The season so far

The Pirates season so far is pretty much impossible to sum up. So many tiny little things have happened that I'll never be able to summarize them all in one post.

Instead, I'm just gonna include a short list of what I felt were "landmark games." All that means is a game that was really exciting, unlikely, or insightful about the Pirates season at that point.

From here on in though, I'll be looking at the season series-by-series basis, so there will be more in depth "analysis" (or whatever excuse for analysis I can provide)

14 April - Reds 7 Pirates 10 - Take it to the Reds - This was the last game of a 3 game home series which the Pirates ended up sweeping over the vaunted Reds. Up to this point, the Bucs had not scored more than 6 runs in a game, so going into the bottom of the 7th down 5-0 looked pretty hopeless. But on the back of two ridiculous innings, a 4-run 7th (which included a McKenry HR), and an insane 6 run 8th (which included another McKenry HR to tie and Marte HR that squeaked around the left field foul pole to lake the lead) the Pirates won. This brought the Bucs record to .500 at 6-6, and to do it over the Reds was pretty sweet.

28 April - Pirates 9 Cardinals 0 - Locke is for real? -  Up to this point, Jeff Locke just seemed like a stop-gap. He started the season with a few rough outings, but righted the ship in his 4th start which happened to be in Philly. This start, going up against Cards phenom Shelby Miller, seemed like it would put Locke back in his place. But no, Jeff went a fantastic 7 innings giving up no runs, 3 hits and 2 walks. The Bucs took the series in Busch stadium on the back of that start and an offensive outbreak. This put the Bucs record at 15-10. The Pirates would go to the house of horrors (Miller Park) and lose the next two games, rounding out their April at a respectable 15-12.

Of note, is that the next two series are where the pirates hit their first rough patch, dropping back to back series @Milwaukee and vs. Washington, going 2-4.

11 May - Pirates 11 Mets 2 - Liriano is here - Liriano was a wild card. He hurt himself over the offseason, he hadn't really shown up the past few seasons, but he certainly had the tools. While this start  didn't confirm anything long term, it at least showed that Liriano still had the ability to be a force in the Pirates rotation. Plus the offensive showing was nice to see.

14 May - Brewers 3 Pirates 4 - We're not afraid, we have an army - A walk-off homer by your star in the 12th inning was amazing on its own. But this game really showcased the incredible bullpen the Bucs were working with, and that was really the only reason the Pirates came away with the win here. Anytime you get 6 shutout innings (Morris (2 IP), Grilli (IP), Melancon (IP), Mazzaro (2 IP)) you're thrilled, but Clint Hurdle had previously stated that he would only use Melancon and Grilli in SV opps, and to see him adjust to the situation here and pull out a W has particularly heartening.

17 May - Astros 4 Pirates 5 - You're gonna miss us - The Astros gift-wrapped a victory for the Bucs on a dropped popup. The end result wasn't as amazing as how it happened. Just a jaw-dropping ending to a game.

22 May - Cubs 0 Pirates 1 - Liriano is actually here - The Pirates offense had never been a powerhouse, but they we're struggling pretty bad here. To pull out a win over Pirate-killer Jeff Simardzija on the back of a stellar Liriano start was a great thing to see.

28 May & 30 May - Pirates 1 Tigers 0 F/11 - Bullpen strikes again... twice - a pair of unbelieveble 1-0 victories over a very good Tigers team leads the Pirates to a series victory. These games we're startlingly similar, as the bullpen did some ridiculously heavy lifting to turn what could've easily been a series loss into a series win.

2 June - Reds 4 Pirates 5 - Treading water - The Pirates offense was hitting its nadir here, and I remember listening to the end of this game waiting in the airport, and thinking that the Bucs would be swept. But on the back of a dramatic hit by Travis Snider, they pulled it out.

4 June - Pirates 4 Braves 5 F/10 - Melancon is human - Melancon was nearly perfect going into this game, but showed his humanity by giving up the game winning run in the bottom of the 10th. The Pirates would get swept during this series in Atlanta, and this would've been a golden opportunity to strike against another formidable oppenent.

11 June - Giants 2 Pirates 8 - Welcome to the show, Gerrit Cole - This game kind of signalled that the Pirates we're here in 2013. Gerrit Cole made an electric start in his MLB Debut in front of a packed crowd. And his 2 RBI single to take the lead was a mind-melting cherry on top of the whole thing (seriously, I fell out of my chair). Seeing him light up the gun and take it to the defending WS champs was crazy fun, and, if you're into narratives, said that, you know what, these Pirates are different, and they're here now.