Buccos Cove

The Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen has been roughed up as of late after being overworked early in the season. A shake-up is coming with the Trade Deadline approaching and guys will have to be ready to take over some new roles. Rewind the season back to April, and one of the only strengths to this Pittsburgh Pirates team was the bullpen. It started with the back-end of the bullpen, as closer Richard Rodriguez and set-up man Kyle Crick were on fire, and it resonated throughout the rest of the group. Sam Howard, Clay Holmes, and David Bednar were strong in middle relief and Duane Underwood Jr. was a reliable long man. As a result, the Pirates were able to shorten games and it helped them finish the month at 12-10 and way above expectations. However, Pirates starters weren't going deep into games and you knew something had to give. Fast-forward to present day and we are starting to see some of the consequences of the starters not going deeper into games. The bullpen ERA has ris...

When the Pittsburgh Pirates have needed someone to come into the game and eat innings, Duane Underwood Jr. has been the one who has gotten the call. He is thriving in this new role and is bridging the gap to the back-end of the bullpen. After two innings of yesterday's 5-2 win over the Miami Marlins, it was tired at 2-2, and Mitch Keller just started two runners after giving up a two-run single. He was due up third in the bottom of the second, but much to the surprise of fans it would be Chase De Jong that pinch hit for Keller. With Keller done after two innings of work, Derek Shelton went to the man he has been calling on in long situations as of late, Duane Underwood Jr. It has been just four days since Underwood Jr. last pitched on May 31st, but he came into the game looking for success. All in all, he ended up pitching 2.0 scoreless innings allowing two hits while walking one and striking out four. This new role began for Underwood Jr. on May 19th when he came in to...

During Spring Training, General Manager Ben Cherington made an under-the-radar trade when he sent Shendrik Apostle to the Chicago Cubs for Duane Underwood Jr. It has turned out to be a great acquisition as Underwood Jr. is thriving in his new middle relief role with the Pirates. On March 7th, 2021, General Manager Ben Cherington made one of his last moves of the off-season, a trade with a divisional opponent. It wasn't a move that got much fanfare, but it is a move that is having a big impact on this current Pirates team. Cherington sent first base prospect Shendrik Apostle to the Chicago Cubs for 26-year-old reliever Duane Underwood Jr. The Pirates were in need of some bullpen depth, and Underwood Jr. was a young option that could provide depth for the Pirates. He was a guy who had a couple of chances with the Chicago Cubs but could never put it all together at the Major League level. He had a 5.66 ERA in 17 appearances for the Cubs in 2020 and figured to be in the mix...

The Pittsburgh Pirates kicked off their 2021 season with a win yesterday beating the Chicago Cubs 5-3 at Wrigley Field. The win was in large part thanks to the effort of the bullpen, that combined to throw six innings of one-run, one hit, ball to secure the victory. Despite expectations, the Pittsburgh Pirates got the 2021 season started off on the right foot when they defeated the Chicago Cubs 5-3 on Opening Day. It was a great win for the team, and there is always a positive taste in your mouth when you start the season off 1-0 as opposed to 0-1. However, that win would not have been possible if it weren't for the complete dominance of the Pirates bullpen. Starting pitcher Chad Kuhl didn't have a full spring because of the birth of his son, and you knew he wasn't going deep into the game. However, when he left after just three innings, there was some concern on how the bullpen was going to handle six innings of holding a lead. However, they showed just how goo...

The Pittsburgh Pirates put together an impressive 5-3 Opening Day win against the Chicago Cubs yesterday. Here are our big takeaways as the Pirates got the 2021 season started off on the right foot. 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 Sh...

With spring winding down, it is our final edition of the Buccos Cove Players of the Week, Spring Training addition. Today, we honor an infielder trying to earn his way onto the roster and a pitcher who has made an impressive debut this far. The final three spring training games are upon us and the Pirates have shown some upside during this 12-12-1 schedule so far. However, as the regular season draws near competition is heating up for the final few spots on the roster. Because of this, players are elevating their game in the hopes of being with the club when they head up to Chicago on April 1st. It is our final edition of Buccos Cove Players of the week for Spring Training, and today we are honoring two guys who are hoping to claim those final two spots. Both players have elevated their games and are showing that they can perform for the Pirates during the regular season. The Buccos Cove Hitter of the Week is infielder Phillip Evans and the Buccos Cove Pitcher of the Week i...

It is probably one of the hardest position groups to guess on the field, but today we try and predict the 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates bullpen. With so many guys performing well this spring training, the competition is cut-throat for those eight to nine spots. After a year where the bullpen was one of the shakiest parts of the Pittsburgh Pirates team. Especially at the beginning of the year, no lead seemed to be safe and you were continuously holding your breath in big situations. Because of this, General Manager Ben Cherington went out and acquired several depth pieces to help the Pirate's young guys as they develop. Now, it is time for those pieces to show they can be effective and win games for the Pirates. With the rosters growing to 26 men this year, there are several different combinations the team could go with, in the center-field bullpen. They could go with 12, 13, or 14 pitchers and each combination pose different challenges for filling out the roster. Today, we co...

On Sunday, Ben Cherington continued his wheeling and dealing off-season, this time adding to the Major League club. He brought in Duane Underwood Jr. to add some more competition into the bullpen mix. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 2020-2021 off-season has not been a quiet one. While most of the moves have led to subtractions from the Big League club, Ben Cherrington has also done his part to add some depth pieces to the current Big League roster. That is what he did on Sunday when he pulled off a trade for Chicago Cubs right-handed pitcher Duane Underwood JR. Underwood has spent the past three seasons in the Chicago Cubs bullpen and had put up below average Big League numbers. However, with the Pirates in need of pitching depth, Underwood Jr. will get an opportunity to turn things around in a Pirate uniform. Over his three seasons in the Big Leagues, Underwood Jr. has gone 1-1 with a 5.20 ERA over 30 games, spanning 36.1 innings of work. He was a starting pitcher througho...