Monday vs. Braves: Alen Hanson was called up to fill in a roster spot for Starling Marte who missed the game on paternity leave to welcome the newest member of his family into the world. The Pirates didn't miss a beat without him. Matt Joyce got the start and had three hits, three RBIs, and the icing on the cake, a towering home run over the Clemente Wall in right. The only thing that worries me over this 8-5 victory over the Braves is the pitching. Jonathon Niese was solid through six, only allowing two runs, but the lack of experience and slow starts of our relievers worries me as Corey Luebke surrendered 3 runs in just a third of an inning, making the game closer than it should have been.
Tuesday vs. Braves: The Pirates jumped out to a 7-0 first inning lead and didn't look back, going on to win 12-9 in what you could hardly call a pitcher's duel. That brought the Braves' runs scored this series to 14 in just two games, which is uncharacteristic of the Pirates. Tonight, it was Juan Nicasio surrendering 5 runs in as many innings, but the offense kept up its end of the bargain by scoring 12 runs and led by the 32-million-dollar-richer Pirate, Fransisco Liriano. It was uncharacteristic of the front office to sign a player to an extension mid-season, but I am very much a fan of this move as it solidifies a position that has been in flux since the Jason Kendall era.
Wednesday vs. Braves: The Bucs found themselves in unusual territory in this series, trailing, courtesy of a third inning Freddie Freeman single. Despite Kang's 9th inning dinger, they weren't able to complete the comeback as Teheran was able to cool the Bucs' hot bats by scattering just a couple hits over his lengthy start. This performance left me disappointed because I really thought the Pirates could pull off the 4 game sweep following a tough series loss to the Cubs. The bright spot was Fransisco Liriano by only allowing 2 runs, giving his team a chance to win despite the 3-1 loss.
Thursday vs. Braves: It was quite refreshing to see Jeff Locke pitch more than 6 innings in a start. I would go as far as saying he is one of the hotter pitchers on the staff as of right now. Maybe he is feeling the pressure from Glasnow being recalled from triple A to bump him from the rotation. Regardless, the bats fried on all cylinders, and the pitching held steady as the Bucs cruised to a 3-1 series win over the Braves.
Friday vs. Rockies: For the first time in his professional career, Gerrit Cole failed to register a strikeout over 7 strong innings, but stellar defense including an outfield assist courtesy of Starling Marte lead the way to victory for the Pirates in a close 2-1 win. All in all this looked to me that Cole might be settling in after a slow start to the year despite all of the hard hit balls. He pitched pretty well, but the Rockies were able to put the bat on the ball, forcing the Pirates to make plays, which they were able to do.
Saturday vs. Rockies: I really felt bad for Jonathon Niese after this tough loss to the Rockies. Outside of a solid double in the first and sloppy pitching and defense in the ninth, the Pirates played very well, but the bats could string enough of their 9 hits together to push a couple more runs across. The 5-1 final wasn't representative of how close the game actually was.
The Pirates finished the week 4-2 by winning a variety of ways, pitching, defense, and offense, depending on the game. That being said, they need to carry their pitching momentum into next week. Their team ERA is 10th in the NL, and that is good enough if they expect to make a run at the Cubs for the division.