying a modern day record for most walks in a game.

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