The Pittsburgh Pirates blanked the AL Central leading Cleveland Indians tonight 7-0 to earn their 10th straight win.
The only other clubs with double digit winning streaks this season are the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox who are likely to win over 100 games. The Bucs are the first team in the NL to do so in 2018. They have won 12 of their last 13 games and have overtaken the St. Louis Cardinals for third place in the NL Central.
It's been an odd year in Pittsburgh with the loss of both Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole. The Pirates got off to a strong 11-4 start and were in first place in the NL Central as late as May 17th with a 26-17 mark. But prior to this streak, the Bucs had gone 16-32 and were in danger of falling behind the Cincinnati Reds for last place in the division. Now they are within 4.5 games of the struggling Milwaukee Brewers for the second NL Wild Card berth.
The Pirates have a nice middle of the lineup with Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Corey Dickerson, but their pitching is so-so aside from All-Star closer Felipe Vazquez. It will be interesting to see if the Pirates add players before the trade deadline or if they conclude they are not ready for the playoffs in 2018.
No comments:
Post a Comment