Pirates Takeaways: Bullpen Has Been Achilles’ Heel During Skid (+)
PITTSBURGH — It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has had their struggles throughout the season.
On the year, Pirates’ relief pitching has posted an ERA of 4.84, by far the worst mark in the league.
Those woes were on display in the Pirates’ 6-5 loss to the Cubs on Friday as the bullpen combined to give up four runs in four innings.
The struggles out of the bullpen are one of the major contribution factors to the Pirates’ struggles of late.
In every game of the Bucs’ current eight game losing streak, the Pirates’ bullpen has allowed at least one earned run.
“We’ve been really inconsistent over this stretch. Because of it, there’s been some games when we’ve had some leads and given them back,” said manager Derek Shelton. “It’s something we have to cleanup not only in the short-term but in the long-term.”
During this eight game skid, the Pirates bullpen has combined for a 10.55 ERA, allowing 25 runs in 21.1 innings.
The troubles out of the pen started in the very first inning on Friday when Wil Crowe and Manny Bañuelos each walked in a run to erase a two-run lead of the Pirates.
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In the inning, Crowe walked three batters before Bañuelos came in and walked in Zack McKinstry, the first batter of the game he had to face.
“We just did not execute our pitches tonight at all, I mean we walked four guys in one inning,” said Shelton.
If the Pirates want to put this losing streak in the rearview mirror, the bullpen must start performing at a much higher level.
Solid Debut For Bae
Ji-hwan Bae’s debut was a successful one despite the loss.
The 23-year-old walked in his first plate appearance and promptly swiped a bag for the first time as a big leaguer.
In the ninth, Bae recorded his first big league knock with a ground-single up the middle, and went on to steal another base.
“Overall, he brought some excitement and did some really good things,” Shelton said on the rookie’s first game as a big leaguer.
Aggressiveness Paid Off On Offense
Bae wasn’t the only one who was aggressive on the bases for the Pirates.
In additon to Bae, Oneil Cruz, Kevin Newman and Jack Suwinski all recorded stolen bases, giving the Pirates five on the night. Newman and Suwinski pulled off a successful double steal in the third.
The aggressiveness was particularly a factor early in the game, as four of the five steals came against Cubs starter Javier Assad. The gambles paid off for the Pirates’ offense.
“I think we took advantage of some opportunities. We have to look to be able to take bases like that,” said Shelton.
The Bucs also executed a hit and run that couldn’t have gone better. Reynolds took off from first and scored after Cal Mitchell hit a double down the right field line.
For a team mired in a slump as bad as the Pirates are, look for more of the same as they look to break out of their funk.
Weather Cooling Down, Reynolds Heating Up
With two more hits on Friday, Bryan Reynolds now has multi-hit games in three of his last four games, seven of his last last 12 and 10 of his last 18 overall.
One of his two hits from Friday was his 25th home run of the season, which eclipses last year’s total of 24 to set a new career-high.
Reynolds may not be having the same season at the plate he did last season, a performance worthy of MVP consideration, but the 27-year old has been the Pirates’ top hitter again in 2022.