Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – A Much Needed Win

The Pittsburgh Pirates took the first game of the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with an 8-6 win on Friday night. Jameson Taillon did not have his best stuff, but the offense was able to get enough runs on the board to get the win and move their record to 35-39. Here are the takeaways and throwaways from the victory.

Takeaways

• Matt Joyce had a great night in place of Gregory Polanco, collecting three hits in four at-bats, including his eighth home run of the season. Joyce continues to show that he was one of the best free agent signings of the offseason for Pittsburgh. Clint Hurdle can comfortably give the starting outfielders a rest and know that Joyce will more often than not give him a good night at the plate.
• Jung ho Kang, the man batting in front of Joyce, added his 11th home run of the season on Friday. Considering that Kang missed a decent chunk of the season, it’s impressive that he has already eclipsed double digits home runs this season. He is turning into a very solid option in the middle of the lineup.

Throwaways

• Taillon was only able to complete four innings on Friday, in which he gave up four runs on eight hits and one walk to go along with just two strikeouts. Taillon has faced very good teams so far in his MLB career, with two starts against the New York Mets and Friday’s matchup against the Dodgers. Tonight’s game certainly won’t knock him out of the rotation, but hopefully he’ll perform better the next time out.
• Another pitcher who did not have a good night was Jared Hughes. Hughes was tagged for two runs in his appearance, bringing his season ERA to 4.71. Once considered a strength of the bullpen, Hughes has been touched up so far this season. He is not in danger of losing his roster spot, but he may not be called upon in high leverage situations going forward if he keeps giving up runs at this rate.

W – Neftali Feliz (2-0)

L – Nick Tepesch (0-1)

S – Mark Melancon (21)

Line of the Night

Tonight we’ll focus on Joyce, who once again proved his worth to the Pirates.

Joyce had three hits in his four at-bats, including a double and a home run. Now sporting a slash line of .305/.434/.619, Joyce has proven to be the most valuable bat off the bench this season. His eight home runs and 26 RBIs are certainly nothing to scoff at, given how the team has played up to this point in 2016.

Up Next

The weekend series continues on Saturday at 7:05pm when Jeff Locke (6-5, 5.44) and Kenta Maeda (6-4, 2.64) take the hill for their clubs. Locke bounced back from two disastrous outings his last time out, keeping the San Francisco Giants off the board over six and two third innings. With a lot of shuffling happening to the roster right now, another good performance could go a long way in securing a rotation spot going forward for Locke. Maeda did not factor into the decision his last time out, when he went six and a third inning and allowed just one run to the Milwaukee Brewers.