It’s so refreshing when the Pirates are on the winning end of a blowout. I’ve been neglecting these updates because, quite frankly, they’ve been kind of depressing.
After this game, the Pirates record in blowouts (defined as a margin of victory or defeat of 5 runs or more) in 2011 stands at 4-5. And this one was a big one.
Not only did this blowout stop a 6-game losing streak, but Pedro Alvarez opened up the scoring with a 3-run homer. It looks like he may be putting it together at the plate, as he’s hit pretty well in the last three games he’s played. That’s obviously incredibly important, as if there’s one hitter the Pirates can’t afford to miss on it’s Alvarez.
Also on the homers-by-struggling-players list was Andrew McCutchen, who hit his eighth of the year. For all the criticisms of McCutchen this year – namely that he’s not stealing much, he’s not getting on like he usually does, etc. he is seeming to find his power stroke this year. He’s on pace for over 25 home runs, which would be a first in his young career. If he can hit for that type of power and get on base at his normal rate he could be even more dangerous than he already is.
In addition, the Pirates got a great performance out of Charlie Morton as he pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out five. Morton has really looked like the pitcher his stuff says he can be this year, pitching dominant ball. He’s been seeing a decrease in his walks lately as well, aside from a May 1 start where he walked five. It looks like he’s really settling in to his new pitching style.
One more blowout victory, and the Bucs can be at .500 in blowouts this year. That’s not bad, considering they were a horrible 11-39 (.220) in such games last season.
