Pittsburgh Pirates Series Recap: Reds and Beans.

The Pittsburgh Pirates looked to continue their good play going from one hated team to another.

The Pittsburgh Pirates played a fairly good series against the St. Louis Cardinals as they won two of the three games and came within a ground-rule double of maybe sweeping the Cardinals for a second consecutive series. Still, nothing wrong with winning a series in Busch Stadium.

The Pirates then turned their attention from one hated red team to another as they prepared to play a three game series against the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates started off the series with Jon Niese looking to rebound from a couple poor starts.

Game One: Jon Niese (3-1, 5.94ERA) vs. Dan Straily (1-1, 3.56ERA)

Result: Pirates lose 3-2

Winning Pitcher: J.C. Ramirez (1-2, 5.56ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Jon Niese (3-2, 5.63ERA)

Save: Tony Cingrani (2, 2.93ERA)

• What went right:
  • Jon Niese had a fairly solid performance as he went 6.2 innings, allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out four.
  • Andrew McCutchen had two hits, a walk, and a run scored.
  • Jung Ho Kang had another good game in the early part of his comeback, He went 1-4 with one RBI and a double.
  • Ryan Vogelsong had a good relief outing as he went 1.1 innings, allowed zero runs on two hits.

• What went wrong:
  • Jon Niese allowed three solo home runs which proved to be the difference in the ballgame.
  • Billy Hamilton just continued to hit Pirates’ pitching as he has as many hits against the Pirates this season as he does against all other Major League teams. He finished 3-4.
  • Dan Straily had a very good outing for the Reds. He went six innings, allowed two runs on four hits and struck out four.
  • Pirates went 1-10 with runners in scoring position.

Game two of this series was officially rained out, so this turned into an abridged two game series with the Pirates looking to leave Cincinnati with a split before traveling to Chicago to take on the Cubs.

Game Two: Juan Nicasio (3-3, 3.16ERA) vs. Alfredo Simon (1-3, 9.86ERA)

Result: Pirates win 5-4

Winning Pitcher: Tony Watson (1-0, 2.70ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Ross Ohlendorf (3-4, 5.40ERA)

Save: Mark Melancon (10, 2.57ERA)

• What went right:
  • The Pirates got a little revenge for game one of this series by hitting four solo home runs.
  • Andrew McCutchen had a pretty good game and seems to be getting going. He went 1-4 with a walk, a home run and one RBI.
  • Josh Harrison was a mid-game substitution and tied the game in the eighth inning with a solo home run of his own.
  • Jordy Mercer drove in the eventual winning run with a single in the ninth inning.
  • Jared Hughes, Tony Watson and Mark Melancon shut the door and closed out the game.

• What went wrong:
  • Starling Marte was ejected by the umpire for arguing a call at second base. The umpire admitted after the game to not hearing what Marte even said to him. Still threw him out because people pay to see umpires, right?
  • Jay Bruce had a big game as he went 2-4 with a home run and two RBI.
  • Alfredo Simon had likely his best outing of the season. He went six innings, allowed three runs on three hits and struck out three.
  • This game turned into another HBP-fest as the teams combined to hit each other six times.

Final Thoughts