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The Pirates are 4-14, worst record in baseball, and ranked last in The Athletic Power Poll. There's nothing to like about this team. They've lost 9 of their last 11. They have one quality start in 18 games. They were recently swept by Detroit, giving up 30 runs in three games. They are well-rested, though, having played two games in the last eight days.
The Pirates team batting average is .211, which ranks 29th with the Indians 30th. They've hit 19 home runs in 18 games and are averaging 4.1 runs per game. Take away the game where they scored 13 runs (and still lost) and the average is 3.6 runs per game. Good luck against Carrasco, Civale, and Bieber.
They were swept in three exhibition games by the Tribe. The one player I was impressed with was Josh Bell, who did some damage at the plate. He's hitting .203/.548. Their hitting star so far is former Indian Erik Gonzalez at .349/.907, but he doesn't play every day.
Their starters have a combined ERA of 5.19 while their relievers are even worse at 5.88. The most amazing thing I've seen on this team is that they've already used 25 pitchers! How is that even possible 18 games into the season? Last year the Indians used 30 pitchers in 162 games.
The Pirates have eight players on the injured list; the Indians have nobody although they do have two starters in time out.
Tonight's starter is JT Brubaker, a rookie right-hander with a 3.38 ERA. In three games (one start) he's thrown a total of 8 innings and his max pitch count was 52. This might be a piggyback game since they clearly don't want to expose him more than a couple of times through the order.
Tomorrow we get a lefty, Seven Brault, 5.14 ERA, who has three starts in four appearances. He's pitched a total of 7 innings, so he's obviously an opener. However, he has made 38 starts in four years, so maybe they'll see how far he can go. The first two games both look like bullpen games for the Pirates.
Thursday's game features their only legitimate starter, Trevor Williams, who has their only quality start of the year, going seven innings against the Twins with one run allowed. He has a 3.98 ERA and is the only pitcher on their staff with more than 20 innings (20.1). The Indians have four pitchers over 20 innings and Clevinger would have made five if he didn't miss his last two starts. The good thing for the Tribe is they have Bieber going against the Pirates best starter.
So that's about it. No reason the Indians should not get a sweep against the worst team in baseball that does nothing well and has a lot of guys out.
The Pirates team batting average is .211, which ranks 29th with the Indians 30th. They've hit 19 home runs in 18 games and are averaging 4.1 runs per game. Take away the game where they scored 13 runs (and still lost) and the average is 3.6 runs per game. Good luck against Carrasco, Civale, and Bieber.
They were swept in three exhibition games by the Tribe. The one player I was impressed with was Josh Bell, who did some damage at the plate. He's hitting .203/.548. Their hitting star so far is former Indian Erik Gonzalez at .349/.907, but he doesn't play every day.
Their starters have a combined ERA of 5.19 while their relievers are even worse at 5.88. The most amazing thing I've seen on this team is that they've already used 25 pitchers! How is that even possible 18 games into the season? Last year the Indians used 30 pitchers in 162 games.
The Pirates have eight players on the injured list; the Indians have nobody although they do have two starters in time out.
Tonight's starter is JT Brubaker, a rookie right-hander with a 3.38 ERA. In three games (one start) he's thrown a total of 8 innings and his max pitch count was 52. This might be a piggyback game since they clearly don't want to expose him more than a couple of times through the order.
Tomorrow we get a lefty, Seven Brault, 5.14 ERA, who has three starts in four appearances. He's pitched a total of 7 innings, so he's obviously an opener. However, he has made 38 starts in four years, so maybe they'll see how far he can go. The first two games both look like bullpen games for the Pirates.
Thursday's game features their only legitimate starter, Trevor Williams, who has their only quality start of the year, going seven innings against the Twins with one run allowed. He has a 3.98 ERA and is the only pitcher on their staff with more than 20 innings (20.1). The Indians have four pitchers over 20 innings and Clevinger would have made five if he didn't miss his last two starts. The good thing for the Tribe is they have Bieber going against the Pirates best starter.
So that's about it. No reason the Indians should not get a sweep against the worst team in baseball that does nothing well and has a lot of guys out.