Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – Home runs and spotty pitching

The Pittsburgh Pirates smacked three home runs in a narrow 8-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. The three home runs mark the most the team has hit in a game this season and helped to give the team a cushion while the pitching staff added a less than spectacular performance. Here are the takeaways and throwaways from the 17th game of these season.

Takeaways

• Unlike Thursday night when the team scored 11 runs and hit no home runs, Friday’s game saw the Pirates tally four of their eight runs from home runs. In the second inning Sean Rodriguez connected for a two run shot and Gregory Polanco hit a solo blast on the very next pitch. Those home runs were estimated to go 458 and 461 feet, respectively. In the third inning Jordy Mercer hit his first home run of the season, connecting for a blast that was estimated to be 466 ft from home plate.
• Of the individual starters, Mercer again came through as the lead off hitter, reaching base in four of his five plate appearances. With his batting average now approaching .300, he can give Clint Hurdle great lineup flexibility at either the top or close to the bottom of the lineup. His K/BB rate is almost even, so whatever adjustments Mercer made in the offseason, they are paying off dividends early on in 2016.

Throwaways

• Both starters were knocked around on Friday, but it’s  especially disappointing because Jonathon Niese had two very good outings in his most recent starts. Patrick Corbin and Niese were both plagued by the long ball, so the conditions affected them about equally. Niese will look for a bounce back performance in his next start which unfortunately will be in Colorado, another less than ideal pitching environment.
• Hurdle hoped to get two innings out of Tony Watson but he ran into trouble in the eighth. After retiring the Arizona hitters in order in the seventh, he gave up three runs in the next inning. Fortunately an error charged to Mercer meant that only one of the runs were charged to him. Mark Melancon earned the save and was called upon to get four outs instead of the usual three.

W – Niese (3-0)

L – Corbin (1-2)

S – Melancon (4)

Line of the night: Tonight we’ll focus on Mercer and his teammate Josh Harrison, who had nearly identical lines.

Both hitters had three hits in four at bats, scored two runs and each drove in a run. The only difference was that Mercer also drew a walk and connected for the home run while Harrison added two doubles. Still, it’s great production from the lead off and five spots in the lineup.

Up next: The second game of the series starts at 8:10pm Eastern when Juan Nicasio and Rubby De La Rosa take the mound for their clubs. Nicasio turned in a good start last time out, limiting the Brewers to three runs over six innings. De La Rosa has started two games this season and made relief appearances in three more, compiling an ERA of 8.44 in the process.