RECAP - Padres - 2 / Pirates - 1

Gerrit Cole Brings an Intensity that the Pirates Need

Pittsburgh Pirates - 1
San Diego Padres - 2

WP - Kennedy
LP - Gerrit Cole

If you read my Pirates game recap yesterday...what was the ONE WORD that kept me from jumping out of my skin in regards to the Pirates offensive outburst against the Padres?  CONSISTENCY.  Thats right, and last night's game was the perfect example of why that is still the biggest issue facing this Pirates baseball team as they get closer and closer to ending "the streak" and as they inch closer to the postseason.  The Pirates put up 8 runs on Tuesday, but were held to 1 run on 4 hits on Wednesday night.  Yep...4 hits.  Oh, and while we are on the subject...Andrew McCutchen tallied 2 of those 4 hits as he went 2-2 boosting his batting average to a club high .319.  It says alot about this Pirates team that they have won 74 games with such a spotty and weak offense.  "Cutch" is the only Pirate that is above .300, and no one else on the club is even sniffing the .300 mark.  Starling Marte was the only other candidate at one time, but his production has slowed down remarkably as the season progresses.  About 2 weeks ago I got into a Twitter discussion with fellow Pirate fans regarding what player this team CANNOT afford to lose.  I said McCutchen...no doubt about it, but believe it or not, I was in the minority.  Most people said Russell Martin.  Can you imagine this offense without Andrew McCutchen?  Talk about horrendous, hideous, repulsive...you get the picture.

On the other side of the coin is a tough loss by Gerrit Cole.  I said last night that if I were a betting man I'd put money on Cole to win, and his offense let him down.  Cole got beat around the field as his fastball was being left high in the zone, and his breaking stuff just never was consistent enough to produce alot of groundballs or strikeouts.  I mean Cole struck out 5, didn't walk a batter, but gave up 10 hits in 6 innings work.  Only giving up 2 runs is an achievement at this point.  Its called damage control.  The one thing that I love about Gerrit Cole was how dejected he was after the game.  Listening to post game interviews and the man was flat out pissed about the loss.  I like a player to have that kind of intensity when he takes the field.  I get sick of the carbon copy answers people give all the time.  The cliches that get worn and beaten throughout a 162 game season.  It kind of reminds me of the scene from Major League when Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn is on the bad end of a Roger Dorn prank and storms into the skippers office.  After Ricky's rant, Coach Brown says "Good, I like that kind of spirit in a player!"

The Pirates gear up to go to San Francisco for a 4 game set that will be huge for them to split, or win the series.  Keping pace with the Cardinals and Reds has never been more important.  Meaningful games lie ahead, and its time for Jeff Locke to prove his worth and follow suit with his "besty" AJ Burnett and have a quality start...for once.