Pittsburgh Pirates Series Recap - A Clean Sweep of Oakland

The Pittsburgh Pirates looked to continue their improved play against the Athletics in Oakland

Result: Pirates win 7-3

Winning Pitcher: Jeff Locke (8-5, 5.13ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Sonny Gray (3-7, 5.42ERA)

What went right:
- Sweet Swinging Matt Joyce had a very good game as he went 2-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
- Jordy Mercer also had himself with both the glove and the bat. He went 2-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.
- Josh Harrison played well and continued his recent hot streak. He went 2-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

What went wrong:
- Marcus Semien played fairly well as he went 1-4 with a home run, two RBIs, and a run scored.
- Jed Lowrie had a two-out RBI and finished 1-4.
- John Jaso went 0-5 with a strikeout and stranded two men on base.

Result: Pirates win 4-2 (10 innings)

Winning Pitcher: Juan Nicasio (6-6, 5.40ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Daniel Coulombe (1-1, 4.76ERA)

Save: Mark Melancon (23, 1.39ERA)

What went right:
- Chad Kuhl pitched fairly well as he went six innings, allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out two.
- Starling Marte reached base three times as a result of one hit and two walks. He finished 1-3 with one RBI and a run scored.
- Pirates as a team went 5-14 with runners and scoring position as they took advantage when they had opportunities to drive in runs.

What went wrong:
- Josh Reddick was tremendous for the A’s as he went 4-4 with a walk and one RBI.
- Khris Davis was also great for the A’s as he went 3-5.
- Coco Crisp threw out David Freese at home as he was attempting to score.

Result: Pirates win 6-3

Winning Pitcher: Francisco Liriano (5-8, 5.34ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Daniel Mengden (1-4, 3.48ERA)

Save: Mark Melancon (24, 1.35ERA)

What went right:
- Adam Frazier had himself a ballgame as he went 2-4 with a double, a triple, one RBI and a run scored.
- David Freese provided some much-needed insurance as a result of his towering opposite field home run, which pretty much put the game away.
- The Pirates’ bullpen continued their excellent play as A.J. Schugel, Neftali Feliz, Tony Watson, and Mark Melancon combined to go four innings, allowed zero runs on four hits with four strikeouts.

What went wrong:
- Coco Crisp was good for the A’s from the lead-off spot as he went 2-5 with one RBI.
- Jung Ho Kang had a very poor game with the bat as he went 0-5 with three strikeouts.
- Khris David continued his very good season as he went 2-4 with a run scored.