Takeaways & Throwaways – Glasnow Struggles Mightily as Pirates Fall to Reds

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the Reds, but the real story lies with their top pitching prospect

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FINAL: Cincinnati Reds 7, Pittsburgh Pirates 1

Takeaways

• Wade LeBlanc put in some quality innings in relief, and what a good note for the team and for him. LeBlanc’s spot in the bullpen is far from guaranteed, especially with A.J. Schugel waiting in the wings. It was a positive outing for LeBlanc, who had given up 3 runs in just a third of an inning in his first appearance of the season.
• We all know that Josh Bell is a project defensively at first. But the Pirates want and need to give him time there, as his offensive upside is huge. So far, Bell hasn’t made any glaring mistakes defensively at first this season. Yes, it’s still early. And yes, he did struggle in spring training. But the hope is just that he improves at first this year, not that he becomes perfect. He doesn’t have any errors over there so far, and he played well there tonight.
• No Pirates offensively stood out, so there’s no one to put here are a takeaway on that side of the ball, unfortunately.

Throwaways

• Tyler Glasnow was a disaster in his first start. He showed all of the bad Glasnow traits and none of the good ones. He walked five batters, and four in a row in the first inning. Two of those walks were in bases loaded situations, pushing a run across the plate. And the second inning was a little different, but ended with the same results. He managed to get the ball across the plate, but batter squared him up and he gave up two more runs. Nevertheless, I still am far, far, far from giving up on this kid.
• For as frustrating as Glasnow was, the offense was arguably more frustrating. Glasnow is expected to struggle at times. The offense, the way it did with runners on tonight, is not. In the bottom of the first, the Pirates had men on first and second with no outs, and didn’t score a run. In the second, they had bases loaded and nobody out, and didn’t score. And in the third, they had bases loaded with no out again, and only managed to score once. That’s eight men left on base in the first three innings. That’s not going to cut it.
• What I’ve come to realize about Clint Hurdle is that he’s not one to think outside of the box. But that’s not necessarily a knock on him. It doesn’t seem like most managers in baseball think outside the box. In this game, Hurdle let Wade LeBlanc bat twice with the bases loaded, one of which was in the second with no outs. I understand they don’t want to tax the bullpen, but maybe it’s time to get creative. Trevor Williams and Juan Nicasio are in the pen, both of whom can pitch extended innings if need be. I look forward to the day when managers take more risks in games and stop adhering to traditionalist approaches.

Line Of the Day

Glasnow’s line certainly stands out; hopefully he can improve upon it before the team sends him back to the minors.

1.2 IP | 4 H | 5 R | 5 ER | 5 BB | 1 SO | 0 HR

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The Pirates winning streak ends at 3. They lose to the Reds 7-1. Who is your Pirates player of the game?

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Up Next

The Pirates continue their series with the Reds tomorrow night at 7:05 PM when Jameson Taillon gets his second start of the season against Rookie Davis of the Reds (yes, that’s his name).