Pirates back to their winning ways after June swoon
For a while there, things looked bleak for the Pittsburgh Pirates. After a strong April, and a passable May, things bottomed out in June. The club went an awful 9-19 during the month.
During that stretch, some questioned whether the team’s run had come to an end. After many years of futility, the Pirates have become one of the best franchises in the game. With June’s awful play, their stretch of three straight consecutive playoff appearances was in jeopardy. On top of that, there were suggestions the team might be better off trading superstar outfielder Andrew McCutchen.
At the time, it was tough to argue with some of those sentiments. The Pirates’ record was 34-39 on June 23, putting them five games under .500. They were also five games out of a wild card spot in the National League. Maybe their magic had finally run out.
A month later, everything has changed. The team has fully recovered from June’s slump, going 13-7 in July. It’s been a complete reversal of fortune. The team that seemed destined to sell a month ago has now made itself into a contender again.
Whether the Pirates can keep it up will be the focus of Yahoo Sport’s MLB Free Game of the Day. McCutchen and the Pittsburgh Pirates will take on Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners. Pirates ace Gerrit Cole is on the mound, which should help their chances.
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Now that the Pirates have completely altered their fortunes, the focus will once again be on strengthening the club at the deadline. Pitching, which was a major strength of the team last season, is the clear need this time around.
The Pirates rank 23rd with a 4.85 ERA among their starters. The club’s 4.66 FIP isn’t much better, suggesting they haven’t been unlucky this year.
It’s easy to pinpoint where things have gone wrong. Francisco Liriano, who has pitched like an ace during his tenure with the Pirates, has suddenly lost his stuff again. The lefty has a 5.38 ERA over 108 2/3 innings, and is walking batters at a career-high rate.
Both Jon Niese and Juan Nicasio were supposed to be pitching coach Ray Searage’s latest reclamation projects in spring training, but both players have been awful this year. Niese has a 5.13 ERA, while Nicasio’s ERA sits at 5.05.
Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow were supposed to provide hope, but they’ve been a mixed bag thus far. Taillon has shown solid skills over seven starts, but Glasnow is currently on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. It doesn’t help that Cole, who has been among the best pitchers in the majors the last few years, also spent time on the DL earlier in the season with a triceps injury.
The need may be clear, but the trade market is not. Given the hauls that were given up for Drew Pomeranz and Aroldis Chapman, it’s starting to look like a seller’s market. There may be other starters available, like Rich Hill or one of the many Tampa Bay Rays’ pitchers, but they will cost a pretty penny.
Given the club’s recent turnaround, the Pirates should be looking to add once again at the deadline. The team desperately needs a bonafide starter to shore up the rotation for the second half, but finding the right deal could prove to be a challenge.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
