Brendan Marks, Fri, 01 May 2015 15:46:00 GMT
Manager Clint Hurdle and his Pittsburgh Pirates will be in St. Louis this weekend to take on the Cardinals in a three-game set at Busch Stadium.
Hurdle joined The Ryan Kelley Morning After on Friday and talked the upcoming series, Adam Wainwright’s injury and his old Cardinal playing days.
We’ve typed up a few nuggets, but you can listen to the whole thing below:
How much do you value early season match-ups like these between division rivals?
“We value them from the perspective of they sharpen us. They should sharpen us, we plan on them sharpening us. We plan on going into tonight’s action to play a very good baseball that’s found its way to the top of the division again with the best record in baseball. They’re finding a way to score a run more than the other team, they’re pitching it well. And their bullpen is getting outs when they need to. Coming into this atmosphere…it’s always a good opportunity to play these guys, whether it be early, whether it be in the middle of the season, whether it be late. It’s fun to match up against them.”
We always hear about how great the atmosphere and turnout at Busch Stadium is. As an opposing manager, is that something you agree with?
“It’s a historic, traditional organization that’s got years and years of success, which bodes well for everything. The fan base here is significant. We weren’t good and we still drew well. They’ve had a great run here…so the red support comes out. They love the Cardinals, they’re very supportive. There’s a number of places where the challenge on the road is more difficult, this would be one of them based on the fan base.”
On the Pirates’ good pitching so far:
“Our rotational strength has been solid. Any team that plans on playing late (in the season) is going to have to have a good starting rotation. You don’t have a good starting, you’re not going to play late. We’ve had some offensive challenges as far as consistency. When we’ve been good, we’ve been very good. When we haven’t been, it’s been hard to score runs. We’re looking to show more offensive consistency.”
On Wainwright’s season-ending achilles injury:
“We all wish your boy Adam Wainwright a very healthy and speed recovery. Because you’re not going to run across a better man and a better pitcher than that guy.”
Download: Clint Hurdle on The Ryan Kelley Morning After