Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – Early Lead Turns into a Loss

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a three run lead but saw that dissolve in the sixth inning as they went on to lose the second game of the series to the St. Louis Cardinals. Here are the takeaways and throwaways from the 4-3 defeat.

Takeaways

• Jung Ho Kang put the Pirates out front in the first inning with a three run blast, his 21st home run of the year. Kang missed a lot of time during the season due to injuries, but a healthy version of him in 2017 will be a huge bonus for the Pirates. His home run on Saturday showed the type of power he has and that he is capable of changing the game quickly with one swing of the bat.
• Overall Chad Kuhl had a good game and ended the season on a positive note. He pitched into the sixth inning and allowed two runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out five. There was a scary moment in the 5th inning when Kuhl attempted a bunt and fouled the ball off the visor of his helmet. He ultimately stayed in the game and did drop down a bunt, but the Cardinals were able to get the lead runner at second.

Throwaways

• The wheels came off in the sixth inning for the Pirates. Jhonny Peralta started the inning with a single and moved to third on a double by Brandon Moss. Josh Bell made a curious decision to slide to stop the ball hit by Moss, which allowed the runners to take an extra base. Kuhl was removed from the game and was replaced by Antonio Bastardo, who went to 3-1 on Randal Grichuk before uncorking a wild pitch that allowed Peralta to score. Bastardo was replaced after a third of an inning by Juan Nicasio, who gave up two runs to tie the game.

W – Kevin Siegrist (6-3)

L – Felipe Rivero (1-6)

S – Seung-hwan Oh (19)

The #Pirates fall to the #Cardinals 4-3. Who is your player of the game?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) October 1, 2016

Line of the Afternoon

Today we’ll focus on Chad Kuhl, who ended the season on a good note.

Kuhl got into the sixth inning on Saturday, but was removed as he had an elevated pitch count at that point of the game. He allowed two runs on eight hits and a walk to go along with five strikeouts. Three of those strikeouts came in the first inning and the other two to end the fourth. Like yesterday’s starter Tyler Glasnow, Kuhl will be a top consideration for a rotation spot in 2017, and deservedly so.

Up Next

The Pirates and Cardinals will conclude the series and the 2016 season with a 3:15pm game on Sunday. Ryan Vogelsong (3-7, 5.00) will close out the season for the Bucs and will look to improve on his previous start when he gave up four runs in five innings. He will be opposed by Adam Wainwright (13-9, 4.67) who in his last three starts pitched a combined 16.2 innings and allowed 13 runs.