If there was one fear that I had from the Pirates’ ugly run of games against NL Central teams over these last two weeks, it was that the Pirates were wasting great performances from their starting pitching that wouldn’t last, and that when the Pirates’ bats finally came around, the pitching would no longer be there. The reality is that you can’t count on 34 great starts and 200 great innings from Francisco Liriano, that plans shouldn’t be made around a pitcher of AJ Burnett’s age, and that Vance Worley and Jeff Locke are both dice rolls every time they take the mound.
That fear manifested itself on Friday, when Kolten Wong hit yet another huge home run against the Pirates to bury any chance the Bucs had of a comeback. The Pirates hit Michael Wacha hard, like I sort of hoped they would based on the result of their first meeting last weekend. The offense couldn’t keep up, though, because every time they scored the Cardinals had at three-run homer waiting to answer. After losing most of the games in which Francisco Liriano had a great start, the Pirates then also managed to lose the game in which they hit behind him because both he and the bullpen had an off night.
For a brief moment in time, Friday night looked like it was going to be even worse. Vance Worley escaped a second inning jam thanks to a 4-5-4 triple play keyed by Neil Walker, both for spearing Yadier Molina’s line drive and making the heads up decision to throw to third to get Jhonny Peralta rather than just stepping on second base. The Pirates followed that up by teeing off on Carlos Martinez; the Cardinals put some runners on base for the Pirates thanks to questionable defense, then Vance Worley (!) and Gregory Polanco hit doubles to give the Pirates a 3-0 lead.
The problem was that Worley gave it right back in the fourth. The Cardinals opened that inning with five hits in the first six batters, including back-to-back doubles from Jason Heyward and Molina, and by the time it was over, the Cardinals lead 5-3. Having watched the pitching staff blow a winnable game on Friday, it was stomach-churning to think that they might blow a lead and a triple play last night.
Fortunately the offense bailed Worley out this time around. Neil Walker hit his second homer in the fifth inning to close the deficit to one, then Jordy Mercer hit a bases-loaded double in the sixth to give the Pirates the lead back. After Corey Hart’s sac fly, the Pirates had their final margin of victory. Rob Scahill, Jared Hughes, Tony Watson, and Mark Melancon (throwing his cutter 91-92 mph!) all held the Cardinals scoreless in relief of Worley, and the Pirates finally have their first win of the season over the Cardinals.
Even in May, there’s a big difference between five straight demoralizing losses and a ten game division deficit vs. an exciting win and an eight-game division deficit. Pulling that game out last night gives the Pirates a chance to win the series and say that they cut into the Cardinals lead this weekend. Everything has to start somewhere, right?
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