A little less than three weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates were 18-22 and struggling mightily to get on track. All Star center fielder Andrew McCutchen‘s average was in the low .200’s and his production was significantly down from where it usually is.
Don’t look now, but as the weather began to heat up, so did the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since May 22nd against the New York Mets, things started to turn around in Pittsburgh. The Pirates swept the Mets and since that series began they have now won 12 of their last 14 games to put themselves at 30-24 and in second place in the National League Central. What looked like a two team race between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs is now a three team race again.
McCutchen is predictably back to form. He’s now hitting .295/.382/.497 with 7 home runs, 35 runs batted in, and 14 doubles. The emergence of veteran catcher Francisco Cervelli has been huge as he is now hitting .331 with 48 hits in just 145 at bats. This Pirates lineup has a very good mix of solid young contact and power hitters. Left fielder Starling Marte, although he was in a recent slump, has stepped up this season, leading the team with 11 home runs and 37 RBI. Players like second baseman Neil Walker, shortstop Jung Ho Kang, third baseman Josh Harrison, and right fielder Gregory Polanco have stepped up this season as well. The Pirates lineup is incredibly deep.
Another reason for Pittsburgh’s success is the great pitching in both the starting rotation and the bullpen. 24 year old right hander Gerrit Cole has been one of the best starting pitchers in the Major Leagues this season as he’s now pitched to at 8-2 record, has an earned run average of 1.90, has walked just 16, and struck out 79 hitters in 71 innings. Veteran starter AJ Burnett has been incredible as well in his first year as a Pirate, pitching to a 6-1 record with an ERA of just 2.20. This was surprising to a lot of people because over the years Burnett has been very inconsistent. Left hander Francisco Liriano has been effective in 2015, having an ERA of just 3.24 and striking out a staggering 81 hitters in just 66 and two third innings. Vance Worley has been a pleasant surprise by being a very good number 4 pitcher in this rotation. Closer Mark Melancon has saved 17 games out of 18 opportunities. The rest of the bullpen has made it so that manager Clint Hurdle can be confident in going to them whenever he needs them, and that they will do their jobs on a consistent basis.
The National League Central may be the best division in baseball because the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Pittsburgh Pirates are all very talented teams and they will be an interesting division to keep an eye on all season long. The Pirates starting pitchers may be pitching just a tad over their heads so am I sure that they will be able to keep this up? No, but it’s been fun to watch this team play as well as it has, and hopefully they can hang in there. I have a feeling that at least one of the wild card teams will be coming out of the National League Central.
