Game Two: Jon Niese (3-0, 5.08ERA) vs. Jake Arrieta (5-0, 1.00ERA)
Result: Pirates lose 7-1
Winning Pitcher: Jake Arrieta (6-0, 0.84ERA)
Losing Pitcher: Jon Niese (3-1, 5.94ERA
- What went right:
- John Jaso and Andrew McCutchen lead off the game with back to back walks.
- Sean Rodriguez continued his hot start, despite facing the best pitcher on the planet right now. He finished 2-3 with a run scored.
- A.J. Schugel pitched three very good innings of scoreless relief and struck out three.
- Francisco Cervelli went 1-3.
- What went wrong:
- Jake Arrieta did what most expected he would do. He went seven innings, allowed zero runs on two hits and struck out five.
- Jon Niese had another fairly horrendous start. He went just five innings, allowed six runs on nine hits and walked five.
- Kris Bryant is suffering from no sophomore slump and his good start continued. He went 3-5 with one RBI and a run scored.
- Anthony Rizzo was fantastic as usual. He went 2-4 with one RBI and a run scored.
Jake Arrieta did exactly what he’s done to pretty much every single team over the last year and a half. He was fantastic again and won the series for his team.
Jon Niese has had really good moments so far in his Pirates’ career, but when it’s been bad, it’s been really bad. He had another stinker of a start, raising his season ERA to 5.94, but more important his FIP is 5.74, which means he has not been a huge victim of bad luck. There’s still time for him to turn it around, but right now it’s frustratingly bad.
The Pirates lost their first series with their rival Chicago Cubs and looked to avoid the sweep with Juan Nicasio taking the mound.
Game Three: Juan Nicasio vs. Jon Lester
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