Pittsburgh Pirates Three Stars of the Week: May 9-15

It was a loaded week for the Pirates who had a full slate of seven games. The week began with the Bucs taking two out of three games from the first-place Dodgers. The Pirates then played host to the Cincinnati Reds, where Pittsburgh proceeded to drop the first two games of the four-game set. The Pirates rebounded by taking the next two, including a win on Sunday despite not collecting a single hit.

The Bucs had strong performances from a few players, including Ben Gamel, who had another strong week but fell just short of making the top three. Here are the Pirates top three performers from a 4-3 week.

Third Star: David Bednar – 5.1 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts, 3 saves, 4 appearances

It was a busy week for the right-hander, who is the third star for the second straight week. Bednar picked up the save in three of the four wins on the week and continued his dominance to begin the season. The right-hander has proved to be an extremely reliable reliever in his tenure with the Pirates so far, and has established himself as one of the best closers in the league.

Just havin' fun 🤘#RaiseIt pic.twitter.com/ixevwxdoGU

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 15, 2022

Second Star: Daniel Vogelbach – .313/.500/.750, 5 for 16, 1 double, 2 home runs, 2 RBIs, 6 walks, 6 games

Vogelbach has been awesome as the Bucs designated hitter so far this season and that continued last week. The lefty slugger did what he has typically done throughout his major league career — he hit for power and got on base a lot. Vogelbach hit the go-ahead homer in the rubber match against the Dodgers on Wednesday to put the Pirates ahead for good.

That exit vogelocity tho pic.twitter.com/8sbuavkJZz

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 11, 2022

First Star: Jose Quintana – 13 innings, 0 runs, 5 hits, 5 walks, 10 strikeouts, 2 starts, 1-0 record

Like Vogelbach, Quintana has been a terrific free agent addition to the Pirates. After tossing six scoreless innings against the potent Dodgers lineup, Quintana proceeded to pitch seven shutout innings against the Reds on Sunday. Thanks to the scoreless stretch, Quintana’s season ERA now sits at an impressive 2.19 mark through seven starts.

Quintana has been the ace of the staff that has struggled this season but is starting to see improvement. The left-hander earned a win in one of his starts on the week, but certainly deserved to pick up a win in both.

This is a José Quintana appreciation post. pic.twitter.com/33lrG45cx3

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) May 15, 2022

The Pirates head to Wrigley Field for a three-game series with the Cubs beginning on Monday. After an off day on Thursday, the Bucs will host the Cardinals for a weekend series at PNC Park starting on Friday night. Check back next week to see the Pirates top three performers from the week ahead.