Morning Rundown: Pirates bullpen blow another lead, lose three of four to Marlins
Pirates lose on a walk off wild pitch by David Bednar
Entering the season, the rotation was widely considered to be the strength of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Even with Jared Jones out, they’ve been as advertised through the first four games.
New addition Andrew Heaney made his official debut for the team. He pitched five innings of one-run ball, striking out two batters. He threw 79 pitches, 55 for strikes.
Through four games, Pirates’ starters have allowed six earned runs across 22.1 innings pitched (2.42 ERA), striking out 17 while only walking four.
Andrew McCutchen opened up the scoring with a home run in the second inning. It’s the first of the season, and third overall by the Pirates.
Nick Fortes hit an RBI double in the bottom of the second, tying things back up. Endy Rodriguez had an interesting fifth inning offensively. He had a close call go his way at the plate, extending the at-bat, which he eventually walked.
After Jared Triolo popped up trying to bunt, Enmanuel Valdez grounded out to first baseman Eric Wagaman. After tagging first, the throw to second went off Rodriguez’s back, going into the outfield.
He advanced to third and was later driven in on an infield hit by Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
After Justin Lawrence pitched a scoreless sixth, leading the way to Colin Holderman in the seventh. While he got a pair of strikeouts to start the inning, they both went to full counts, he gave a home run to Criffin Conine on a 1-2 fastball up in the zone.
Caleb Ferguson pitched the eighth, allowing a walk and a hit but keeping the Marlins off the board before David Bednar was brought in the ninth.
Derek Hill led off the inning with an infield hit that traveled four feet. He stole second and then advanced to third on a throwing error by Endy Rodriguez.
He would eventually score on a wild pitch, giving the Marlins a 3-1 series win over the Pirates.
The Pirates will continue their road trip to start the season, remaining in the state of Florida to face the Tampa Bay Rays. Carmen Mlodzinski is slated to start the series opener, with Paul Skenes set for the finale. They currently have a TBD for the game on Tuesday.
With the season starting recently, the site is having a flash sale on yearly subscriptions. From now until next Saturday, you can upgrade and get 30% off a yearly subscription when you become a paid member.
That equates to less than $3 per month and far less than $1 per paid feature. Video breakdowns, our full write-ups on our top 25 prospects, and other player features are among the benefits of upgrading.
Top Exit Velocity
Andrew McCutchen - 103.4 mph - Home Run
Tommy Pham - 102.9 mph - Single
Enmanuel Valdez - 101.7 mph - Lineout
Tommy Pham - 96.9 mph - Groundout
Jack Suwinski - 96.1 mph - Flyout
Top Pitch Velocity
David Bednar - 97.4 mph
Colin Holderman - 97.3 mph
Colin Holderman - 97.3 mph
Colin Holderman - 97.3 mph
David Bednar - 97 mph
Most Whiffs
Andrew Heaney - 6
Colin Holderman - 5
Caleb Ferguson - 2
Justin Lawrence - 1
David Bednar - 1
Support the site by becoming a paid member, and get access to all of our premium content, including our Top 25 list with complete player write-ups and video breakdowns, which come out weekly.
It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.
We have monthly and yearly plans available, with the latter costing an average of $4.16/month.
Absolutely predictable clusterf*ck of a bullpen.
Small sample and all, but Endy sure does not look like he belongs on an MLB roster right now.
His shenanigans in the bottom of the 9th cost them the game. You can't throw one into CF with no outs. Bednar spiked it, but a good catcher blocks that 99 out of a 100 times.
Shit series all the way around, but the Pirates lost it. The Marlins didn't win those games, they were handed to them on a silver platter.