Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Rodolfo Castro (14) signals to trainers after a ninth inning collision at second base during a game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Pirates poke fun at announcers' jab after sweep of Red Sox

Late in the 2022 baseball season, the Boston Red Sox announcers poked fun at the lineup the Pittsburgh Pirates were putting on the field, calling it a "hodgepodge of nothingness."

It was, quite honestly, an appropriate criticism given how bad the lineup was. Still, the Pirates have long memories and did not forget about it after their sweep of the Red Sox in Fenway Park this week. 

They decided to deliver their own jab back at the Red Sox on Thursday night.

It was a very impressive showing by the Pirates, going into Boston this week and easily winning all three games by a combined score of 15-8, feasting on a Red Sox pitching staff that has struggled over the first week of the season.

That sweep gives the Pirates a 4-2 record heading into their home opener on Friday against the Houston Astros. 

It is an encouraging start for a team that has lost 100 games two years in a row and also played at a 100-loss pace during the shortened 2020 season.  

The Buccos probably do not have the pitching depth to sustain any sort of success long-term this season, but they do still have a star in Bryan Reynolds, a potential superstar in Oneil Cruz and also brought back Andrew McCutchen for one year. They should at least be more interesting than the hodgepodge team of 2022. They also at least got some early season bragging rights over a big-market team that made them a punchline a year ago. 

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