Starting pitchers receive precious few opportunities to shine throughout the season. To see one taken away, as was the case for Joe Musgrove Tuesday night at PNC Park in the Pirates' 5-1 win against the Cubs, stings for the player, his coaches, his teammates and fans alike.
Musgrove tossed three spotless innings, giving up just one hit — a single to Jason Heyward — and striking out four. Perhaps more impressive, 25 of his 34 pitches went for strikes, a 74-percent strike rate. He was lighting it up — and then came the rain. And then came a two-hour, five-minute delay.
And there went his night.
"It's a bummer, man," Musgrove was saying at his locker following the team's victory. "We only get so many starts a year, so to have one taken away by the rain's tough, but that's kind of what you get when you play here. You look at the forecast and it's thundershowers for the whole week, so you kind of hope it doesn't fall on your night."
Only the rain did fall on Musgrove's night, and despite his attempts at staying loose and staying focused, it wasn't meant to be. Mother Nature had her way, and Musgrove had to pack it in until his number's called again.
“That was a hard one to swallow right there,” Clint Hurdle added in his press conference. “ ... It just got to the point where you can’t send him back out. He’ll be coming back on [his] regular turn … I’m sure he’ll have a little hop in his step Sunday when he gets out there.”
Which leads me to my first thought from Tuesday's tilt...
1. What exactly do starters do during a delay anyway?
Maybe this question is too broad to be fully answered here. Maybe Musgrove's routine is different. Of that, I'm not sure. But I am sure Musgrove gave me one thorough and insightful answer when I asked him what that time frame looks like for him.
Listen to him break it down for me right here:
2. The Stallings Solution
Losing Francisco Cervelli on May 26 to a concussion could have been a major problem for the Pirates. Losing one's starting catcher probably should be an issue. But thanks to the play and the preparation of both Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings, the bleeding's been stymied.
That's not wholly unexpected. Diaz has shown what he can do in expanded roles the past two seasons, leading many to think it was only a matter of time before he overtook Cervelli as the team's best catcher anyway. But Stallings? Stallings had precisely 66 plate appearances at the major-league level since 2016 as he entered the 2019 campaign. A Triple-A standout, Stallings was the wild card in this equation.
And all he's done is hit .349/.417/.442 with one home run and four RBIs while adding some valuable research and insight for his pitchers in the process.
"I've only worked with Stalls a handful of times, but his preparation's really good," Musgrove said. "Not to say that Diaz is any less, but for a guy that doesn't catch on a daily basis and a guy that hasn't caught me in a while, the effort that he puts in, it's appreciated."
No, wait, it gets better.
"From a pitcher's end, the attention to detail that he pays: Knowing the lineups, knowing the weapons I like to use, he goes back and watches all my starts against the team we're about to face so he knows what guys have beat me on and where they do damage," Musgrove continued. "And that's just really comforting as a pitcher to know that your catcher, who's calling all the pitches and who's kind of the brains behind the whole operation, is as locked in as he can be."
How about a little sprinkle of Hurdle on this matter for good measure? I asked him how nice it's been to have Stallings soothe the burn of losing Cervelli:
Yeah. This dude matters to the club right now. Before you race to comments, none of this is to take away anything from Cervelli. He is vital, both on and off the field to this team. That much is made clear by literally anybody who is asked about him and his impact. He matters, too.
But Stallings' emergence is a little more unexpected, and his own impact is definitely being felt as the team progresses through Cervelli's absence.
3. Here comes the bullpen
It seems success is much quieter than failure, doesn't it? When Richard Rodriguez was serving up meatballs like a downtown Italian joint earlier this season, his name was everywhere on our live files and across our social media platforms alike. And deservedly so. He was bad. But now? Rodriguez has seemingly turned it around, giving up just six hits in his past 14 days, a span encompassing six games.
Not a whole lot to complain about there.
During that same time, he's allowed zero home runs, zero runs at all, a .250 batting average and has posted five strikeouts for every walk. He's not alone, either. Clay Holmes put together his best performance to date Tuesday night, striking out four and retiring all six batters he faced in two innings of work. Francisco Liriano and Kyle Crick bent but didn't break. Felipe Vazquez — the team's lights-out closer who just got snubbed of an All-Star spot in this writer's opinion — performed the worst and gave up the team's only run in the ninth inning.
When Vazquez is your floor? Yeah, things are going well.
"All of them are getting sharp," Hurdle was saying of the bullpen after the game. "Tonight, I mean, that was pretty special."
It was special, as Hurdle noted, but this is a trend that's been rising over the past month. If the bullpen can continue to click like this...
4. The Pirates are ... contenders?
I'm not trying to overreact to a hot streak here. The team did the same thing last year before the All-Star break, turning on the jets before faltering down the stretch. I get it.
But they're still just four games out of first in the NL Central and three back of the second Wild Card spot. They're still 9-3 in their past 12. The sweep against the Cubs is still alive. That, plus the continued development of both their offense and their pitching, is cause for hope.
"I think we're in a really good place," Musgrove said. "We don't try to focus on what other teams in our division are trying to do. Obviously when you're playing in-division teams, it's nice to be able to grab wins. It's an immediate jump in the standings ... But I think we're just focused on what we're doing here. We're playing really good baseball offensively and defensively, and our pitching's been right where it needs to be."
Remember: This team was also in first place on April 20 after 16 games. How'd that work out?
Don't get carried away, but also don't lose sight of what's happening. This team is playing some really good baseball right now.
5. And now for something different
Look ... I love the Great Pierogi Race. I just do. It's so freaking Pittsburgh. It's silly and fun, and it simultaneously makes no sense and all the sense in the world. That's why we need to have a discussion about Jalapeno Hannah:
CHEESE CHESTER TAKES IT BUT LOOK AT THE KICK FROM JALAPEÑO HANNAH! THAT’S NOT A PIEROGI! THAT’S A MACHINE! #dkps #pirates pic.twitter.com/CGLQqkJO2A
— Hunter Alek Homistek (@HunterAHomistek) July 3, 2019
Can somebody drug test her? Sure, she didn't win the race, but only because she intentionally gave the field a massive head start for the drama of it all. She is unfair. Just look at that speed. Do the Steelers scout at Pirates games?
Somebody needs to check that pierogi immediately.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates vs. Cubs, PNC Park, July 2, 2019 - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS