How Sweep It Is! Pirates Move to 3-0 in the Young Baseball Season

The temperature in the steel city may be cold as of late, but things were heating up this week at PNC Park.  Not only did the Pirates sweep the hated rival St. Louis Cardinals, but for two out of the three games they dominated play.  Last night completed the sweep with the Pirates winning 5-1.  Some observations:

It's no secret that Ray Searage does a masterful job in reclamation projects with this pitching staff over the years, and it seems that early on he can add another name to that list.  Juan Nicascio was superb last night going six innings, giving up one earned run, and striking out seven Cardinal batters.   His pitching arsenal was effective, as his fastball would reach on a consistent basis of  97MPH.  The key stat for the night I believe was that Nicasio didn't allow a walk his entire start.  Prior, Nicasio's last time being a starting pitcher for a full season was back in 2013 for the Colorado Rockies were his ERA (earned run average) was 5.14.  I know it's early on, but what I saw was really promising, and I think we owe a lot of that to pitching coach Ray
Searage.

Another person who looks comfortable at the beginning of the season is right fielder Gregory Polanco.  Polanco just signed a five year extension for thirty five million dollars, and so far the money has been well spent.  He is not chasing bad pitches, and is either getting on base with a walk, or tattooing the ball when he puts it into play.  I don't think he can ever reach the numbers Andrew McCutchen will over a season, but the potential to put up healthy numbers is definitely there.  The Pirates outfield is the best in baseball.

So three games are in the books and the Pirates are riding high.  Next they set their sails for a five game road trip in Cincinnati and Detroit.

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/nicascio-helps-pirates-beat-cardinals-5-1-3-023728981--mlb.html