With the Pirates pitching carrying the team so far in the short season, it seems only fitting that pitcher James McDonald would save face for the Pirates in their series opener against the San Francisco Giants. No McDonald didn’t pitch the team to victory as he gave up three runs and six hits over 5.2 innings, but McDonald did collect a hit for the Buccos. What’s the big deal about the hit you may ask? It was the only one the Pirates collected on the day.
Matt Cain of the Giants retired the first 17 Pirates batters he faced on the day, before McDonald hit a single to right field to end the streak. Had it not been for McDonald, the Pirates were facing the first perfect game thrown against them in franchise history. With the 5-0 loss, the Pirates now fall to 2-5, including losing four in a row. While it is still early and there is plenty of ball left to play, one has to be concerned with the dreadful offense the Pirates have displayed. With his sixth different lineup in seven games, Hurdle was attempting to work some kind of magic to get his ballclub going. At the end of the day however, the Pirates still are stuck on 11 runs through seven games.
While the level of pitching they have faced in six of the seven games, no disrespect to Chris Capuano intended, the excuse is getting old with the players, the coaches and maybe most importantly – the fans. As of press, the Pirates rank last in the league with a team batting average of .178. So the question is when will the bats come around? Perhaps the more appropriate question is, will they? Aside from Alex Presley and Andrew McCutchen, who have 16 of the Pirates 39 hits this season, the bats have yet to show any promise. With this season feeling eerily similar to last year with the dominant pitching staff, who ranks sixth in the league with a team ERA of 2.70, will they be able to hold up if the bats do come around?
In Hurdle’s second year as manager, he remains cool, calm and collective, as well as optimistic about his ballclub. I was talking to a gentleman today who asked me a great question. He asked me when will people start calling out Hurdle for his optimism if the team isn’t showing the results? I answered and told him that the fans will give him a pass because of the terrific first half the team had last season. However, as fans who have been down this road 19 years counting, if the team is 13-27 after 40 games, last season won’t matter.
Photo credits: Associated Press
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