What We Takeaway From Pirates Opening Day Win
Major League Baseball Opening Day has a feeling that no other day, besides Christmas, can quite duplicate. The anticipation of a long off-season culminates into one day when you realize that all the waiting is over and baseball is officially back. The only thing that can make the day even more special is when your team takes that first step in the right direction and picks up the Opening Day win. It may only be one game out of 162, but it is always better to see a 1-0 record ahead of an off day than an 0-1 record. Even though expectations are low for the Pirates this season, they took a step in the right direction on Thursday picking up that coveted Opening Day win, defeating the Chicago Cubs 5-3 at Wrigley Field.
Of the 26 men on the Pirate's active roster, manager Derek Shelton used all 12 position players and seven of the 14 pitchers in the win. As with every first game of the season, there were times when both sides looked rusty and there are definitely things the Pirates need to improve upon as the season moves on. However, it was really good to see the offense be able to get people on base and to see the bullpen absolutely dominate the way they did over the final six innings of play. The fact that the win came against a National League Central opponent only sweetens the pot as the Pirates get an early leg up on one of their division rivals. Today, we give you our takeaways from the Opening Day win looking at the good and the bad that the Pirates showed.
The Offense is A Lot More Patient Than Last Season
Last season, the Pittsburgh Pirates were one of the most impatient teams in the league, and it would lead them to swing at some bad pitches. The Pirates ranked 26th in the league with 167 walks and only the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Colorado Rockies finished with fewer walks than the Pirates did. Because of this, one of the main focuses of spring was getting back to fundamentals both at the plate and in the field. It was only day one, but the Pirates showed they are a much more patient team than last season. As a team, they drew 10 walks and had at least one man on base via the walk-in every inning. In fact, the leadoff man reached in every single inning except the seventh and the ninth, and every position player except for Kevin Newman drew a walk.
While the Cubs were missing the zone consistently, the Pirates batters also battled and had great at-bats throughout the afternoon. And, not all of these good at-bats turned into walks. One example of this was Jacob Stallings at-bat in the top of the fifth with runners on first and second with one out. Stallings fell behind 1-2 Nd was forced to battle at the plate. He ended up fouling off two tough pitches and working the count to 3-2. Then, he got a fastball and lined it to the deepest part of left, bringing home Colin Moran and extending the Pirates lead to 4-2. It was at-bats like this all day that forced the Cubs to have to go through eight pitchers on the day. If the Pirates continue to show this type of patience at the plate throughout the season, they are going to have better at-bats and will have more run-scoring opportunities.
Too Many People Left on Base
While all the walks and extra-base runners were nice, one thing the Pirates really couldn't get was that hit that broke the game open. In total, the Pirates left 36 men on base throughout the afternoon, and the Cubs seemed to hang around throughout the afternoon. There were several instances where a clutch hit would have put the game away, but the Pirates just were never able to get that hit. There were two instances, once in the top of the fifth and once in the top of the eighth, when a better came up with the bases loaded and two outs where a clutch hit would have put the game out of reach. However, both times the batter would end up recording the final out and the Pirates continued to hold on to their two or three-run lead.
This kept the Cubs close throughout the game and, if it wasn't for a dominant performance by the bullpen, they could have gotten right back into the game. If the Pirates want to continue to win ball games, they are going to have to start taking advantage of these opportunities when they arise. The Pirates are not a team that is going to be anywhere near the top of the league in home runs. However, that doesn't stop them from playing the small ball game, and coming up with clutch hits when they need it. This offense already showed the ability to score runs, with five runs in the opener. However, if they can start coming through with those clutch hits it will only make the offense better and allow the bullpen some more wiggle room late in games.
Starter Still Not Going Deep
Maybe it is because of last season, but seeing Chad Kuhl go only three innings brought back some trauma from last season. The Pirates starters only averaged 4.0 innings per start last season, and today Chad Kuhl didn't give much confidence that the starters would be able to go deeper into games. He only lasted three innings today, giving up one run on one hit while walking three and striking out two. Now, I know that Kuhl only got to throw eight Spring Training innings because of the birth of his son, and he may not be totally stretched out, but he was rather inefficient in those three innings. He needed 63 pitches to get through the outing and only threw 33 of them for strikes.
In order for the Pirates to have success this season, they are going to have to rely on their starters to eat some innings this season. You can't rely on the bullpen to pitch six innings every night, no matter how dominant they are. We won't really see how deep the starters are going into ball games until all five guys have taken the mound at least once. However, Kuhl did not set a good tone in terms of going the distance in the Opener or being consistent around the strike zone. The key to this staff's success is going to be pounding the strike zone and trusting the defense behind them. As the season goes on, the Pirates will be looking for their starters to go deeper into games and eat up innings for those guys in the bullpen.
The Bullpen Looks Dominant
Again, I know it is only one game, but what more can you say about the dominance of the Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen on Opening Day. After Chad Kuhl left the game in the top of the fourth, they were looking at six innings to cover with the Pirates leading things 3-2. However, they would not disappoint as Duane Underwood Jr., Clay Holmes, Sam Howard, David Bednar, Chris Stratton, and Richard Rodriguez not only held the lead but dominated over those six innings. The six pitchers combined to allow just one run on one hit while walking one and striking out 10 batters. Coming into the season, the bullpen had a lot of question marks, but late in Spring Training and through the first game of the season, they have shown to be a strength for the ball club.
The bullpen was almost untouchable this afternoon, and the big thing they had working for them throughout the day was the strikeout pitch. Underwood and Howard each struck out the side in their innings and at one point, Howard and Bednar had combined to strikeout five consecutive batters in the sixth and seventh innings. While they won't be this dominant every game of the season, it is a good sign that this group could be a strength moving forward. And, with all of the relievers being relatively young, it could also be a group that sticks together for a while. One common thread about the Pirates playoff teams from 2013-2015 was the dominance of their bullpen. This team is looking to bring back that element of strong relief work as they build trust with their fans and their teammates that they can hold a lead and win the team some ball games.
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