It was inevitable that the Pirates were going to come back to earth, at least a little bit. The math on 13 of 16 is easy, it’s a 130 in 160 pace. The way they’ve lost these two games, however, is pretty frustrating when it’s put into practice in front of you. Taylor Jungmann made his big league debut for the Brewers last night and, as Tim Neverett and Bob Walk discussed during the game, both the scouting reports and stats on him are unimpressive. If you watched any singular at-bat the Pirates had against Jungmann last night in isolation, you’d likely come to the same conclusion. He kept leaving balls up in the zone, just begging the Pirates to hit them. Besides Starling Marte’s home run, it never happened.
The inept offense wasted one of Francisco Liriano’s most efficient starts as a Pirate; he cruised through eight innings on 105 pitches, struck out six, walked one, and allowed three runs on five hits. One of the runs was a home run that just barely cleared Starling Marte’s reach in left field. I kind of suspect that in the absence of fans (one guy in particular with a long reach) out in the bleachers there, Marte could’ve made the play.
Once or twice every year, I feel like it’s important to remember the Andy Van Slyke quote that used to sit atop the old WHYGAVS:
Every season has its peaks and valleys. What you have to try to do is eliminate the Grand Canyon.
Two losses to the Brewers is incredibly frustrating, but it’s barely even a pot hole. Remember that before the 13-in-16 run started, the Pirates lost two really frustrating games to the Twins at home. Let-downs happen, just don’t let them become losing streaks.
Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images
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