Game Two: Francisco Liriano (1-1, 4.64ERA) vs. Alfredo Simon (0-2, 16.39ERA)
Result: Pirates win 5-1
Winning Pitcher: Francisco Liriano (2-1, 3.86ERA)
Losing Pitcher: Alfredo Simon (0-3, 13.50ERA)
Save: Mark Melancon (7, 2.61ERA)
- What went right:
- Francisco Liriano was filthy and had his best start since Opening Day. He pitched 6.2 innings, allowed one run on five hits and struck out six, but most importantly, he didn’t walk anyone.
- John Jaso lead-off the game with a solo home run. He finished 1-3 with a walk.
- Francisco Cervelli was a big part of the game as he went 2-4 with a walk, and one RBI.
- Sean Rodriguez went deep AGAIN. He hit a key two-run home run in the eighth inning to mostly put the game out of reach.
- What went wrong:
- Billy Hamilton cannot hit unless he’s playing the Pirates. He had his first multi-hit game of the season. He went 3-4 with a run scored.
- Josh Harrison didn’t have the best game defensively. He committed an error and failed to field a ball that despite being ruled a single, he probably should have gotten to.
- Gregory Polanco did not have a strong game. He went 0-4 and left five men on-base.
- Team had its first real clunker of a game with runners in scoring position in good while as they went 1-12.
Despite a relatively easy victory, this was not a great game for the Pirates. Outside of Liriano’s pitching performance, the team didn’t hit well or play great defense, but they did enough to win with some timely power from John Jaso and Sean Rodriguez.
Sean Rodriguez is really turning into quite the story for the Pirates. He’s always been a guy with decent pop off the bench, but he failed to show that last season, but so far in 2016, he’s been an absolute machine. Not just at hitting home runs, but hitting them in pretty big spots.
The Pirates successfully won the series and looked to the sweep with Jeff Locke on the mound.
Game Three: Jeff Locke vs. Tim Adleman
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