Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – Pirates Crushed by Reds in Sweep

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

The Pittsburgh Pirates had a chance to build off of their sweep of the Atlanta Braves this past weekend against a seemingly inferior opponent. But the Reds continued their hot start to the season, sweeping the Pirates, and now sit atop the division at 7-2. The Pirates, meanwhile, were truly embarrassed by said Reds, getting outscored 22-5 across the three-game set. Jameson Taillon and Ivan Nova didn’t pitch terribly, but Tyler Glasnow and the bullpen did. The offense also faield to show up at all. They had many, many at-bats with runners on and in scoring position, but time and again they failed to deliver. Will this become a theme this season, or will this trend average out? Only time will tell.

The game last night was close for a while, but Antonio Bastardo came in and gave up four runs, putting the game out of reach. Bastardo, who I thought could have a good year, has an ERA of 20.25 so far this season and has given up runs in each of his four appearances. Given his struggles and his salary, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Bastardo moved if the Pirates can manage to do so. They have another quality bullpen arm in the minors in A.J. Schugel would deserves another chance in the bigs, and moving him would help balance out the righty-lefty ratio in the pen as well.

Ivan Nova did give up three earned runs last night, but I’m still high on him. He didn’t walk a batter in either of his first two starts, and if he keeps that command going, he’ll have success this year.

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