Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – Enter The Gauntlet

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 left a soggy PNC Park yesterday having only completed a shot portion of their series finale against the Colorado Rockies.

Now, due to mother nature’s fickle ways, the Pirates are about to embark on an absolute gauntlet of a schedule.

Playing tomorrow would set the Pirates up for 30 consecutive game days, which would ironically include the weird June 9 makeup in Denver.

— Matt Gajtka (GITE-kah) (@MattGajtka) May 22, 2016

The team has played on nine consecutive days through yesterday. Although some would barely call yesterday’s soggy affair “playing,” the mental grind of getting yourself ready to play cannot be ignored. The team will have to dig deep to find its way over the next three weeks, a stretch that includes a road trip to Texas and Miami, that ridiculous June 9th makeup game in the middle of a homestand and some fierce tests against the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals, who are still dangerous despite playing middling ball lately.

Closing it out

Ryan Vogelsong will step in for a spot start today at 12:35 as the Pittsburgh Pirates wrap up the Rockies series. With Vogelsong on the mound and the lingering effects from yesterday’s delays, we could be in for some sloppy play. Vogelsong has not made a start since April 13th against the Detroit Tigers. He pitched well that day, giving the team a chance to win on the back of a five inning, one run outing. With the day off yesterday, Vogelsong may have a quick hook in lieu of the bullpen, but manager Clint Hurdle will need to keep a firm eye on bullpen usage with the next three weeks in mind.

Baseball Talk on the Web

• MLB Trade Rumors compiles the best items from baseball blogs around the country every week. PBD is honored to be featured on MLBTR, and we encourage you to check out the latest installment.
• Our friends over at Jays From The Couch review the Blue Birds up to this point
• The San Diego Padres had some apologizing to do after a very bizarre and disappointing incident.

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