Today’s 7-5 loss against the Washington Nationals saw the Major League debut of two players that many Pirates fans have been waiting to see: outfielder Jose Tabata and pitcher Brad Lincoln.
Tabata led off, and his line after his first game looks eerily similar to Andrew McCutchen’s from his debut. Tabata went 2-for-4 with a walk and a steal. McCutchen’s career started the exact same way, right down to the fact that both players singled in their first career at-bat. Considering the player McCutchen has been since that game, I’d call this a good sign.
Not to mention, Tabata had probably one of my favorite pre-game interviews of all time (via the Post-Gazette):
PG video: Jose Tabata, on making his debut
The only downside to the game for Tabata was that he left the game early after running to first with tightness in his right hamstring. The team is saying that it was just a cramp and he was taken out for precautionary reasons.
Brad Lincoln looked more ordinary in his debut, as is typical for a pitcher making his first start in the Major Leagues. He seemed to settle in later on and come in with better stuff. Depite the five earned runs he gave up, a good portion of those runs can be blamed on the defense behind him, as they blew routine play after routine play.
Regardless, Lincoln showed flashes of promise, and this mediocre start does nothing to change my opinion of him: I think he’ll be a solid starter for the Pirates for years to come, maybe even a little better than that.
At the plate, Lincoln had a 2-for-3 night. He was known for being a good hitting pitcher in college, and he certainly did nothing to dispel that perception of himself in this game.
The biggest thing to get excited about: today, the Pirates had Andrew McCutchen, Jose Tabata, Neil Walker and Brad Lincoln all on the field at the same time, at the Major League level. The prospects are coming up, ladies and gentlemen. It won’t be long before Pedro Alvarez can be added to that list as well. And for once, there will be more where that came from, as the lower levels of the minor leagues are where the Pirates have the biggest concentration of talent right now. It’s a good time to be a Pirates fan.
