In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
During the Pittsburgh Pirates playoff years of 2013-2015, one of the biggest knocks against the club was their struggles against the NL Central. They appear to have solved those problems this season as they have gone 10-3 against NL Central competition in 2018. The most recent victim of the Pirates’ domination was the Milwaukee Brewers. The Pirates were able to win a series in their old House of Horrors, Miller Park.
The series began with a fairly well played 6-4 victory, despite some bullpen woes in that pesky sixth inning, the Pirates were able to hold on for the win.
Nick Kingham wasn’t as outstanding as he was in his first career start, but he did just enough to help his team earn the win. He ended the day allowing four runs in 5.1 innings pitched. Not great, but for a kid making his second Big League start, acceptable.
Game two featured the Pirates making a dramatic comeback via a Starling Marte two-run home run in the eighth inning, only to see George Kontos allow the Brewers to re-take the lead in the next half inning.
Kontos was supposed to be a stabilizing veteran arm in this bullpen, but so far, he has been anything but. I know judging relievers by ERA can be a bit misleading but Kontos fails by nearly all metrics so far this season. His 4.11 ERA doesn’t seem so bad on the surface but his WHIP of 1.370 and FIP of 5.50 shows he has been non-effective more often than not. I am not saying the Pirates should get rid of Kontos as his track record is good enough that he could bounce back but until them, he should only be used in low-leverage situations.
The Pirates saved their best performance in the series for last as Chad Kuhl had maybe the best start of his career and the offense exploded in a 9-0 victory.
Kuhl went seven innings, allowed zero runs on one hit and struck out eight. The Brewers never looked comfortable as Kuhl changed speeds and eye-levels with ease. Chad Kuhl isn’t often thought of as a guy with nasty stuff but he certainly had it all working on Sunday.
Nearly everyone in the Pirates lineup had a hit and they used three different solo home runs, including an absolute missile from Josh Bell.
However, once again Corey Dickerson had the big day as he went 3-5 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored. Dickerson has been the Pirates most consistent offensive weapon so far in 2018 and is definitely helping fill the void left by Andrew McCutchen in the outfield.
Up Next
The Pittsburgh Pirates will enjoy a well deserved off day before traveling to the Southside of Chicago to take on the White Sox in a two-game inter-league series.
Game one of the series features Ivan Nova (2-2, 4.01ERA) taking on Lucas Giolito (1-4, 7.03ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 8:10pm.
The brief series then wraps up with everyone’s favorite tweeter, Trevor Williams (4-2, 2.63ERA) taking on Reynaldo Lòpez (0-2, 2.43ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 2:10pm.
#BUCSin280
After each Pittsburgh Pirates game, we take to our twitter to recap the game in 280 characters. Think of it as a snapshot need-to-know from the game. Here now is the #Bucsin280 from last night. Follow us on Twitter to see these in real time
#RAISEIT #Pirates steamroll the #Brewers 9-0 for the series win. Kuhl was dominant, striking out 8 over 7. He gave up just 1 hit. Frazier, Mercer, and Bell, who have all been struggling lately, go tater tots. Mercer and Dickerson 3 hits each. RichRod slams the door. #BUCSin280
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