In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
That wasn’t fun
Last night the Pittsburgh Pirates saw a 4-0 first inning lead evaporate, as they lost to the Atlanta Braves 8-4. The Braves offense exploded for eight runs on 15 hits. It may have been their best game of the season.
The Pirates gave Jeff Locke a lead to work with and he did not deliver. He allowed five runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings of work. Locke’s 2016 season continues to be a complete disaster as last night’s start raised his ERA to an absurd 5.63. Somehow he keeps getting starts. We’ll have to see what the Pirates decide to do with Locke between now and his next scheduled start.
There weren’t many options for our player of the game poll, but here are the results:
#Pirates lose 8-4 to the Braves after grabbing an early lead. Player of the game?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) August 4, 2016
Cutch Happens…on the bench
The other major developing story for the Pirates was the report that Andrew McCutchen will remain benched for the duration of at least the Braves’ series. McCutchen has had a poor season and it would seem Clint Hurdle is hoping the rest will help kickstart the former MVP back into form.
The Pirates are still in the playoff race, but it’s hard to imagine this team in the postseason unless McCutchen turns it on for the last two months of the season.
You would think McCutchen’s resumè would earn him a little benefit of the doubt from the fans for his lost season, but that hasn’t been the case. There have been cries to trade the struggling center fielder, remove him from center field or just bench him. Our own Joy Frank-Collins wrote a fantastic article about what the Pirates should do with McCutchen. If you haven’t read it, I suggest you do so.
Baseball Talk on the Web
The 10 quickest ways to get kicked out of an MLB stadium
The best options by position for MLB teams looking to improve via waiver trades
MLB umpire ejected Phillies fan for anti-gay heckle
Thanks for checking us out here at Pirates Breakdown. Please make sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook for the best Pirates coverage all year long!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
