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Column: Pirates put together a true complete game

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Normally when a complete game is thrown, this emphasis and honor is thrown on a pitcher. but on this particular Wednesday night, there was more to it than the effort Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole put forth.

That is not to say Cole should not be commended for his efforts on this night, because he should, but he was certainly the beneficiary of some good offense and defense in a 10-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

After all, in this day and age where pitch counts, innings and potential warning signs of injury are monitored closer than ever, a complete game is all the more respectable.

For Cole, it was the first of his career, and he allowed two hits while striking out six in his nine innings of work. Cole had 12 ground ball outs and a game score of 91 while tossing 93 pitches.

But Cole’s reaction was not one of triumph for his effort. Why?

Because of this Harlem Globetrotters audition:

And this persistence:

This effort:

And let’s not forget this:

Needless to say, the defense came to play Wednesday, and these were some of the many gems made through out the night.

Cole recognized each and in plays such as the one Sean Rodriguez made above, it was the final out of the inning so the pitcher would wait for his right fielder to come back to the dugout to express his thanks for the catch.

For some, the visual of last year’s Pirates team having a well-below-average season on the defensive side still holds true so efforts such as this game will go a long way to show that last year was an outlier.

This is a team that has come far on that front. While John Jaso may be what is holding Josh Bell back from a major league roster spot, let’s face the facts. He has fared a lot better than fans expected, many of which probably felt Jaso was bound to repeat what Alvarez could not do on defense last season. That could not have been more off base. Jaso has been impressive, as has Josh Harrison who now has one position to call his own and has been a defensive improvement over Neil Walker at second base.

David Freese has also impressed at third base while his flexibility of playing first base has had its promise. Jordy Mercer and Starling Marte are known commodities and Sean Rodriguez has been above average at just about every position on the field. Even Cole takes pride in his defense and was a Gold Glove finalist last season.

There seems to be more of an emphasis on fielding this season, and the message has rubbed off on the team.

In Tuesday night’s loss to the same Mariners team, the offense broke through early but stalled after that going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

Baseball is all about having a short memory and bouncing back. It is safe to say that 10 runs on 14 hits, with all but one starter reaching base would qualify as bouncing back.

If you thought Andrew McCutchen would be that one held off base, especially after being in an 0-for-7 skid at the plate, think again.

McCutchen ended up hitting a 417-foot home run in the eighth inning which surpassed Brian Giles and tied him with Dave Parker for fifth on the team’s all-time list with 166.

It was Rodriguez who went 0-for-4 at the plate stranding five runners but more than made up for that in the field.

Jung Ho Kang also has had his troubles at the plate in recent weeks, but his seventh-inning double batted in three runners to blow the game open. No player needed that kind of a hit more.

This season has showed a team who has potential to be an offensive force and you know the scary thing? The Pirates still left 17 men on base.

Cole is an emotional pitcher, but when the final out was recorded, one that came on an above average defensive play from Harrison, the right-handed starter only put his hands up triumphantly. There was no screaming, no fist pump, no theatrics.

It was the defense and offense which were with Cole every step of the way. This is a special team, Cole can see that. He is the voice of their team in the Player’s Union but on this night, he got a front row seat to an extraordinary effort, one that only further motivated him to hold up his end of the bargain.

Of note

Following the game, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle announced that Steven Brault (0-0, 2.25 ERA) would be called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to start Friday’s road contest against the Milwaukee Brewers. Brault pitched four innings in his other start, which came against the St. Louis Cardinals and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits. He was a victim of a high pitch count, being removed from the game after throwing 82 pitches … Ryan Vogelsong (facial fractures) pitched another rehab start Wednesday night and allowed two runs on five hits in seven innings. Vogelsong’s runs were on solo home runs and he threw 83 pitches in the start.

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