Starling Marte’s two-run shot against the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth inning got things going for the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday afternoon:
Then Brandon Inge put the Pirates up 5-4. Check out Rickie Weeks’ boot on the play on this link.
– Rick Green
With apologies to Andrew McCutchen, the cover boy for “MLB The Show” and the hot-starting Starling Marte, the best thing going with the Pittsburgh Pirates is A.J. Burnett.
Burnett took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning Wednesday night, giving up a double to Carlos Beltran in a 5-0 win.
Burnett whiffed four of the first nine batters and struck out eight total. He was on.
Here’s Clint Hurdle on Burnett last night:
Actually, he’s been on all season.
Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds seemed like so many for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
They trailed 5-0 going into the bottom of the seventh inning and seemed destined for another loss.
Then they woke up.
The Bucs scored four in the seventh to make it 5-4. The Reds added a run in the top of the eighth to make it 6-4 to restore a little bit of order.
Then the Bucs went crazy.
The Pirates scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to take control and beat the Reds 10-7. (Cincinnati added a run in the ninth.)
Catcher Michael McKenry hit two home runs (one in the seventh, one in the eighth), Starling Marte hit his first of the year and Travis Snider added two hits.
Jonathan Broxton took the loss for the Reds while Jared Hughes got his first win for the Pirates.
That’s a sweep for the Bucs (6-6) to get back to .500. The Reds are 5-7.
That’s an impressive win for Pittsburgh after a dismal start to the season.
– Rick Green
Want to try to look at the positives in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ latest shutout, a 1-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday night?
Well, starter A.J. Burnett (0-2) gave up just one run and struck out nine batters. He’s pitched well enough to be 2-0 so far this season.
And the bullpen kept the Pirates in the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers (3-2).
On top of that, Starling Marte had two hits in the game, both coming off of Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (2-0).
Of course, those were the only two hits of the game for the Pirates (1-4).
You have to give them some credit — at least they’re consistent.
They had just two hits in Friday’s 3-0 loss to the Dodgers.
The Pirates will try to right the ship Sunday against Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-1). Jeff Locke is scheduled to take the mound for the Buccos.
The Pirates’ early woes on offense continued Friday night in Los Angeles.
After scoring six runs in three games against the woeful Cubs, the Pirates made it six runs in four games after being shut out by the Dodgers 3-0 Friday night. The Pirates managed two hits against the Dodgers.
The loss dropped Pittsburgh to 1-3.
Starling Marte is hitting .143, Neil Walker .154, Pedro Alvarez .133 and Russell Martin is searching for his first hit.
That might not seem that bad, especially in such a small sample size, but there are two more games to go against the Dodgers.
Then some relief?
Not quite.
The Buccos’ road trip continues against the Arizona Diamondbacks for three games before returning home to face the Cincinnati Reds for three.
After that, the Cardinals arrive in Pittsburgh for three games, then the new-look Braves play at PNC Park for four more.
The Pirates close April on the road against the Phillies (4 games), Cardinals (3 games) and Brewers (3 games).
That’s not a very favorable schedule to start the season.
If you’re looking for a repeat of last season’s early success, the Pirates better get some hitting.
And soon.
– Rick Green (follow me @ETNrgreen)
Going into today’s trade deadline, the need for the Pittsburgh Pirates was obvious: get a power hitter.
They did that with the acquisition of outfielder Travis Snider from the Blue Jays.
In exchange for Snider, the Pirates send Toronto pitcher Brad Lincoln.
“We think Travis will fit in well with us in right (field),” Pirates GM Neal Huntington said. “He’s a hard-nosed player with power who likes to use the whole field and can make pitchers pay for their mistakes.”
With Snider, the Pirates have someone to step into the outfield right away. It should give them a starting outfield of Starling Marte, Andrew McCutchen and Snider.
I like the look of that.
Snider has serious power potential, something missing from this team. The big question is whether this helps more for this year or 2013.
Lincoln has emerged as a very good reliever this season. He could be a future closer for Toronto.
However, it’s easier to find a reliever than it is to get a power hitter.
Snider, 24, hit 14 home runs in 2010 with the Jays in 298 at-bats. A lefty, Snider hit .335 with 13 home runs in the hitter-friendly PCL this season.
Long term, I like the deal a lot. MLBtraderumors.com reports that Snider is under team control through 2016, which is a big plus for the budget-constrained Pirates.
That gives the Bucs a legit home-run threat for a few years.
The downside is the Pirates enter the final two months of the season with a rookie in left and an unproven player in right. That’s a big risk, but it could work out this season and beyond.
Are the Pittsburgh Pirates buyers before Tuesday’s trade deadline?
Ask general manager Neal Huntington, and the answer might not seem obvious. Here’s what he told mlb.com:
“So it’s nice that we don’t have to go get someone specific; we can pick what we want to get, and if the acquisition cost is exorbitantly high, we can stay with what we have and continue to play winning baseball.”
The acquisition of Wandy Rodriguez was nice. It gives the Pirates a quality arm without paying a high price, kind of what Huntington was talking about.
However, most people think the Bucs need a bat, and I’m one of them.
Pittsburgh can enter the final two months of the season with their lineup as it is.
Although Starling Marte had a great first game, he’s a rookie facing MLB pitchers for the first time. And he played against the Astros. You can’t expect him to be a difference-maker down the stretch.
Alex Presley, Saturday night’s No. 2 hitter, had a .236 average and a .276 on-base percentage. And he has just 16 RBIs.
Rod Barajas is hitting .202 and Clint Barmes is at .209, and neither one scares pitchers.
Throw in the hot and cold nature of Pedro Alvarez and you have some holes on offense.
Plus the bench needs to be upgraded.
I know Huntington doesn’t want to sound the alarm, but he needs to find some offense for this team.
I have no problems giving up a promising minor leaguer to get an established hitter.
Minor league players are so unpredictable. Too many of the Pirates’ prospects have failed to live up to their billing.
How many trades have the Pirates made where they gave up the established player and the prospects they got in return never materialized.
That’s why I say deal.
It’s been quite a season. I’d hate to see it end short of the playoffs because Huntington failed to make a move to improve this team.
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