The sweet joy of the Pirates’ memorable wins over St. Louis last weekend seem like a distant memory. They’ve lost both games since the All-Star break while the Cardinals have won their two. An 8-5 loss Saturday night to the Milwaukee Brewers left the Pirates 4 1/2 games off the NL Central lead.
No one is panicking, but at least on one front there seems to be some sort of reassessment.
With Pedro Alvarez looming as the largest defensive liability in MLB and with his 15th error of the season still fresh on the minds of all, manager Clint Hurdle was asked before the game if the Pirates needed an upgrade at first base.