In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Pirates have now lost five of six games to the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds. Those teams have a combined record of 39-63. In their 14 game stretch against inferior talent, the Pirates finished 8-6. This coming after a 7-1 start.
Ivan Nova was terrible yesterday. He gave up two home runs, one of which was a grand slam. In total, he gave up five runs (four earned because of an error he made) in 5.1 innings. Nova has given up 10 home runs on the season in 11 starts. That is tied for the team lead with Chad Kuhl.
Yes, the starting rotation woes continue.
Luckily, the Pirates will add a new arm to the mix tonight. Joe Musgrove makes his debut against the St. Louis Cardinals. Musgrove features a four pitch mix. Along with a fastball, he mixes in a curveball, slider, and changeup. His slider is sharp and is sort of a hybrid of between that and a cutter. His fastball sits in the low-to-mid 90s.
Season starts tonight
The Pirates’ recent inability to beat awful teams has been infuriating. Looking at the upcoming schedule maximizes that feeling.
Here’s one last reminder.
Tonight the Pirates start a three game series hosting the Cardinals before playing the Chicago Cubs, Cardinals again, LA Dodgers, Cubs again, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Right now, the Pirates are 27-22, third in the NL Central and three games back of first place.
In reality, play time is over. Over the next few weeks, this team will either sink or swim, walk or fall, fly or dive. The cliches are a plenty folks. The starting rotation needs to improve, plain and simple. For the most part, the offense is pulling their weight as is the bullpen. It’s time for the starting rotation to pull their weight as well.
#BUCSin280
#Pirates lose 5-4 to the #Reds. Ugly series all around. Could’ve easily been swept. Nova was awful. Has been for over a month now. He gave up 5, including a grand slam. Freese homered. Meadows homered. He’s been GREAT. Glasnow touched 100 and had two shutdown innings. #BUCSin280
— Pirates Breakdown (@piratebreakdown) May 24, 2018
Daily Links
- Scientists looked at baseballs.
- Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer look forward to their matchup.
- The AL Central is terrible.
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