This whole Marlin series was nothing spectacular — just a nice study in the way things should be for the Pirates. Gerrit Cole turned in his second strong start in a row after a spell of less-than-spectacular ones, pitching into the eighth inning and getting a ton of weak ground balls from the Marlins, holding them to one run on five hits and no walks. He didn’t strike a ton of hitters out, and his slider didn’t quite have the drop on it that it did earlier in the season, so I think that the questions that we all had about him prior to these last two starts are still valid, but regardless: 14 1/3 innings, 12 strikeouts, three walks, eight hits, and one earned run over two starts is solid and I won’t complain about it.
The offense was generated from a Francisco Cervelli triple and a Neil Walker sac fly in the second paired with an absolutely mashed Pedro Alvarez homer in the the fourth. I’m going to take a whole post to talk about Alvarez’s recent hot streak, but seeing him tee up a lefty and just obliterate a cutter over a fence that the Pirates had trouble getting the ball over all week was a really welcome sight to see. He’s been a big part of the Pirate offense lately.
The Pirates took three of four from the Marlins, as you would’ve hoped, and the Cardinals swept four from the Diamondbacks, so they lost ground in the NL Central despite reaching a season-high 28 games over .500. This weekend the Cardinals stay out west to face the Giants, who are looking to surge towards a playoff spot, while the Pirates go home to face the Rockies, who are bad. Let’s hope this weekend flips the standings in the other direction.
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