If it’s not one thing, it’s another. After the bullpen was dominant for the better part of the month of May, they’ve fallen apart in the last two games against Detroit. This afternoon, it was Octavio Dotel who came in for what would’ve been his first four out save of the season, but quickly served up a three-run homer to Miguel Cabrera that turned a 2-1 Pirate lead into a 4-2 deficit. Garrett Jones has been killing the ball in vain this last week or so. The Pirates have now dropped eight in a row.
Instead of dwelling on yet another setback, let’s keep looking ahead. The Pirates have six home games this week, against the White Sox and Indians, before going on the road for the rest of June. Pedro Alvarez, being the club’s best prospect, is likely to make his debut at home. He’s killed the ball in May and June, is killing lefties and righties, and may be the only thing that will get people to the ballpark for two otherwise miserable series against bad AL Central teams. So did we witness the last game of the pre-Pedro Alvarez era this afternoon?
