Bucs Sweep Dodgers: Series Awards

Series MVP: Andrew McCutchen

After splitting back to back series with the Reds and Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates and their fans were very refreshed by a delightful 3 game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers at PNC Park. The sweep could not have come at a better time for the Bucs, as they are entering a crucial 3 game set with the first place St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. I will now highlight the highs and lows (but mostly highs) from this 3 game series by giving out what I will call the ''series awards''.

 

As often happens, Andrew McCutchen stole the show. The star Centerfielder finished the series with a stellar stat line: 6 for 13 at the plate, 5 runs scored, 3 walks, a homer, and 5 RBI. After a slow start to the season, Cutch is back to being himself. He currently is batting .301, with 17 home runs and 71 RBI, and an on base percentage of .398. He went 2 for 6 Sunday, and played a huge role in the Bucs come for behind win, hitting a 2 run homer in the 5th and driving home a key insurance run in the 7th with a single. Cutch's performance over the weekend was excellent, which is what we've come to expect of a player of his caliber.

Series Least Valuable Player: Charlie Morton

There isn't a whole lot to complain about this 3 game set, but Charlie Morton's performance on Sunday night is at the top of the short list. Morton simply did not have it, following up an excellent performance in Cincinnati by allowing 5 runs and 10 hits over 5 innings, and leaving the game with the Buccos in a 5-1 hole. Morton is very fortunate that his poor showing was overshadowed by a thrilling come-from-behind win by his club, highlighted by a 9-run 7th inning. There could be cause for concern in  the Bucs rotation, as the Bucs arms have been struggling ever since the All-Star break. Morton will need to become more consistent if he wants to help ease the concerns of the Bucco faithful.

 

Best Moment: Francisco Liriano's 3 run homer



There are a lot of highlights to choose from: Pedro Alvarez's walk-off singe in the 10th inning on Friday night; Mark Melancon getting out of a sticky situation in the top of the 9th on Saturday; and pretty much the entire 7th inning on Sunday. But I'm picking Francisco Liriano's homer tops because no sane person saw it coming. Here was the situation: after Jung Ho-Kang and Neil Walker started the bottom half of the 2nd inning with back to back singles, the Bucs looked like they had something going. But Alvarez grounded out, moving the runners to 2nd and 3rd, and Francisco Cervelli followed by grounding out to first, with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez throwing out Kang at the plate. So now there were 2 outs, men on 2nd and 3rd and pitcher Francisco Liriano coming to the plate, and it looked like pitcher Mat Latos was going to escape by allowing no runs. But Liriano surprised everyone by taking Latos deep for his first career homerun, barley clearing the left field wall and giving the Bucs a 4-2 lead.  Liriano's outing was forgettable, going just 3 innings, allowing 4 earned runs on 7 hits, but his bat is what helped the Bucs pull out a gutsy 6-5 win, and it was a moment and a day to remember for Liriano.

Unsung Hero: Joe Blanton

After Liriano exited the game after the 3rd inning, Bucs fans were concerned as Joe Blanton entered the game. Although the Pirates had retaken the lead in the bottom of the 3rd, it's never good for a starter to leave the game early. To make matters worse, Blanton hasn't had a lot of chances to win over Pirate fans since being acquired shortly before the trade deadline, so many fans were on edge as to what would happen the rest of the game. To his credit, Blanton was able to calm a lot of nerves by pitching 3 innings of shutout ball on his way to picking up his first win in a Bucco uniform. I gave him the unsung hero award due to middle relievers often being overlooked, and Blanton's performance is one that has been greatly overshadowed by the many exciting moments of this series. 

 

The Road Ahead

The Bucs will now head to America's Heartland to take on St. Louis, where the first place Redbirds are currently 5 games ahead of the Bucs in the NL Central standings. It's a key series and could tell a lot about what will happen in the next month in a half. It will be another fun week of baseball, so sit back and enjoy it.