In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
After the Pittsburgh Pirates completed their 10-1 win over the Seattle Mariners, ROOT Sports reporter Robbie Incmikoski asked Cole what the dominating win said about the team.
“We’re dangerous.” Cole said with steely resolve.
To be sure, last night’s win did a lot for wayward Pirates fans who were looking for some reassurance. After observing a team that has seen many peaks and valleys in 2016, a dominating win was a sight for sore eyes. Cole joins Jeff Locke as the two Pirates pitchers to throw complete games in 2016, and was very dominant after the first inning, as broadcaster Joe Block underlined.
Gerrit Cole pitches by inning
1: 20
2: 6
3: 7
4: 15
5: 9
6: 8
7: 6
8: 9— Joe Block (@joe_block) July 28, 2016
A Springboard for McCutchen?
The other big story from last night’s game was Andrew McCutchen‘s night. McCutchen went 3-for-5 with four RBI coming from a double and a monstrous home run to dead center. In post-game comments, McCutchen credit “getting pitches to hit” as a catalyst for his outburst.
That may not be factually correct – McCutchen has seen more fourseam fastballs this year than any of the past three years – but what matters more than type of pitch is whether or not he can use this as a springboard. Recent history shows that is a dicey proposition.
On May 27th – back when we thought McCutchen may still be having a slow start – he had a 2-for-5 day with a home run and two RBI. Over his next 17 games he struggled, slashing .167/.225/.422.
On June 25, McCutchen hit two home runs, collecting four RBI versus the Dodgers. Over the next 11 games, he slashed .250/.313/.318. Better, but still not very McCutchen-like.
Only time will tell if McCutchen can give the Pittsburgh Pirates more than what he’s given them so far this season. But last night proved that vintage Cutch can be a major cog for the club.
Yesterday’s Player Of The Game
After each game – win or lose – we put up a poll on twitter asking for your Pittsburgh Pirates Player Of The Game.
Last night’s result was an easy one to predict
Who is your #Pirates Player of the Game in the 10-1 win tonight?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) July 28, 2016
Baseball Talk on the Web
- Former Pittsburgh Pirates C Erik Kratz has latched on with the Blue Jays.
- FanGraph’s Eno Harris takes us into the mind of a player that has been traded.
- Call to the Pen thinks the Nationals should overpay for a reliever.
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