Tim Benz: Early signs show Pirates coming as advertised in 2019

Before the Pirates even got to their home opener, their first three days in Cincinnati gave us a pretty good snapshot of what to expect in 2019.

Sometimes the starting pitcher is going to give you six shutout innings, and you are going to win.

Sometimes the starter is going to allow just one run through the first six innings, and you will still manage to lose.

And sometimes, it’s going to rain.

With apologies to Nuke LaLoosh, what was true for the Durham Bulls in 1988 is even more true for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019.

That three-day, two-game, weather-impacted, staccato start to this season was a pretty good primer for what local baseball fans can expect over the next six months from the Bucs.

As was the 6-5, 11-inning loss to the Cardinals in the PNC Park opener Monday afternoon.

Exactly as forecast coming out of spring training, barring catastrophic injuries to the rotation, the Pirates pitching staff is usually going to churn out a good start four out of every five games.

But barring the unexpected blossoming of numerous players, Team X in the opposing dugout is going to boast the superior starting eight on the field and in the batter’s box most days.

I’m not one who likes to make sweeping proclamations 29 innings into a season. However, I am one who needs a lot of evidence to move off an opinion I’ve held about a team since last October.

And, frankly, one that has existed for the better part of 27 years. This April, much like many of the others in years gone by, that opinion is: These Pirates will fall short of .500 — even though they hit that mark last season.

“It’s a great opportunity to get in front of the fans and put on a good show for them and let them know what we are going to be about this year,” first baseman Josh Bell said of Opening Day before the Pirates took the field.

Bell was being optimistic and truthful with his words there. And good for him. He should be. It’s heartening to hear belief and hope from a player as valuable to this team as Bell is. Unfortunately, the truth in Bell’s words probably resonated differently for the announced crowd of 37,336.

Because they saw what the Pirates are going to be about this year: a starting pitcher leaving a game with a lead, praying it holds up.

For a multitude of reasons.

Monday, it was Chris Archer, who yielded no runs and with eight strikeouts in five innings. When he was lifted after 99 pitches, the right-hander exited with a 4-0 lead. It eventually evaporated because:

• The Pirates posted just two hits and one run over the last seven frames.

• The Cardinals tallied six runs over the last five innings against eight relievers out of the Pirates bullpen. All that after Rich Rodriguez allowed a three-run homer in the season opener against the Reds in relief of Jameson Taillon.

• The Pirates defense was responsible for two errors (one by Colin Moran at third base, another by Erik Gonzales at shortstop), a misplayed turn of a potential double play and a game-deciding passed ball.

“We just spent six weeks working on defense,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “It didn’t go out there and play today, so we’ll continue to work.”

There were way too many “free 90s,” as Hurdle pointed out, referring to the extra bases allowed by the Pirates defense.

The defensive concerns were apparent coming north from spring training. The worries about inefficiency at the plate have been talked about the entire offseason. The rotation knew coming into this year that it was going to have to compensate for those shortcomings. But the early bullpen woes are disconcerting.

“It’s a really small sample size,” Hurdle said of the bullpen issues. “We’ll keep pushing them out there and give them opportunities to build some consistency and continuity to roles. I’ve got a lot of confidence in them.”

I’m glad Hurdle does. Because based on what we have seen so far, no one else should. The starting staff was already going to be leaned on quite a bit without having to fret anytime a reliever comes in. This is a joker that was not supposed to be in the deck for the Pirates this year.

The bullpen, especially the back end, was supposed to be a plus. So it better catch up quickly.

Because with the rest of this Pirates team coming as advertised at the plate and in the field, the starters are going to need all the help they can get.

It’s only going to rain so often.