Opinion: Pirates’ start is nice, but time will tell
May 4, 2022
Some Pirates fans are surprised by the team’s early season success, since they have a record of 9-13 as they head into a series against the Detroit Tigers.
In the past few years, though, the Pirates have had similar starts, with their records being 12-11 in 2019 and 2021.
Pittsburgh’s record should improve further this year as the Pirates head to Cincinnati for their next series. Then they take on the Dodgers, but after that the Pirates face the Reds for another four-game series.
The Cincinnati Reds have been a complete failure, with a record of 3-19. They’ve scored the second-fewest runs at 67. The pitching staff’s ERA of 6.15 is a full run higher than any other team. Jonathan India, the NL rookie of the year last year, has been putting up minimal numbers as he leads his team with a .295 average.
The Pirates pitching staff, meanwhile, is average at best, but some pitchers have produced more than others.
Closer David Bednar has been lights out as he has 9.2 innings pitched with a .93 ERA. Relief pitcher Will Crowe has 15.2 innings with a 1.15 ERA.
Jose Quintana, a starter, has thrown 19 innings with 17 strikeouts and a 3.32 ERA. Mitch Keller and JT Brubaker are playing similarly, but if they can step up a little more, the Pirates may be able to pull through with more wins.
As for the offense, there are many new hitters who are helping the team achieve some sort of success, including Daniel Vogelbach, Micheal Chavis, and Diego Castillo. Vogelbach and Chavis lead the team with three home runs each.
Ke’Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds continue to outshine the other players. Hayes is hitting .333 with a .840 OPS, and Reynolds is hitting .203 but has a .625 OPS.
The Pirates have only lost five games where the opponent won by five runs or more. Pittsburgh has been in most of their games, and the team has even been able to pull through in a few close games.
Overall, though, this early season success should be taken with a grain of salt, because the Pirates always seem to break down later in the season with injuries or lack of talent.
