April 24, 2017 – Cubs 14, Pirates 3
April 25, 2017 – Cubs 1, Pirates 0
April 26, 2017 – Pirates 6, Cubs 5
9-12 Record in 2017
The Really Good
Gerri Cole. The Pirates still need Cole to pitch like an ace, and he pitched like an ace in his start Tuesday. The Bucs couldn’t score any runs for Cole, but Cole struck out 8 over 7 innings while allowing only 2 hits to a great Cubs lineup. He gave up only 1 run which wasn’t earned, all on 78 pitches. An absolute gem from Cole and it sucks a loss got tagged with the great line. Hendricks was great on the other end for Chicago though.
The Not So Bad
Josh Harrison. Seeing that offense was limited in the blowout Monday and basically nonexistent on Tuesday, J-Hay wasn’t that bad with the bat on Wednesday. He went 2-3 with a HR off Jon Lester to lead off the game for the Bucs and then reached on an infield single later in the game. I always like when J-Hay has good hitting games because J-Hay really isn’t that good at the plate. The HR was an impressive shot to over the wall in the massive left field at PNC Park. Not often you see him jump the yard in that part of the park. If he keeps the .300+ average up for some time, I want to see him swipe some bags this year.
The Very Ugly
Defense. I don’t think in all my years of watching baseball have a seen a team struggle like this defensively. It’s haunting everyone in every game. 4 errors in the series all over the field. The most disappointing for me was the Alen Hanson error that led to the only run Cole allowed where he botched an easy throw to first from second base. It was almost like he didn’t have any sense of urgency to make the play, then all of a sudden realized he was running out of time and panicked. To go with that, the outfield is still having their struggles. I personally think Polanco looks more comfortable in the outfield when he gets his rare innings in center. In Monday’s blowout, the Bucs pulled Cutch early and Polanco looked great when he slid over to center. On the corners, he has always seemed shaky. The great defensive potential is there with him. Just a personal opinion.
Off day tomorrow, then off to Miami for the weekend series with the Fish.
