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Pirates pitcher Chris Archer reacts after striking out Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to end the top of the fifth inning Monday, April 1, 2019, at PNC Park.
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There is still reason to have hope for the Pirates

Matt Freed/Post-Gazette

There is still reason to have hope for the Pirates

The Pirates’ 6-5 extra-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on a blustery home opener Monday left several fans with frustrated feelings. The bullpen, which is supposed to be a strength, gave up all six runs. The Pirates had a 4-0 lead until the seventh inning and had a one-run lead entering the bottom of the ninth.

A cacophonous collection of errors, walks and wild pitches led to the loss.

"When you’re in the game, you never have it won until you win it. It’s a good ballclub over there. They’re always going to battle. We didn’t play well enough to win," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "You honestly self-evaluate. Did you do enough things to win the game? Unfortunately, with the free 90s we gave them, too many opportunities late to extend innings, put base runners on, that’s what cost us the game."

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In spite of the tough game it's important to remember that it's only one of 162. Also, there are positives to be gleaned from the start of the Pirates season.

Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli collides with first baseman Josh Bell as they try to pull in a foul ball hit by Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong in the eighth inning Monday, April 1, 2019, at PNC Park.
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Here are reasons to believe the Pirates still have an opportunity to have a good season:

Starting pitching

Chris Archer, Trevor Williams, and Jameson Taillon were each strong in their first starts of the season. Archer and Williams both had scoreless outings. Archer had eight strikeouts and Williams had six.

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"The adrenaline flow always is probably full on with [Archer],” Hurdle said. “At the end of the day, five-inning, no-run baseball, he made some really good pitches when he needed to, he worked extremely well with some runners on base. I thought it was a professional outing. He probably threw more pitches than he’d like to in five innings, but other than that, he got outs when he needed them.”

The Pirates’ brass talked ad nauseam about the starters being a strength, and through three starts they've been right. Joe Musgrove had to throw out of the bullpen on Sunday due to scheduling issues and a rainout on Saturday. He pitched two shutout innings against the Reds.

Bullpen

Kyle Crick and Keone Kela are both off to good starts. Crick threw a scoreless sixth inning on Monday in his first outing. Kela came into a bases-loaded situation with no outs in the seventh inning on Monday. After giving up a walk to Paul Goldschmidt, he got three outs without giving up a run. Kela kept the Pirates in the game.

Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon exited the game Wednesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 3-1 lead at PNC Park.
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Josh Bell

Bell has two hits in 10 at-bats, which on the surface doesn't seem so good. However, on Monday he had two RBIs without a hit. Bell had a sacrifice fly and a fielder's choice to drive in runs. It was a good example of hitting the ball where it needed to be. Last year, Bell might've struck out in those situations. Instead, he took what the game gave him.

Nubyjas Wilborn/nwilborn@post-gazette.com Twitter: @nwilborn19

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First Published: April 2, 2019, 9:12 p.m.

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