In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
Finding Their Way At The Right Time?
The Pittsburgh Pirates have now won the first two games of the four-game slate in St. Louis. After winning 5-2 last night, the Pirates have gotten off to a good start in what many label a “make or break” stretch of games before the All Star Break.
Both of these wins have come in typical Pirates fashion. Strong starting pitching gave way to a dominant bullpen, and timely hitting from unexpected places gave the team enough runs to win.
Yesterday’s game was highlighted by contributions from Steven Brault and Eric Fryer. Fryer had three RBI in the game while Brault looked very competent albeit in a shortened 4 innings of work. Please do check our Takeaways and Throwaways from last night’s game for more reaction.
Shifting Needs
A week ago, if you had asked a smattering of Pittsburgh Pirates fans what they felt were the team’s biggest weaknesses, many would say the bullpen. This site and many other voices have long called for the team to use some of its trade chips for bullpen help.
That shaky bullpen has now seemed to right itself. Arquimedes Caminero appears to be a capable reliever again. A.J. Schugel continues to impress, and Jared Hughes is capable of righting his own ship at any moment.
The key piece to the bullpen’s resurrection has to be Juan Nicasio. Moving him to the bullpen has allowed him to attack with his two best pitches, rather than stretch himself out as a starter. By only concerning himself with one to two innings, Nicasio can let it rip. When he does that, he becomes a completely different pitcher.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Today’s Starter
As part of our Wake Up Call, we will now be giving you the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates versus today’s starter.
Here now are career numbers for those Pirates that have faced Jaime Garcia
| Name | PA | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew McCutchen | 12 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | .364 | .417 | .545 | .962 |
| Josh Harrison | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Jung Ho Kang | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Erik Kratz | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .333 | .333 | .333 | .667 |
| Starling Marte | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 |
| Jordy Mercer | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Sean Rodriguez | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.333 | 2.333 |
| Total | 36 | 33 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 11 | .242 | .278 | .333 | .611 |
Yesterday’s Player Of The Game
After each game – win or lose – we put out a Twitter Poll to find out who you feel should take home ‘Player of the Game’ honors. Here now is yesterday’s results, for each game.
#RaiseIt The Pirates beat the Cardinals 5-2. Who is your #Pirates player of the game?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) July 6, 2016
Keep an eye out for our POTG polls after each game on our twitter feed after each game, win or lose.
Baseball Talk on the Web
- HardballTalk has your full list of MLB All-Stars. Mark Melancon made the cut, and Starling Marte is part of the Final Four vote.
- Pittsburgh Sporting News has a nice piece on what a change in pitches entails from everyone involved.
- FanGraphs confirms what Pittsburgh Pirates fans gleefully have known for awhile: Something is wrong with Jake Arrieta.
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