In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the baseball day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
Champagne Super Nova in the Sky
Yesterday the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Cincinnati Reds 4-1 to improve to 69-69. The biggest story of the night was once again Ivan Nova. He went the distance, throwing his second complete game in his last four starts. He also did it in under 100 pitches and allowed only one run on six hits.
Since joining the Pirates, Nova has been incredible. In 37.1 innings, he has a 2.89ERA/3.29FIP and has only allowed TWO walks. For the second consecutive season, an under the radar pitcher has excelled for the Pirates following the trade deadline. Maybe the Pirates and Neal Huntington know what they’re doing when they acquire pitchers at the trade deadline?
When a pitcher throws a complete game in under 100 pitches, it’s fairly obvious he is the player of the game. Our Twitter poll reflected that.
#RaiseIt The Pirates defeat the Reds 4-1 to get back to .500. Who is your player of the game?
— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) September 9, 2016
Cancel the Funeral?
The Pirates have won two in a row, following their eight-game losing streak. Obviously, a lot has to go right for the team to make a playoff run but it’s nice to see the team battle back and show a little life. It’s still very unlikely the team catches the Cardinals and Mets to win the second wildcard spot but if the team continues to fight and finishes strong, that should put to bed any notion that the team quit on the season.
My biggest pet peeve in regards to sports is any accusation that a professional sports team doesn’t care when things aren’t going well. Listen, I get it, it’s frustrating when your favorite team is mired in a losing streak. It’s important to remember if it’s frustrating for you, imagine how the team feels? They are the ones that work out at 5am. They are the ones away from their families and friends. They are the ones playing the games. It’s easy to feel like as fans that you care more. You have the luxury of being able to wear your emotions on your sleeve. Players have to remain mostly neutral, especially in a failure sports like baseball. The team cares, even if they aren’t’ punching Gatorade coolers.
Gung Ho for Jung Ho
Outside of Ivan Nova, the biggest story from yesterday’s game and recently is the improved play of Jung Ho Kang. He was absolutely fantastic in the St. Louis series and seems to be continuing that stellar player against the Reds. He got to work early as his two-run double got the Pirates on the scoreboard in the first inning.
Kang has had an up and down season in 2016 but appears to finally be fully healthy and hitting like the Rookie of the Year candidate of 2015. If he continues to perform both at the plate and in the field and the Pirates keep winning, the final stretch of games should at least be fun to watch for the fans. It may be too little, too late for the Pirates to make a serious run at the playoffs but I imagine the team will go down swinging.
Baseball Talk on the Web
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CBS Sports shows you MLB’s special logo for Spanish Heritage Month
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