2013 Pittsburgh Pirates: Swashbuckling Again

2013 Pittsburgh Pirates: Swashbuckling Again

2013 Pittsburgh Pirates: Swashbuckling Again

It had been 20 long years since the 1992 campaign when the Pittsburgh Pirates played a level of baseball as high as the National League Championship Series. It would be 20 long years of mediocre to not so good baseball in the Steel City, and then 2013 came around, which would be the year when the Pirates would finally go swashbuckling again. 2013 would be the first winning season for the Pirates since 1992.

The Pirates went 94-68 in 2013, finishing just 3 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central division, but under the guidance of Clint Hurdle, who would be voted the National League Manager of the Year, the Pirates secured a playoff spot. The Pirates went 10-9 against the Cardinals in head-to-head play. The Pirates went 50-31 at home and 44-37 on the road.

The main driving force behind Pittsburgh’s resurgence in Major League Baseball was center fielder Andrew McCutchen, who became the leader of the team. McCutchen batted .317 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI’s off 185 hits, 38 doubles, 5 triples and 27 stolen bases. These numbers would propel McCutchen to win the National League Most Valuable Player award.

Middle infielder Jordy Mercer batted .285 with 8 home runs, 95 hits and 22 doubles in 103 games. Outfielder Jose Tabata batted .282 with 87 hits, 17 doubles and 5 triples in 106 games. Left fielder Starling Marte batted .280 with 12 home runs, 143 hits, 26 doubles, 10 triples and 41 stolen bases. Third baseman Pedro Alvarez had 36 home runs and 100 RBI’s off 130 hits and 22 doubles. Alvarez would be named Player of the Week ending on June 23. Second baseman Neil Walker had 16 home runs and 53 RBI’s off 120 hits, 24 doubles and 4 triples.

Catcher Russell Martin had 15 home runs and 55 RBI’s off 99 hits, 21 doubles and 9 stolen bases. Martin would be named the Player of the Week ending on April 28. Utility player Garrett Jones had 15 home runs and 51 RBI’s off 94 hits and 26 doubles. First baseman Gaby Sanchez had 67 hits and 18 doubles. Shortstop Clint Barmes had 64 hits and 15 doubles in 108 games. Right fielder Travis Snider had 56 hits and 12 doubles in 111 games.

Allan James Burnett, who simply went by the abbreviation of A.J., had 209 strikeouts, a 3.30 ERA and 1 complete game despite going 10-11. Burnett would record his 2,000th career strikeout against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 29, a game which would be won by the Pirates 5-0.

The National League Comeback Player of the Year would be Francisco Liriano, who began his Major League career as a young stud with the Minnesota Twins back in 2005, but after a few years he would experience some setbacks with injuries to his pitching arm and elbow. In his first year as a Pirate, Liriano reminded baseball fans how good he was by going 16-8 with 163 strikeouts and a 3.02 ERA, recording 2 complete games.

Jeff Locke went 10-7 with 125 strikeouts and a 3.52 ERA. Gerrit Cole went 10-7 with 100 strikeouts and a 3.22 ERA. Charlie Morton went 7-4 with a 3.26 ERA. Wandy Rodriguez went 6-4 with a 3.59 ERA. Jeanmar Gomez went 3-0 with a 3.35 ERA.

Closer Jason Grilli had 33 saves and a 2.70 ERA. Grilli would be given the Delivery Man Award for both April and May. Relief pitcher Vin Mazzaro went 8-2 with 1 save and a 2.81 ERA. Justin Wilson went 6-1 with a 2.08 ERA. Mark Melancon went 3-2 with 16 saves and a 1.39 ERA. Tony Watson went 3-1 with 2 saves and a 2.39 ERA. Kyle Farnsworth went 1-1 with 2 saves and a 1.04 ERA.

The Pirates would send 5 players to the 2013 All-Star Game, which would be Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Jeff Locke, Jason Grilli and Mark Melancon.

The Pirates were very impressive throughout each month of the regular season as they only played even .500 baseball for one month. The Pirates went 15-12 in April, 19-9 in May, 17-9 in June, 14-12 in July, 14-14 in August, and 15-12 in September.

Qualifying for a playoff spot, the Pirates would play against the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Wild Card Game on October 1 at PNC Park, and Pittsburgh would prevail by the score of 6-2. Francisco Liriano continued his successful comeback campaign by pitching 7 innings and giving up 4 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 5 strikeouts.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning right fielder Marlon Byrd and Russell Martin both hit solo home runs. In the bottom of the 3rd Pedro Alvarez had a sacrifice fly. In the top of the 4th right fielder Jay Bruce got Cincinnati on the board with an RBI single. In the bottom of the 4th Neil Walker had an RBI double, and Byrd followed by grounding into a forceout at second base to score Walker. In the bottom of the 7th Martin hit another solo home run, and by the time Cincinnati center fielder Shin-Soo Choo hit a solo home run in the top of the 8th, it would be too late for the Reds.

Though they advanced to the National League Division Series, the Pirates would fall to the St. Louis Cardinals 3 games to 2 in what would be a compelling series between division rivals. In Game 2 on October 4 at Busch Stadium III, the Pirates beat the Cardinals 7-1. Gerrit Cole pitched 6 innings and gave up 2 hits, 1 walk and 1 run while recording 5 strikeouts. Cole helped himself out by putting his team on the board first with an RBI single in the top of the 2nd inning. In the top of the 3rd Alvarez crushed a 2-run home run. In the top of the 5th Byrd had an RBI ground rule double, and Martin followed with an RBI single. After catcher Yadier Molina scored the only St. Louis run with a solo home run in the bottom of the 5th, the Pirates kept the pressure on with a sacrifice fly by Martin in the top of the 7th and a solo home run hit by Starling Marte in the top of the 8th.

The Pirates would then win Game 3 on October 6 at PNC Park by the score of 5-3 to take a 2 games to 1 series lead at the time. In the bottom of the 1st Byrd had a 2-run single, and in the top of the 5th right fielder Carlos Beltran responded for the Cardinals by getting his own 2-run single. In the bottom of the 6th Martin had a sacrifice fly. In the top of the 8th Beltran hit a solo home run to tie the game at 3-3, but pulling away in the bottom of the 8th, Alvarez and Martin would both get RBI singles.

The next 2 seasons would see the Pittsburgh Pirates return to the postseason stage, reaffirming their renewed presence as a possible World Series contender.