In our daily Wake-Up Call, we get you ready for the day with a complete look at all things Pittsburgh Pirates
Last night the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox played a baseball game that spat in the face of pace of play. After nearly four hours, the Pirates prevailed by a score of 10-6. It wasn’t easy and at times, it certainly wasn’t pretty. However, all games are good when your team is victorious.
Ivan Nova struggled mightily and found himself out of the ballgame after just two innings of work. He allowed five runs on six hits but more surprisingly, he walked two batters. Nova is at his most effective when he his hitting his spots and out-finessing opposing hitters. Needless to say, he did not do that last night. As a result of Nova’s poor outing, we got to see an unlikely hero of the day, Mr. Tyler Glasnow.
The up and down top prospect threw 2.1 outstanding innings of scoreless relief. He allowed just one hit, struck out three, and most importantly, did not walk a batter. People may look at Glasnow’s ERA and assume he is the same pitcher as last season. However, that is simply not the case. He is controlling the zone much more efficiently and as a reliever, that ERA is massively inflated. His FIP of 3.00 reveals a much more effective pitcher than the surface stats would indicate. The K/9 of 12.54 is much closer to his minor league level of 11.9. He is missing more bats than he did in his previous stint at the Big League level. Glasnow is certainly not elite by any means but he is finally showing flashes of being a solid Major League-worthy pitcher, albeit in a bullpen role.
When your team scores 10 runs, there are going to be a lot of offensive heroes, however, once again Corey Dickerson lead the way. He went 4-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. He whacked his 11th double of the season and continued to put barrel on the ball.
When the Pirates acquired Corey Dickerson late in the offseason, you knew the team was getting a fairly solid Major Leaguer but I don’t think anyone could have predicted he would return and surpass his All-Star form from 2017. Dickerson is currently slashing .333/.371/.551/.922 with five home runs, 26 RBIs, and 20 runs scored. Pair that with some surprisingly above average outfield defense and the Pittsburgh Pirates certainly have an All-Star candidate in their outfield.
Dickerson doesn’t have the personality of an Andrew McCutchen as few players do. However, his production as of right now is far surpassing what the 2013 NL MVP is doing in San Francisco. McCutchen will undoubtably heat up and put up numbers we are more accustomed to seeing from him but right now, the Pirates are better because Corey Dickerson is in Left Field.
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