The Pirates’ most recent road trip was absolutely terrible. They needed to come home and play well and for the most part, they played okay. Honestly, they won both series, but it never really felt like they played all that well.
The offense is still struggling, but at least the young starting pitching seems to really be carrying the club. Chad Kuhl and Jameson Taillon both pitched like big league veterans and really lead the way to two victories.
The current old man of the rotation, Ryan Vogelsong also pitched very well in defeat, which may be the biggest surprise of the season. Vogelsong has looked great since returning from his gruesome eye injury. If he, along with the young pitchers can continue to perform well, who knows where August and September will take this team?
The Pirates won’t get to bask in their back-to-back series victories for too long as they will embark on a fairly tough west coast road trip. They begin tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games, then venture to San Francisco to take on the Giants.
Without hyperbole, this could be the defining road trip of the season for the Pirates. If they play well and manage to win both series, they could cement themselves as legitimate wildcard contenders. If they lose both and play poorly, this could officially just be a bridge season to 2017. Either way, it’ll be fascinating to see how this team stacks up against two very good baseball teams.
Game one of the Dodgers’ series will feature Ivan Nova taking on Ross Stripling. First pitch is scheduled for 10:10pm.
Series Result: Pirates win 2-1
2016 win/loss record: 57-55
2016 series record: 18-15-3
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