The danger of big divisional games in early May is that it is almost impossible to watch the Pirates squander opportunities and make dumb/bad plays in the field with Gerrit Cole operating at less than top capacity, and not think about the futility of winning 98 games with a certain wild card game awaiting you, then the abject misery of watching that game go poorly right in front of your eyes. It’s only one game and it’s early and besides one start in San Diego against a hapless Padre lineup Cole has looked pretty rusty early on this year (which might be expected with his rib troubles in spring training) and so I don’t think there’s many conclusions to be jumped to after last night, but it was pretty hard to watch that game last night and come away from it feeling any way other than bad.
Such is life in the NL Central, circa 2013-????, I suppose. The Pirates will now have to beat Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester to salvage a series win this week. I have a lot of faith in this Pirate offense, but even that has its limits.
Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images
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