Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – Game 13

The Pittsburgh Pirates take the series against the Milwaukee Brewers with a 9-3 win at PNC Park on Sunday, and they will also take a record that has returned above .500 at 7-6 to be challenged on the West Coast after a travel day tomorrow.  Before they do, here are the takeaways and throwaways from the 13th game of the season.

Takeaways

• Move the Line – The Pirates left 14 men on base in Sunday’s game, and normally, that would be viewed as a very bad day, unless that day happens to have the team score nine runs en route to a victory.  The Pirates also went 6-21 with RISP, which also doesn’t sound that great until you look at the opportunities.  As a team, they had 21 batters come to the plate with an opportunity to drive in runs.  That won’t happen every game, but it shows they got on base and got guys into scoring position throughout this three hour and 31 minute affair.  More importantly, they kept the line moving, especially in the third inning.  After a leadoff groundout, the next eight batters reached by way of a single, walk, or error, which knocked Brewers’ starter Zach Davies out of the game.
• Jump for Jaso – John Jaso has been questioned and analyzed by every Pirates coach, media personality, and fan from day one.  Some people have questioned him leading off, playing first, or even being a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they’ve been silenced in the early going.  Jaso has been nothing short of brilliant.  He went 2-4 at the plate with a walk and a RBI.  He has a .354/.418/.479 slash line in 12 games.  Entering 2016, he had just five innings of MLB experience at first base, but he has been nothing short of spectacular so far.  Today, he ranged far to his right to make a diving stab on a sharp ground ball and make the toss to Nicasio covering first and an over the shoulder in grab deep down the first base line and a one hop strike to home that left Jonathan Lucroy shaking his head after retreating back to third.
• Powerful Pirates – On a roster consisting of just 12 fielders for the time being, 13 normally, everyone is expected to contribute, but no one would have expected Sean Rodriguez of all people to hit a 442 ft. monster home run that landed on the third level of the left field rotunda to close out the scoring.  Sure, the fans may have expected someone the likes of Andrew McCutchen, who hit his second home run in as many days, to send their eyes skyward searching for such a towering blast, but Sean Rodriguez?  Moral of the story, the Pirates can hurt opposing defenses in many ways and without much of a weak link in the entire lineup once they get rolling.

Throwaways

• Juan bad inning – Up until the fourth inning, Juan Nicasio had been rolling.  He had retired the first nine batters he faced before Domingo Santana walked to lead off the fourth.  A second walk in the inning to Ramon Flores and a Kirk Nieuwenhuis two-run single cut the Pirates lead in half.  The Brewers threat in the fifth fell flat when Jonathan Villar overslid third and was tagged out on the steal attempt.  Aside from that one inning, Nicasio allowed two hits with five strikeouts, no walks, and no runs.  Nicasio’s struggles the second time through the lineup suppots the case for him to be in the bullpen when Jameson Taillon arrives.
• Andrew’s Awful April – McCutchen hit his second home run of the season already.  He’s on pace for another season of clearing the deck more than 20 times, but that doesn’t exempt him from criticism.  McCutchen has historically struggled in April, and this season appears to be no exception.  He went 1-6 today, which dropped his average to a mere .250.  His average is second only to Jordy Mercer’s .227 average for lowest out of the starting lineup.  McCutchen came to the plate twice with the bases loaded, neither instance resulted in a hit or a walk.  And it would be hard to walk when McCutchen didn’t work the count in either at bat.  Once McCutchen gets going and Kang returns, this lineup will go from formidable to terrifying.

W – Juan Nicasio

L – Zach Davies

Line of the night: The throwback uniforms

The Pittsburgh Pirates dusted off their 1979 throwback uniforms for the first time this season, and the reaction was very, very positive across social media.  Fans loved the way the uniforms looked back out on the field almost as much as the game’s final line score.  If you missed them, make sure to get down to PNC Park at some point this summer for a Sunday home game to see them in person.

Up next: The Pirates have a day off on Monday before beginning a series away against the San Diego Padres at 10:10 PM EST on Tuesday.  Francisco Liriano returns to the mound after missing his last start due to right hamstring discomfort.  The veteran lefty will be opposed by Colin Rea.  Liriano will look to pick up his second win and cut down on his walk rate.  He has allowed nine batters to reach by way of the free pass in two starts this season.  Rea will be making his fourth appearance, third start, sporting a 5.56 ERA and nearly as many walks with seven.  After dropping their first five, the Friars have won four of their last ten.

Thanks for checking us out here at Pirates Breakdown. Make sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for the best Pirates coverage all year long!