So far this season, the Pittsburgh Pirates have given up 75 runs and scored only 53.
That (negative) differential is better than only those of the cellar-dwelling Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros. So you wouldn't expect the Pirates to be 7-5, or above the .500 mark. But they are.
That's because their six most recent victories have come with scores of 5-3, 5-4, 4-3, 6-5, and 6-3, and 4-3.
Only the opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers wasn't "close." This represents the most close games with which the Pirates have opened the season since at least 1996.
Four of those narrow victories WERE walkoffs. Meaning that the margins might have been wider if the rest of the final inning had been played out.
On the other hand, the team has "kitchen sinked" runs in losses of 6-0, 9-3, 15-6, 9-1, and 10-2. That's in large part because it has TWO kitchen sink pitchers, Charlie Morton and Dan McCutchen, who lost three of those games. (The fourth was McCutchen's no decision on Saturday that ultimately resulted in a Pirates' win.)
Neither of the two veteran pitchers, Zach Duke and Paul Maholm, has given up a blowout loss (although relievers did turn Maholm's first outing into such).
And the game pitched by minor leaguer Brian Burress accounts for the remaining one. But the absence of Ross Ohlendorf means that the Pirates have had to improvise with a four man rotation.
Even more important, the last three wins were against the Cincinnati Reds, a division rival that has given the Pirates trouble in the past. Meaning the these games not only allowed the Pirates to pull into second place, but also pushed the Reds into fifth, two and a half games behind.
They also argue well for the Pirates to win at least two, possibly three games against the Milwaukee Brewers, also at home. That would keep the Great Lakers in the bottom half of the standings while buttressing the Pittsburghers.
A winning series, coupled with losses by the St. Louis Cardinals, could even put the Pirates in first place.
Put another way, the Pirates are 5-1 at home, and 2-4 on the road. Meaning that the "kitchen sinking" of lost runs has (mostly) taken place in games that the Bucs were less likely to win anyway.
That's because the above-mentioned "kitchen sinkers" pitch much better at home. Charlie Morton's next start is Tuesday, at home, albeit at night. One has to hope that his "night vision" problem is more of a psychological problem of disorientation, rather than the physical kind.
All but the worst teams (Pittsburgh, Washington and Baltimore in 2009), win at least 27 games, or one in three on the road.
If the Pirates can extend their 2-4 road record over the whole season, they would be in a position to stake their season on what they do at home. A record of 54-27 in PNC Park would put them at .500. Sixty-odd wins at home is unlikely, but it might even give them a shot at the division championship.
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