In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Braves 8-5 last night (in case the Penguins thrilling win wasn’t enough!), although the score was much closer than it needed to be. The Pirates built up a 6-0 lead using small ball and the occasional long ball, but Jon Niese let Atlanta get closer than they should have been. Instead of keeping the Braves shut out, Niese gave up a two-run home run in the sixth inning to a team that has to get lucky to put one out. Cory Luebke, who recently came off the disabled list, also gave up a two-run home run, raising his season ERA to a robust 14.73. The Pirates still managed to shut the door, but Jared Hughes and Mark Melancon had to be used on a day that they should have had off.
Matt Joyce continues to shine at the plate, as he went 3-4 with 3 RBIs, including a two-run home run in the seventh. He sure looks like a steal of a pickup so far. Gregory Polanco continues to also have a great start to his year, and the offense as a whole put up 14 hits as it carries this team with the pitching being so-so at best.
The Pirates now sit at 20-17, 7.5 games behind the Cubs in the division. Catching the Cubs sure seems like a near-impossible task, but it is still early, and the Pirates are entering a stretch of their schedule where games can be made up in the division race. They play three more games against the Braves, then three against the Rockies, followed by three against the Diamondbacks. None of those three teams are very good right now, and all three series are at home. If the Pirates can win all three series and go 9-3 in these next nine games (which is reasonable), they may be able to make up a couple games on the Cubs. A good team, like the Pirates want to be and think they are, needs to beat up on these bad teams.
Yesterday’s Player Of The Game
After each game (win or lose), the staff at Pirates Breakdown will go to twitter to let the people be heard. We’ll ask you who you think should be deemed the Pirates player who had the most impact on the game as a whole – win or lose. Here now is yesterday’s result:
Who has your vote for tonight's player of the game after an 8-5 #pirates win?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) May 17, 2016
Make sure to watch for this poll on our twitter feed after each game.
Baseball Talk from Around the Web
- Yesterday Tim Linceum agreed to a deal with the Angels. The Pirates had a scout at his last showcase, but it didn’t make a ton of sense for Pittsburgh to pursue him.
- Texas Rangers fans’ are attempting to raise money to pay Rougned Odor‘s potential fine for his punch of Jose Bautista on Sunday. Silly fans.
- Oh, and Odor has no regrets about punching Bautista.
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