Pittsburgh Pirates: So much for the Jerad Eickhoff experiment

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been desperate to find anything resembling a competent pitcher as they look to emerge from their rebuilding process. That continued on Wednesday as the Pirates handed the ball to Jerad Eickhoff, who replaced the ineffective Heath Hembree on the roster.

Somehow, Eickhoff was even worse. He allowed ten runs on ten hits and a walk over his 4.1 innings as he clearly was not fooling any of the Cubs’ hitters.

Jerad Eickhoff makes history with Pittsburgh Pirates

This was not the first time that Eickhoff had allowed ten runs in a game before. In fact, he had allowed ten runs in his previous major league appearance, a 3.1 inning start where those ten runs came on seven hits and five walks, including three homers. Those outings were a matter of desperation as well as the Mets were looking to find something resembling a healthy and productive arm.

At least Eickhoff can say that he has a place in the record books now. He became the first player since Chubby Dean of the 1940 Philadelphia A’s to allow ten or more runs in consecutive starts. Dean had actually converted from first base to the mound in 1938, making him a relatively inexperienced arm even when he had those two horrendous outings.

There is one positive footnote to Dean’s career. It was not over after those two outings. Instead, he pitched in the majors until 1943, although that may have been a function of players being drafted into World War Two and the A’s general inability to find major league talent in that time frame.

Maybe Eickhoff can take solace in knowing that Dean received more chances. He was never really a great pitcher, but those two outings were not the end of the line. It remains to be seen if Eickhoff will get another look, even on the pitching desperate Pirates, but it is something he can keep in mind.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were hoping that Jerad Eickhoff could give them something on Wednesday night. It turned out that they received a historic performance.