Ivan got through the bottom of the order in the fifth quietly and is at 67 pitches. Odorizzi went 3-0 on J-Hay before getting a bouncer, then walked Polanco and Marte to earn a hook, replaced by Taylor Rogers. He buried five fastballs down and away and J-Bell swung through three of them; none were strikes. Dickerson followed with a single to left; Gregory was thrown out at home easily on an iffy wave by Joey Cora, even with two gone. Nova opened the sixth with a walk and wild pitch. A mini-pop that should have been caught fell, and though the Bucs got the out, it moved the runner up and a ground single with the Pirates infield shifted tied it. Lo-Mo doubled in another run as Gregory had trouble corralling the ball in the corner and J-Hay's relay was weak. Dovydas Neverauskas, who should at least be used to the weather, came in. Maybe not; he gave up another double; an out later, yet another two-bagger made it 6-3 and brought Josh Smoker to the bump to close the gate. Trevor Hildenberger took off his bullpen jacket and put up a zero.
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| Tyler continues to develop (photo Pittsburgh Pirates) |
Tyler Glasnow got the seventh inning call. He gave up a walk to Adam Rosario, then picked him off per most eyeballs; however, the ump and review said no. The runner scored when he was off on a 3-2 pitch that was spanked into left center for a single; Rosario came all the way around on a not-very-inspired throw by Dickerson. The Bucs went down in order. Glasnow rallied in the eighth, striking out the side around a grounder up the middle. Addison Reed climbed the hill, faced three Pirates and climbed back down. Glasnow closed strong in the ninthwith two more whiffs bracketed around a walk. Fernando Rodney put up a zero to close, stranding Corsairs at second and third.
Can't win 'em all, and Tyler looks like he's beginning to harness his stuff, so there's that. And by leaving him in for 55 pitches, Clint may be looking a keeping him stretched for a start. As for Ivan, he pitched better than his line today; the boys gotta throw and catch the ball behind him. Still, there's a voice saying that the bad D and miserable middle of the bullpen work is gonna bite the boys down the road; we'll see if the FO is looking for arms - and building a pen is something they're usually good at - or gonna blame the weather.
Notes:
- J-Bell's first-inning homer was hit out with 113.7 MPH velocity. Per Statcast, there have only been three harder-hit home runs by the Pirates, all drilled by Pedro Alvarez in 2015.
- J-Hay and Corey Dickerson accounted for half the Bucco hits with two knocks apiece.
- The paid attendance was 20,690; the actual attendance was a few thousand.
- Injury updates from Pirate City: AJ Schugel, recovering from a sore shoulder, has thrown two bullpen sessions with live BP next on the agenda. Rule 5 pick Nick Burdi, bouncing back from TJ surgery, threw off the slope of the mound for the first time in his rehab.
- *sigh* modern times - the PPD bomb squad was called to check a suspicious package (suspicious to the police dogs that sniffed it out, anyway) on Federal Street outside the ballyard. After the carton was eyeballed and poked by a robot, the police stated "It was determined there was no threat to public safety and the issue is now resolved."
You're entirely correct. The Pirates under Hurdle have never been any good at baserunning or, really, at basestealing. Marte is a weapon in that regard, and Josh Harrison gets a few in a pick-your-spots kinda way, but that's been about it. I don't count McCutchen because he stopped running after his first couple of full seasons and when he did run, he got caught entirely too many times for a guy with the kind of raw footspeed he had.
ReplyDeleteTeam defense has also been lacking more often than not, though IMO that has generally not been as big a problem as the baserunning.
Re: the middle inning guys in the 'pen, Glasnow might end up playing a big role in that regard---though I'm sure the team would much prefer that he develop into a major league starter. Schugel will help if he makes it back from his shoulder injury at full strength. I suspect, however, that they'll have to bring somebody in before long.
Yah, Wil, I think they're looking at Glasnow for the rotation. I think once he gets his pitch count down,you'll see him in that role. I thought that Neverauskas and Santana with their options were just placeholders for Siegrist and Schugel. I don't know what Siegrist's status is; I haven't seen any other team sign him, so I suppose he'll play for Indy; he has,I believe, a June 1st opt out clause. As for Schugel, I dunno; he's just getting ready to pitch BP, so he's not close. I wish I could understand how these little arm discomforts like AJ and Musgrove have blossom into weeks upon weeks off.
ReplyDeleteThe fielding disappoints me; all three outfielders have had plenty of time to master their art. Still, bad routes, off-line throws...even the IF, which should be presentable as a unit, have their moments.
I'm not sure how much of running is instinctive and how much can be taught. Clint has never had many burners for sure, but his best baserunners - not stealers, but runners - have been slowpokes like Alvarez and Mercer who always got two bases when the opp presented itself. The Pirates, sheesh, they start, stop, look for the ball, forget about the coach, take turns wide enough to end up in the dugout...I'm sure they're coached up better but just go brain dead on their feet.