Entertaining Pirates need better starting pitching to stay in races
The list of the Pirates’ pleasant surprises is almost endless: Josh Bell having one of the best first halves in baseball history. Rookies Bryan Reynolds and Kevin Newman taking advantage of injuries to take on the look of stars. Colin
Moran establishing himself as a legitimate third baseman after losing his starting job in spring training. Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings
filling in for Francisco Cervelli and not missing a beat. The team hitting a National League- best .271. The pinch- hitters clubbing .341 with seven home runs and a baseballbest 31 RBIs. The 22 comeback wins. The 11 wins in the final at- bat.
The list goes on and on.
It is such a likeable, entertaining team.
My biggest surprise is the way the Pirates somehow have overcome a negative. Their pitchers’ earned- run average is 4.91, second- worst in the National League behind only Colorado’s 5.16. They still are within 2 ½ games of first place in the National League Central and 2 ½ games out of a wild- card slot. They are in much better position than they were at the All- Star break last season, when they were 9 games out in the division and 5 ½ for a wild card.
I can’t say I saw any of this coming.
But the Pirates still are below .500 – 44- 45 – and still in fourth place in the division. Their pitching doesn’t just have to be better in the second half if they’re going to compete for a playoff slot. It has to be much better. They need a couple of pitchers to have the second half that Jameson Taillon and Trevor Williams had last season when they were as good as any two starters in baseball. Taillon was 8- 3 with a 2.33 ERA after the AllStar break, Williams 7- 3 with a 1.38 ERA. It won’t be Taillon this season; he’s been out since May 1 with an elbow injury and might not pitch again this year. Williams has a shot, but his ERA in his past three starts since coming back after missing a month with a left side strain is 8.31.
There is no way to put a positive spin on any of the Pirates’ starting pitching statistics. They have just 33 quality starts, which ranks 10th out of the 15 National League teams. That is an important stat because they are 27- 14 when their starter goes at least six innings, 1731 when he doesn’t.
Joe Musgrove and Steven Brault have the best ERAs among the starters, 4.15. Brault left his most recent start Friday night with a left shoulder strain. Williams’ ERA has jumped to 4.54 from 3.33 because of his past three starts. Jordan Lyles started 41 with a 2.19 ERA in eight starts but is 1- 4 with an 8.16 ERA in his past six starts. Chris Archer has just three quality starts among his 15 starts with a 5.49 ERA.
I’m not sure rookie Dario Agrazal doesn’t give the Pirates their best chance to win. Each of his past two starts has been a quality start. He’s made just three and will get a fourth in St. Louis Tuesday night.
Archer gets the start in Chicago on Friday afternoon to open the second half. He was brought in at the trade deadline last season to be a top- end starter but has been anything but, not just this season but last. His struggles in August — 1- 2 with a 6.45 ERA in five starts — were a big reason the Pirates fell short in the wild- card race after going into the month just three games out with a 56- 52 record. Archer did pitch well in September, but it was too little, too late.
I predicted before the season the Pirates would go 8082 and finish in fourth place. I’m sticking with it.
It’s up to the starting pitchers to prove me wrong.