In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates.
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Trevor Williams has been downright horrible for an extended stretch as of late, which have led many to believe his time in the rotation could be coming to an end, especially with Nick Kingham sitting in Triple-A.
But Monday night, Williams showed how good he can be, finding his form once again, pitching seven shutout innings, allowing just one hit, leading the Bucs to a 1-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Williams, who allowed 12 runs in just six innings over his last two starts, struck out seven while walking only two on the night.
His fastball command was great and he was able to throw the changeup and slider to both right handed and left handed hitters.
All in all it was a great performance from Williams.
Kyle Crick pitched a perfect eighth and Felipe Vazquez survived a leadoff single in the ninth to record the save,
The only run came via of a Jordy Mercer RBI double in the seventh off of Josh Hader.
A win despite Clint Hurdle
A telling point came in the seventh when the Bucs finally got a runner to third base for the first time in the game.
Even though Colin Moran was thrown out trying to steal second base on a botched hit-and-run, the Pirates had runners on the corners with Gregory Polanco coming to the plate.
Brewers’ manager Craig Counsell summoned lights out lefty Josh Hader from the bullpen.
Left-handed hitters are hitting .075 with a .271 OPS on the season against Hader. While right-handed hitters aren’t faring much better, with just a .418 OPS, there’s not a manager in baseball that let’s Polanco hit in that situation other than Hurdle.
With two right-handed bats on the bench in Jose Osuna and David Freese, Hurdle let Polanco, who’s hitting just .163 against southpaws on the season, hit.
Polanco struck out on three pitches and luckily Mercer came through with the game winning hit.
Under no circumstances should Polanco have faced Hader in that situation.
And you want to know why people are frustrated with Hurdle.
Once again they won a game despite their manager.
Roster Moves
As mentioned, Osuna was called back up before the game as Jacob Stallings was sent back to Triple-A.
Richard Rodriguez was also activated from the 10-day disabled list.
Dovydas Neverauskas was sent back to Triple-A.
Up Next
The Bucs continue their series against the division leading Brewers.
Jameson Taillon (4-5, 3.94) looks to continue his solid stretch as Taillon has a 2.73 ERA in his last four starts. He will be opposed by Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta (1-0, 3.72), whoi is expected to be re-called from the minors prior to the game.
The Bucs are back to .500 and trail the division-leading Brewers and Chicago Cubs by six games.
#Bucsin280
#RAISEIT back to .500. #Pirates shutout the #Brewers 1-0. Williams was incredible. He tossed 7 scoreless while allowing 1 hit. Crick and Vazquez ended things nicely. Mercer’s double off Hader in the 7th provided the only run of the game. Solid win over division leader. #BUCSin280
— Pirates Breakdown (@piratebreakdown) June 19, 2018
Baseball Talk on the Web
- Nationals going for it again. Improve pen by dealing for Kelvin Herrera.
- Astros make it 12 straight wins on walk-off from Alex Bregman
- Potential landing spots for Noah Syndergaard if Mets decide to deal ace
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