The Pittsburgh Pirates had a slow start to the season, going 1-3, but Sunday they will aim for a four-game series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.
The Pirates shut out the Reds 2-0 in each of the first two games of the series at PNC Park, then pulled out a 10-inning, 6-5 win Saturday on Kevin Newman’s walk-off double.
The Saturday game was one of the few in which a Pittsburgh starter wasn’t dazzling. Trevor Williams had a quality start, three earned runs in six innings, but it followed a stretch in which the rotation gave up one run in 30 innings.
Instead, the Pirates produced a season high in runs and used five pitchers — the kind of group effort manager Clint Hurdle has been calling for since the spring.
“We had a lot of different contributions from different places,” Hurdle said. “We found enough outs of the mound. Really, really good team victory.”
Cincinnati right-hander Anthony DeSclafani (0-0, 1.80 ERA) is scheduled to face Pirates right-hander Chris Archer (0-0, 0.00 ERA) in the series finale Sunday.
Archer, who will be facing Cincinnati for the first time in his career, was part of the march of the nearly invincible Pirates starters in his season debut.
On Monday, in Pittsburgh’s home opener, he struck out eight and gave up two hits in five scoreless innings during what became an 11-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
“He was fun to watch,” Hurdle said. “Obviously, he was in it.”
There were a few glitches. Archer walked three and hit a batter.
“He battled some pitch count, but he’s got that swing-and-miss, unbelievable stuff that kind of got him through,” fellow Pittsburgh starter Jameson Taillon said. “He’s got energy that no one else brings. He’s just got that vibe about him. So we were excited to see him feed off the crowd. It’s fun to watch. He’s a little kid out there. He loves the game. He loves competing.”
Archer didn’t do as well as hoped last year, splitting the season between Tampa Bay and, after a trade, the Pirates. He was 6-8 with 4.31 ERA in 27 combined starts. However, he made an adjustment in September, pitching exclusively from the stretch, and went 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his last five starts.
Another strong start Sunday might indicate he has settled in well with the Pirates.
“It was amazing,” catcher Francisco Cervelli said of Archer’s Monday outing. “He was throwing strikes, breaking balls when he needed to, fastballs when he needed to. He was good, man. The fact that he has a lot of energy and gave us a chance to win the game, we let him down. But the first impression was good.”
DeSclafani’s first start of the season was nearly as good as Archer’s. He gave up one run and three hits in five innings with eight strikeouts and three walks Tuesday in what became a Cincinnati loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.
It was his first April start since 2015 because of injuries, including delayed debuts in 2016 and last year and a lost season in 2017.
“I’m glad I was able to take the ball the first week of the season, for sure, instead of waiting two or three months,” DeSclafani said. “I was definitely satisfied. I was working on a lot of things in camp, hoping to progress in the season, and I feel like I did that. …
“I was trying to progress with the curveball. I think I used it effectively. I would still like to get it more consistent. Hopefully, it’s going to be there all year for me. It makes it a little bit easier out there to have a third weapon.”
DeSclafani is 2-4 with a 3.83 ERA in nine career starts against the Pirates.