Pittsburgh Pirates Three Stars Of The Week: Aug. 29-Sep. 4

The 2022 struggles continued for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who went just 1-5 last week. The Bucs took one out of three from the Milwaukee Brewers before getting swept by the Toronto Blue Jays at PNC Park.

With the 1-5 showing, the Pirates fell to 49-84, the second-worst record in the league ahead of only the Washington Nationals (47-87).

Regardless of the struggles, it’s time to award the three stars from last week.

Third Star: Roansy Contreras – 6.0 innings, four hits, one run, two walks, five strikeouts, one start

Contreras was able to limit a very impressive Toronto Blue Jays lineup to just one run on Saturday night. Though the Bucs ended up losing the game, Contreras had Pittsburgh in position to come out with a win, but the bullpen faltered.

Over his last three starts, the young right-hander has posted a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings and has limited opponents to a .164 batting average against and a .482 OPS.

Second Star: Oneil Cruz – .250/.308/.625, one double, one triple, two home runs, seven RBIs, three runs, six games

After a slow start to his season, Cruz has started to pick things up at the plate of late and that continued with a nice showing last week.

The 23-year-old belted a pair of home runs and drove in seven runs for the Bucs.

He is unbelievable. He is unique. pic.twitter.com/fgRrSYhwDx

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) September 4, 2022

First Star: Mitch Keller – 6.0 innings, four hits, two runs, two walks, 10 strikeouts, one start

Keller has enjoyed steady success on the mound for the Pirates that past couple months. In the lone win of the week on Tuesday against Milwaukee, Keller picked up a career-high 10 punch outs.

Over his last 16 starts, Keller has pitched to a 3.69 ERA/3.69 FIP in just over 85 innings.

Mitch was on the money. pic.twitter.com/2RzPHpcPtw

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 31, 2022

This week, the Pirates have a three-game series with the Mets which will now begin on Tuesday after Monday’s game was postponed. The two sides will play a doubleheader on Wednesday.

The Bucs will then wrap up their nine-game homestand with three-games against the first-place St. Louis Cardinals.

Check back next week to see the top three performers from the week ahead.