Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – A Tough Loss in Cincinnati

The Pittsburgh Pirates dropped the first game of the series in Cincinnati 3-2 on Monday night, suffering another tough loss in Cincinnati. Here are the takeaways and throwaways from Monday’s loss.

Takeaways

• Jonathon Niese had a strong start, giving up just three runs in six and two thirds innings of work. He struck out four and walked one, but did get tagged for three solo home runs. The night could have gone in a different direction had the Reds had men on base when the home runs were hit, but Niese was fortunate that all of the long balls came with the bases empty.
• There wasn’t a ton of offense on Monday, but Andrew McCutchen did collect two hits in his three at-bats, bumping his average to .248. This is still much lower than he and the team would like, but it’s a good sign to see him slowly bring the batting average up as the season rolls on.

Throwaways

• Monday’s loss drops the Pirates record at Great American Ballpark to 1-4 on the season, something that the team will need to improve on going forward. With the Chicago Cubs jumping out to a big lead early on this season, the Pirates need to start winning games against opponents that they should easily beat.
• Dan Straily stifled the Pirates over six innings and to play off of the note above, this is the type of pitcher that the Pirates need to beat. Straily has had a few good outings lately, but a team like the Pirates who have been one of the most patient teams in the league should be able to take advantage of him.

Line of the night: Tonight’s line of the night goes to Niese:

Niese went six and two third innings and gave up three runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out four. He was ultimately doomed by the three home runs that he served up on Monday. Fortunately for him the bases were empty, or his line could have been much worse. The next time won’t be any easier for him the next time out when he takes on the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field.

Up next: The series in Cincinnati continues on Tuesday at 7:10pm when Juan Nicasio and Alfredo Simon face off. Nicasio only gave up one run the last time out, but he only lasted four and one third innings. He did strike out seven in the outing. Simon had one of his stronger starts of the season in his last start, going seven and two thirds innings. The Pirates did beat Simon back on April 30th so hopefully they can continue their luck on Tuesday.