The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped another game to the Miami Marlins, a 3-2 loss that saw another fantastic start from the Miami rotation. Here are the takeaways and throwaways from the game.
Takeaways
- Matt Joyce tied the game in the seventh after working the count full and finally driving a ball threw the right side of the infield to score Francisco Cervelli and Josh Harrison. Joyce, along with the other players that make up the bench, have in general done a fantastic job this season. The Pirates have not had such a deep bench in years, and this is an aspect of the team that could really help as the season rolls on.
- Wilfredo Boscan turned in another great relief appearance when he came in and pitched the sixth inning. He didn’t strike anyone out and also didn’t allow a baserunner, but the most impressive aspect of his appearance was his pitch count. Boscan only needed eight pitches to work the inning, and five of those were for strikes. With some members of the bullpen struggling, Boscan has been able to give Clint Hurdle quality innings when he needs them.
Throwaways
- Jon Niese was cruising until the fifth inning, which saw the Marlins bring two runs home. After striking out Adam Conley to begin the inning, Niese allowed a single and a double before Christian Yelich hit into a fielder’s choice at first. John Jaso elected to try to get the out at home but the ball arrived after the runner. He then walked Marcell Ozuna before getting a huge strikeout when Giancarlo Stanton was caught looking. He then unleashed a wild pitch that allowed Martin Prado to score, so they elected to intentionally walk Chris Johnson before getting Derek Dietrich to pop up and end the inning.
- Conley was absolutely dominant early on during Wednesday’s game and after being handled similarly by Jose Fernandez on Tuesday, it would have been nice to see the Pirates bounce back. Hopefully they can on Thursday and at least split the series instead of losing it.
W – David Phelps (4-3)
L – Tony Watson (1-1)
S – A.J. Ramos (17)
Line of the Night
Just like last night, this game’s Line of the Night goes to the opposing pitcher.
Conley went six innings while giving up just two runs and three walks. He struck out nine and during the early innings it looked like he had a very good chance to throw a no hitter, but the Pirates eventually were able to get some hits. Conley has the makings to be a very talented pitcher to slot in the rotation behind Fernandez.
Up Next
The four game series concludes on Thursday at 7:10pm when Juan Nicasio (4-4, 4.79) and Wei-Yin Chen (3-2, 4.37) face off. Opponents have scored at least four runs in Nicasio’s last four starts, so that is a trend that he’ll look to stop against the Marlins. After getting hit around by the Tampa Bay Rays, Chen turned in a good start the last time out, limiting a bad Atlanta club to one run over five innings.
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