Pittsburgh Pirates make history again on Friday

The 2022 Pittsburgh Pirates may not be a playoff team, but they are a historic one.

It all began with a spot start from Jerad Eickhoff. He was pummeled for ten runs in his 4.1 innings, making him the first pitcher since Chubby Dean in 1940 to have consecutive starts with ten or more runs allowed in each. Then, on June 29th and 30th, Bryan Reynolds and Michael Perez became the first teammates with consecutive three homer games since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in 1930.

Pittsburgh Pirates continue to make history

History continued on Friday night. As noted by High Heat Stats on Twitter, the Pirates had two pitchers allow at least seven runs without pitching two innings for the first time in franchise history. Considering the Pirates franchise came into existence in 1882, it is an impressive accomplishment.

But such is the case with a rebuilding team looking for arms. Roansy Contreras may be the future of the Pirates’ rotation, but he just did not have it on Friday night, allowing seven runs on five hits, including three homers, and two walks while recording five outs.

Cam Vieaux had to wear one for the team in the seventh, allowing eight runs, seven earned, on six hits and three walks in his inning of work. He threw 56 pitches in that outing, one that will likely earn him a ticket back to Triple-A just because he will not be available out of the bullpen for a few days.

If this trend continues, the Pirates’ next historic occurrence should be a positive one. At this point, they certainly hope that will be the case as they need to find as much success as possible to build upon moving forward.

The Pittsburgh Pirates made history again on Friday night. And, once again, it was the type of history they would not have wanted.