The Pirates win last night to push them to 14-10 assured them of finishing April with at least a winning record with only 3 games remaining in the month. Not sure of the last time the Bucs had a winning record in April, but possibly 10 or 11 years ago? Why? The Bullpen hit the road running and are still one of the best in the majors. Grilli and Melancon in the late innings have been lights out, with ERA's of 0.82 and 0.64 respectively. Watson has been steady, and newbies Jennmar Gomez and Justin Wilson have been excellent. Jared Hughes is showing signs of wear after 76 IP out of the bullpen as a Rookie last year, but putting Cardinal pitcher Lance Lynn on his butt the other night with one high and tight makes him a favorite of mine.
Other reasons are the Rotation, and the play of newcomers Russell Martin, Gaby Sanchez, and Travis Snider. Martin especially, who has given up 11 SB's but has caught 6 runners; 7 of those SB's were against AJ Burnett, so we can see that folks have realized this is not Rod Barajas behind the plate, and that the Pirates have improved their ability to hold runners. And, anyone thinking that the high and tight from Hughes to Lynn was not called by Martin . . . . . it's baseball and this guy is a hard-nose. And, all of this while 'Cutch has been struggling big time at the plate - he is hitting the ball, but not with confidence. It is great that we can do this through a bad stretch from one of our leaders.