Pittsburgh Pirates Wake-Up Call – Filthy Frankie Returns

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 returned to their winning ways yesterday in a fashion that bodes well for the second half of the season. First and foremost, Francisco Liriano returned to the Filthy Frankie we have missed since Opening Day. He was on fire, tossing 13 strikeouts, tying a high with the Pirates, and two off from his career-high of 15 strikeouts in a game. Unfortunately, the Pirates may have let Liriano go one too many innings for the second start in a row. Maybe the Pirates need to cut Liriano off after six innings next start to keep his confidence riding high into his next start.

But that’s nitpicking an otherwise fantastic start for Liriano, who has not allowed more than three runs in any of his past four starts. If he can return to dominance, that is huge news for this rotation moving forward.

Matt Joyce continues to show why he was one of the best value signings this off-season. It seems like the Pirates haven’t had a quality fourth outfielder in so long, and now they finally do.

Andrew McCutchen had a two-hit night with a walk, and continues a good month of July, compared to what he did in June. I think he’ll be a .270 hitter by the end of the year.

Gerrit Cole looks to get back on track tomorrow night after a rough first start after returning from the DL, and what better team to do it against than the Phillies?

Yesterday’s Player of the Game

Who is your player of the game from the Pirates 5-3 defeat of the Milwaukee Brewers?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) July 22, 2016

Baseball Talk from Around the Web

• Commissioner Rob Manfred was on Mike & Mike yesterday talking about ways to improve baseball. One point he agreed with was limiting the use of relief pitchers. Count me against that.
• Jim Bowden of ESPN ranks the top trade options at every position (Insider required).  It’s a good list to familiarize yourself with who might be available at the trade deadline.
• Apparently the White Sox were recently offered a “king’s ransom” for Chris Sale by an unnamed team. Could it have been the Pirates? We may never know.

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