Takeaways and Throwaways – Pittsburgh Pirates unable to sweep Miami Marlins, lose 10-3

The Pittsburgh Pirates were unable to complete the sweep in Miami over the weekend, losing 10-3 on Sunday afternoon.

Welcome to Takeaways & Throwaways. Shortly after every Pittsburgh Pirates game, come to Pirates Breakdown to see our flash recap format. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about the game, without making you read the same boring recap you can see anywhere else.

FINAL: Miami Marlins 10, Pittsburgh Pirates 3

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Takeaways

• The Pirates jumped out to a three run lead in the top of the first, giving Chad Kuhl a nice cushion before he even took the mound, but unfortunately things got out of hand in the seventh inning. Josh Bell clubbed a two run home run and John Jaso slapped a run scoring single to right field . In three of the last four games the Pirates have plated at least one run in the first inning, a trend that will hopefully continue against a struggling Cincinnati club.
• Josh Bell had a productive afternoon and is discussed in more detail below.
• John Bormann was called up the major league club for Sunday’s game, and if you aren’t familiar with him, don’t worry. Before Sunday, Bormann was catching for the Bradenton Marauders but was promoted due to his proximity to Miami, not because he was all of the sudden ready for big league action. Francisco Cervelli seemed to have suffered an injury in Saturday’s contest, so the Pirates needed a back up catcher and Bormann was nearby. Every player remembers his story on how he got the call, and Bormann certainly has a very unique story to tell. He did get a plate appearance in the ninth inning and struck out swinging, a plate appearance that Josh Harrison apparently gave to him which if true is a very classy move by the veteran.

Throwaways

• Harrison had a few less than ideal plays at third, including one in the fourth that allowed Giancarlo Stanton to go from first to third. He grabbed Marcell Ozuna‘s hit on a hop but lost control when he tried to transition it to his throwing hand. Because he continued to move towards second with the ball, no one was covering third. Jordy Mercer tried to beat Stanton to the base but was unable to do so.
• Kuhl took a 94 mph Dee Gordon line drive off the knee and was on the ground in pain for a while during a scary moment of the game for the Pirates. He was able to get back on his feet and even attempted some throws, but was unable to continue. It was a good sign that he was able to resume throwing right there, and it looks like he avoided what could have been a very serious injury.  Hopefully his normal rest schedule will be enough and he’ll make his next scheduled start on Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers.
• John Jaso‘s adventures in right field continued Sunday afternoon as a well struck Mel Rojas hit alluded his glove on a poorly timed dive which allowed another run to score. With the understanding that the team wants position flexibility on the roster, there are other players on the team that have more experience in right field. Jose Osuna could definitely stand to gain more innings since he is young and under team control for many years.
• It was not a good game for the bullpen, especially Trevor Williams and Daniel Hudson. Williams walked two and only threw eight of his 18 pitches for strikes in his two thirds of an inning. Hudson’s afternoon was somehow even worse, as he coughed up five runs in just a third of an inning of work.

Line Of the Afternoon:

Not much went right on Sunday afternoon, but Josh Bell had a nice game. He hit his team leading fourth home run and added a single along with a walk to his line. He also swiped a base, his first of the season. The power the Bell has shown this season so far has been great, and he is showing the potential to be an impact bat in the lineup.

W – Dustin McGowan (1-0) ; L – Trevor Williams (1-1)  ;  

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The #Pirates fall to the Marlins 10-3 but win the series. Who is your Pirates player of the game?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) April 30, 2017

Up next

The road trip continues on Monday when the Pirates arrive in Cincinnati to begin a four game series with the Reds. Gerrit Cole (1-3, 3.60) will take the mound and face off against Amir Garrett (2-2, 5.09). Cole delivered a gem the last time out when he limited the Chicago Cubs to one unearned run over seven innings. He allowed just two hits and no walks to go along with eight strikeouts, but unfortunately was saddled with the loss. Garrett was on a tremendous run before the Milwaukee Brewers pounded him for 10 runs (nine earned) over three and a third innings of work the last time out.