ATLANTA -- Brian Gorman is a good umpire. Let’s get that straight right from the beginning. He has been on the job for 29 years in the major leagues. His father, Tom, was a legendary National League umpire.
However, it also seems that even the best of umpires like to interject themselves into the story of the game. That is exactly what happened Monday night.
Gorman goofed big time when he ejected Joe Musgrove and Braves third baseman Josh Donaldson in the first inning of Atlanta’s 13-7 win Monday against the Pirates at SunTrust Park that opened a four-game series.
You can read more about the kerfuffle here but, to summarize, Donaldson got grazed on the jersey by a pitch from Musgrove. Donaldson yelled at Musgrove. Musgrove yelled at Donaldson. Both benches emptied and a handful of personnel from both teams yelled at each other. No punches were thrown. No one got hurt. Musgrove clearly wasn’t throwing at Donaldson.
Yet Gorman tossed both players in a totally reactionary move.
Gorman said Musgrove got the thumb for the "aggressive actions" of throwing down his cap and glove. Seriously. That's something a Little League umpire might do. Might.
Granted, I understand that part of an umpire’s job is to keep order on the field, even more so for a crew chief like Gorman. However, Gorman’s action basically handed the game to the Braves. With Musgrove gone, the Pirates were forced to use three rookie relievers in Alex McRae, Geoff Hartlieb and Montana DuRapau. Predictably, the trio was tagged for 13 runs, 11 earned, in 7 2/3 innings.
Maybe the Pirates would have lost anyway, but it was frustrating for them to have the odds turned against them by such an arbitrary decision.
All three of the aforementioned relievers are wonderful young men. Yet none should be in the major leagues. They are only in the bigs because of a spate of injuries and the Pirates having no better alternatives at Class AAA Indianapolis.
Heaven forbid they would ever dip down to Class AA Altoona for help, but that’s another story for another day.
The Pirates don’t need any help in losing games these days, having dropped 15 of their past 21 to fall a season-worst five games under .500 at 30-35. Nevertheless, Gorman gave them a big assist.
• Speaking of dipping down to Class AA, here’s an idea: Call up left-hander Blake Weiman. He's a 23-year-old who has a 2.95 ERA in 15 games with the Curve after a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League at the end of last season.
Those might not be lights-out numbers, but they are good enough. If nothing else, it would be a much better idea than calling up Dovydas Neverauskas yet again and watching that tired act. The Pirates have cycled through almost every pitcher at Indianapolis. All have been found wanting. It's time to try something different.
• Starling Marte hit two home runs, a three-run blast off Kevin Gausman in the third inning and a leadoff shot off Jerry Blevins in the eighth.
It was the third multi-homer game of Marte’s eight-year career. Somewhat surprisingly, it was the first since he hit two homers in a game since Aug. 18, 2014, also against the Braves, at PNC Park.
Here is Marte's second homer:
Marte nearly hit a third home run in the ninth when he lined out to the warning track in right field.
Moving Marte from the No. 2 spot in the batting order to the No. 3 spot has proven to be a stroke of genius by Clint Hurdle. Since Marte dropped down on May 28, he is hitting .426 (23 for 54) with three doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs in 12 games.
“I feel good,” he said. “I feel a lot more comfortable at the plate. I feel like I’ve found my swing. I feel like I’ve found my groove. I’m just being able to hit the ball where I want to hit it, and it’s been good.”
Marte credits a lot of his recent success to hitting coaches Rick Eckstein and Jacob Cruz. As an aside, Eckstein and Cruz have gone from being the two dumbest men in the world – at least in the eyes of some fans, when the Pirates weren’t hitting at the start of the season — to gurus.
“They help me a lot,” Marte said through translator Mike Gonzalez. “There have been moments where they have found me a little lost at the plate and helped me make adjustments.
“Focus has been the key. I’ve got my guys, my teammates behind me, so as long I stay focused then everything will be good.”
It’s nice to hear Marte mention focus. It is something that has been lacking for too much of his time in the major leagues.
• Bryan Reynolds’ 17-game hitting streak ended; he went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts. It was a rare bad night for the rookie.
Reynolds’ hitting streak was the longest by a Pirates rookie since Neil Walker had an 18-gamer in 2010. Reynolds also reached base in 24 consecutive games, the best by a Pirates rookie since Lee Walls did so in 25 games in 1956.
“It’s been cool to watch, really cool,” Hurdle said before the game.
Indeed, it was.
I must hand it to the Pirates on acquiring Reynolds and Kyle Crick from the Giants in the Andrew McCutchen trade. I thought both would be so-so players, but both show they have a chance for long and productive careers.
• The Pirates have given up double-digits runs eight times in their past 18 games. Could a team actually do that if it tried?
