Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – Falling Flat

In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pittsburgh Pirates could not rebound after Monday night’s blown game to the Cubs. Instead, the offense fell flat against Kyle Hendricks on the Cubs on Tuesday night. They only notched three hits off Hendricks, and four hits in total all night. This is the same team that tagged Jake Arrieta the night before four six runs. Yes, Hendricks has been fantastic this year, but in order to be considered a team that can compete in the playoffs, Hendricks is the type of pitcher you’re going to need to be able to score off of, and the Pirates couldn’t do that last night.

Chad Kuhl didn’t have an awful start last night, and he never really does have bad starts. But it’s always going to be tough to get three runs off Hendricks. It’s unfortunate that the Pirates just don’t have the pitchers to match up with the Cubs, outside of maybe Jameson Taillon.

Now the Pirates are back at 2.5 games back. They need to make up games quickly as the end of the season draws near. They can start that by not getting swept by the Cubs tonight.

Yesterday’s Player of the Game

#Pirates lose 3-0. Who is your Player of the Game in the loss?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) August 31, 2016

Baseball Talk Around the Web

• Tim Tebow held a workout for MLB clubs yesterday. He did demolish a ball into the bushes in right-center field, but, as we all expected, he likely still has a lot to work on, per Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.
• September 1st is right around the corner, and with that comes the time for September call-ups. Keith Law of ESPN, however, says that due to the protection of top prospects now more than ever, among other factors, this time period is no longer a big deal.
• And Dayn Perry of CBS Sports lists one injury that each playoff contender can’t afford to have. I might actually disagree with the one given for the Pirates…

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