Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call: Lousy Great American Ballpark

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

Lousy Great American Ballpark

Last night the Pirates dropped the opening game of their series against the Cincinnati Reds on three Great American Ballpark assisted solo home runs. Jon Niese did not pitch poorly but was hurt by the longball. He finished the game going 6.2 innings, allowed three runs on seven hits with four strikeouts. It was easily his best outing of the last couple weeks, but it was not enough to get the Pirates a victory.

The other story of the game was clearly the offense. Pirates hitters weren’t able to get anything going against a poor Reds’ bullpen, but that’s baseball. Even the worst teams have good moments and that includes bullpens with ERAs above six. That fact alone had to be frustrating for the team, and they will need to find a way to put bats to balls and scratch across runs. With a rematch against the Cubs looming, any momentum that the team’s hitters can take with them will be welcomed.

Billy “Mickey Mantle” Hamilton

It seems like any time that the Pirates play the Reds, Billy Hamilton is on-base all the time and last night was no different. Hamilton went 3-4, bringing his average up to .333 vs the Pirates and .239 vs. every other team in the league. The amazing thing is, despite three hits, Hamilton didn’t steal a base and failed to score a run. Hamilton is not a strong offensive player, but he turns into a superstar against Pirates’ pitching and usually he hurts the Pirates with his bat and on the base paths.

Gung-ho for Jung Ho

Jung Ho Kang continued his good start since his return from injury. He had a double in the ninth inning and played solid defense at third base. It’s obviously only a few games, but it’s very encouraging to see Kang not only playing, but playing well. Despite only having one hit, recency bias pretty much made him the player of the game in our official post game poll.

Pirates drop game one of the Reds series 3-2. Who is your Pirates player of the game?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) May 10, 2016

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