The Pittsburgh Pirates had a fairly successful week from September 12-18, winning five of their eight games. While reaching the playoffs is becoming less and less likely, some players are still doing well. Here are the best players from last week.
Sean Rodriguez
Sean Rodriguez may have had the best week of any player of this season. Rodriguez homered in each game of the doubleheader on Saturday and then added another on Sunday’s series finale in Cincinnati. He slugged two home runs in the previous series in Philadelphia and added 12 RBI to his season total after his barrage over the last eight games. He has set career highs in HR and RBI this season and should be at the top of the list of the players the Pirates try to retain for 2017.
[mlbvideo id=”1163438883″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]Sean Rodriguez Weekly Snapshot
[table id=189 /]Andrew McCutchen
Andrew McCutchen turned in a strong performance last week including a two home run night in the Pirates big 15-2 win on September 15th, giving him the team lead in that category heading into Tuesday’s game. He has been hitting better as of late, so hopefully this is a sign that he’ll bounce back next season and that 2016 was just an anomaly. This was another week that McCutchen did not attempt to steal a base however, so it seems that that aspect of his game is declining at a rapid rate.
[mlbvideo id=”1175242783″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]Andrew McCutchen Weekly Snapshot
[table id=190 /]Jung Ho Kang
Rounding out the position players for this week is Jung Ho Kang. Kang did not have a week like his two teammates listed above, but he continues to hit and get on base at a great clip. He drew seven walks compared to just five strikeouts in last week’s contests. He should continue to get the lion’s share of the action at third base the rest of the season, and the last few weeks have proven that he has recovered from his injury.
[mlbvideo id=”1169118783″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]Jung Ho Kang Weekly Snapshot
[table id=191 /]Ivan Nova
Ivan Nova had two starts this week, and they were not similar at all. Nova made the list because of his dominating performance on September 13th against the Phillies, when he struck out 11 and walked just won. However, his most recent performance on September 18th was not nearly as good. He lasted just three innings and allowed five runs (three earned) on nine hits. He’ll look to bounce back in his next start, scheduled for Saturday night against the Nationals.
[mlbvideo id=”1164031383″ width=”400″ height=”224″ /]Ivan Nova Weekly Snapshot
[table id=192 /]Which of these four do you think had the best performance last week? Let us know in the comments!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
