Pittsburgh Pirates Series Recap – A Windy City Beatdown

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ June-swoon continued against the Mets and the schedule offered no relief as the Bucs had to travel to Chicago to take on the best team in baseball.

Game One: Francisco Liriano (4-6, 4.92ERA) vs. Jake Arrieta (10-1, 1.86ERA)

Result: Pirates lose 6-0

Winning Pitcher: Jake Arrieta (11-1, 1.74ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Francisco Liriano (4-7, 5.03ERA)

• What went right:
  • Andrew McCutchen reached base twice. He went 1-3 with a walk.
  • Chris Stewart went 1-3.
  • The Pirates drew three walks off of Jake Arrieta.
  • Rob Scahill pitched well out of the bullpen. He threw a scoreless inning, allowing zero runs on no hits with one walk.

• What went wrong:
  • Jake Arrieta continued his mastery of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He went six innings, allowed zero runs on two hits and struck out 11.
  • Matt Szczur was a huge part of this game as he went 2-5 with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.
  • Albert Almora went 3-4 with a walk and two RBIs.
  • Pirates went 0-6 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base. Could never take advantage of the opportunities they were given.

This game went about as well as people expected. Arrieta was dominant again and the Pirates couldn’t take advantage of his wildness. It was a lackluster effort all around. The Pirates looked to respond in game two.

Game Two: Jon Niese (6-3, 4.60ERA) vs. Jon Lester (8-3, 1.89ERA)

Result: Pirates lose 4-3

Winning Pitcher: Jon Lester (9-3, 2.06ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Jon Niese (6-4, 4.74ERA)

Save: Hector Rondon (12, 1.48ERA)

• What went right:
  • Jordy Mercer was a force all night from the lead-off spot. He went 2-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored.
  • David Freese went 2-3 with a walk and a run scored.
  • Andrew McCutchen reached base twice as he went 1-3 with a walk and one RBI.
  • The bullpen did a good job as Jared Hughes, Neftali Feliz, and Mark Melancon combined to go 2.2 scoreless innings of relief.

• What went wrong:
  • Jon Niese didn’t pitch poorly, but the long ball once again came back to haunt him. He went 5.1 innings, allowed four runs on six hits and allowed three home runs.
  • Anthony Rizzo went 2-3 with a walk one RBI and a run scored.
  • Josh Harrison went 0-4 with a strikeout and stranded four men on base.
  • David Ross hit the go-ahead home run for the Cubs. He ended up 1-1 with a home run, two walks, two RBIs and a run scored.

The Pirates clinched another series loss to the Chicago Cubs and this game hurt. Pirates lead through out but couldn’t put the game away and lost the lead late. They looked to avoid the sweep in game three.

Game Three: Jameson Taillon (1-0, 1.93ERA) vs. Kyle Hendricks (4-6, 3.05ERA)

Result: Pirates lose 10-5

Winning Pitcher: Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 2.94ERA)

Losing Pitcher: Jameson Taillon (1-1, 3.50ERA)

• What went right:
  • Starling Marte had a big game as he went 3-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.
  • Josh Harrison got the Pirates back in the game with a home run. He finished 2-5 with a home run, one RBI and a run scored.
  • Gregory Polanco reached base three times. He went 2-4 with a walk.
  • Jung Ho Kang went 2-5 with a RBI.

• What went wrong:
  • Kyle Hendricks was big for the Cubs. He went six innings, allowed one run on seven hits and struck out 12.
  • Anthony Rizzo went 3-4 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
  • Jameson Taillon finally looked like a rookie. He pitched four innings, allowed four runs on eight hits and allowed three home runs.
  • The Pirates allowed five home runs as a team, which proved to be the difference in the game.

FINAL THOUGHTS