In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
A pretty Niese start
Last night the Pittsburgh Pirates dropped their second consecutive game to the Miami Marlins by a score of 3-2. Despite the loss, Jon Niese pitched fairly well for the Pirates, going five innings, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out six.
Since his disastrous start against the Chicago Cubs, Niese has been quite good for the Pirates, throwing 30.2 innings and pitching to a 2.68ERA in his last five starts. Hard to find much wrong with what Niese has been doing for the Pirates lately. He’s seemingly finding his groove and turning into the pitcher the Pirates were hoping he’d be when they traded for him.
ReJoyce
Matt Joyce once again delivered a clutch pinch hit for the Pirates, driving in two runs in the seventh inning to tie the game at two.
Joyce has been a revelation for the Pirates, turning into one of the game’s best bench bats. He’s currently hitting .328 with a 1.104OPS. Quite simply, he’s been a huge contributor to the team as both a pinch hitter and a spot starter when called upon. He’s helped turn the Pirates bench into a huge area of strength for the team and adds another dimension to a very potent offense.
In addition to his clutch pinch hit, Joyce also won our coveted Twitter Player of the game poll:
Who was your Player of the Game from tonight's 3-2 #Pirates loss to the #Marlins?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) June 2, 2016
Have Mercer
Jordy Mercer has been a notoriously slow starter in his career, but had a tremendously good April to start the season. In April he hit .318/.394/.412/.806. That success did not carry over into May as Mercer slashed .231/.307/.275/.582. Quite simply he was extremely poor last month. His batting average is still a respectable .268, which is pretty much where you’d expect Mercer to be, but his poor May is still a bit concerning. Jordy absolutely needs to be better in June.
Baseball Talk on the Web
The first MLB All Star Game ballot was released and it features lots of Chicago Cubs.
Former Pirates’ Wildcard Game hero, Marlon Byrd was suspended for 162 games because of a positive PED test. He will not appeal.
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