Pittsburgh Pirates Wake Up Call – Over Before It Even Started

In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.

Ugly, ugly Loss

Last night the Pittsburgh Pirates lost 14-3 to the Chicago Cubs, It may have been the worst effort of the season for the Pirates. The game started out fairly promising as Chad Kuhl retired the first two Cubs’ batters. Then like a flash of lightning, it was 4-0 Cubs in the first inning. Every team has games like this during the course of a season but it always feels worse when it happens early in the season. I’ve said this before, you are never as bad as you look at your worst and you’re never as good as you look at your best.

The other notable part of the game was the debut of Dovydas Neverauskas. He became the first player in MLB history to be born and raised in Lithuania. He pitched okay as he allowed one run in two innings of work. Obviously, no one is happy with the outcome of yesterday’s game but it’s always exciting when a young player gets to live his dream and make his MLB debut. 

An important start

Tonight Gerrit Cole gets the ball for the Pirates and to be perfectly honest, I am interested to see how he pitches. Cole has been better since his first start in Boston but he’s far from the ace form he showed in 2015. Cole has pitched okay and kept the team in games. However, you expect better from your number one. The Cubs have one of the best lineups in baseball, so it will be a god challenge for Cole. He needs to show he can go against the best and win. Cole has yet to truly regain his form following the 2015 Wildcard Game.

The Cubs have one of the best lineups in baseball, so it will be a god challenge for Cole. He needs to show he can go against the best and win. Cole has yet to truly regain his form following the 2015 Wildcard Game. Obviously, one start in late April isn’t going to re-establish Cole as a true ace but taking on the Cubs and shutting them down would certainly be a good start. Cole seems to get a ton of flack from fans whenever he doesn’t perform. I’ve often wondered why he seems to get so much scorn. I believe that Cole set the bar so high from 2013-2015, that anything less seems like a disappointment.

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