Pittsburgh Pirates Take 2 of 3 from Milwaukee Brewers: Series Recap
The second series of the season was a vast improvement for the Pittsburgh Pirates, who took two of three from the Milwaukee Brewers after defeating them 10-2 Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee.
The Pirates had dropped all three games in its opening series on the road against the Cincinnati Reds.
Let's take a look at some important factors that played into each of the three games over the weekend for the Pirates.
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Locke-ing Up a Win
The Pirates got their first win of the season Friday evening, defeating the Brewers by a score of 6-2.
Starting pitcher Jeff Locke was effective in his first start of the season, going 6.0 innings while giving up two earned runs on seven hits and a walk.
He also drove in Francisco Cervelli with a clutch two-out RBI double in the bottom of the second inning. That gave the Pirates a three-run cushion they would not relinquish.
There is no question that Locke is an effective starter when he is healthy. He pitched to an ERA of 3.52 in 30 starts in 2013. Last season, although he still held a respectable ERA of 3.91, he made only 21 starts for the Bucs.
Though he is through only one start, Locke is off to a nice start, and he will have to continue to pitch well and stay healthy for the Pirates to have a legitimate shot at winning the division this season.
Alvarez Beating the Shift
Star first baseman Pedro Alvarez has had a solid start to the regular season. Through six games, he has two home runs and a batting average of .300.
The Pirates will undoubtedly receive great power from Alvarez's bat as long as he is in the lineup. What may be more of a promising sign is something he did in the top of the ninth inning Sunday: he beat the shift.
In this new age of baseball where managers are constantly shifting their infielders and playing the numbers game for each particular batter, patience and discipline at the plate is a virtue.
Rather than trying to pull an outside fastball from Brewers reliever Tyler Thornburg, Alvarez slapped a ball into the vacated position at third base. That leadoff single eventually led to a six-run ninth inning.
Throughout spring training, there were a handful of times in which Alvarez was able to beat the shift. Look for Alvarez to increase his average this season if he can continue to hit outside pitches the opposite way.
At the same time, if Alvarez can continue to beat the shift, opposing managers will have to think twice before putting the third baseman or shortstop on the right side of the infield.
Caminero Looking Sharp
Arquimedes Caminero was a low-risk, high-reward guy when the Pirates purchased his contract from the Miami Marlins.
So far, he has been very impressive, touching triple digits with his fastball and striking out three batters in 2.2 innings pitched.
The Pirates have received great efforts from a plethora of relief pitchers over the last three seasons, which is a huge reason the team has been so successful of late.
Entering this season, Caminero had made just 19 major league game appearances over two seasons with the Miami Marlins. Last season, he allowed eight earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched.
Still only 27 years old, Caminero has plenty of time to grow as a player, but based on his outings both during the spring and so far this regular season, the case could be made for him to be one of the Pirates next great relievers.
Pittsburgh's Power Play
In honor of the National Hockey League regular season coming to an end and the Pittsburgh Penguins enjoying another playoff berth, we'll call this section Pittsburgh's Power Play.
Now, back to baseball. On a serious note, the Pirates have intimidated opposing pitchers with great power at the plate so far this season.
After setting the Pirates record for most home runs by a middle infielder in a single season with 23 in 2014, second baseman Neil Walker blasted his first home run of the season in a six-run ninth inning Sunday.
That marked the sixth time already this season that a member of the Pirates has rounded the bases. Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez both have a pair, while Walker and Starling Marte have one each.
That means the Pirates are currently on pace to hit 162 home runs as a team in 2015, which would not be unrealistic by any means, especially if Walker, McCutchen, Alvarez and Marte all stay relatively healthy for the majority of the season.
That number matches up almost identically to what the Pirates did in 2014 when they hit 156 home runs as a team. Assuming Alvarez's foot injury is behind him and given the fact that Gregory Polanco will be with the team for the full season, we should expect the Pirates to hit more home runs than they did last season.
Marte Continues to Swing and Miss
This has been a slow start for Starling Marte, who is coming off a 2014 season in which he batted .291 in 135 games.
Marte is expected to produce in the middle of the order for the Pirates, and while he did connect for his first home run of the season on Friday, he has had trouble making contact.
Marte got the infamous "Golden Sombrero" on Sunday, going 0-4 with four strikeouts. He now has 12 strikeouts in six games this season and has collected just three hits in 22 at-bats.
The low average is nothing to worry about for the Pirates, as Marte's hits will come. What has to be an early concern, however, is that he has been whiffing at balls for almost an entire week now.
Don't expect Marte to keep this pace and strike out 324 times this season. However, the Pirates have to hope that Marte can start to get on a roll when he and his team return to Pittsburgh.
Sadler's First Win
Congratulations to Francisco Liriano, who missed Sunday's start for maternity leave after the birth of his daughter.
That gave way for Casey Sadler's first major league start, and let us applaud him as well this Sunday evening.
Sadler stepped up in a huge way for the Pirates, going five innings and allowing two earned runs en route to the first victory of his big league career.
While the Pirates have a handful of highly touted pitching prospects such as Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow and Nick Kingham, Pittsburgh leaned on its 25th-round draft pick from the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft.
Sadler made six appearances out of the bullpen for the Pirates in 2014, going 0-1 with a 7.84 ERA in 10.1 innings pitched. In the minors last season, however, he made 21 starts for Class AAA Indianapolis Indians and went 11-4 with a 3.03 ERA.
Maybe Sadler is simply more comfortable in his role as a starting pitcher. Either way, he could make a nice spot start.
The Pirates will return home to play its first game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh since losing to the San Francisco Giants in the 2014 National League Wild Card Game.
Starting pitchers Gerrit Cole, A.J. Burnett and Francisco Liriano will have their work cut out for them when they host the power-packed lineup of the Detroit Tigers.
The way the Pirates are currently swinging the bats, however, their offense can match up with just about anyone.
*Statistics Courtesy of Baseball Reference
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