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Pirates players insist their July output is sustainable | TribLIVE.com
Breakfast With Benz

Pirates players insist their July output is sustainable

Tim Benz
Tim Benz
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Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review
The Pirates’ Kevin Newman is mobbed by teammates after defeating the Padres on a bases loaded base on balls during the 11th inning Sunday, June 23, 2019, at PNC Park.

During the All-Star break, we discussed how Pirates management may view the recent surge by their players now that they are within 2 1/2 games of first place in the National League Central.

They sound optimistic. But I bet the jury is still out.

It should be.

Because for as optimistic as everyone wants to be about the great output from some of the young hitters and the productivity from all those veterans off the bench, you have to wonder how sustainable that is.

You also have to wonder whether the pitching staff is ever going to get healthy and back in form. And you have to wonder whether the Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers are going to live up to their preseason hype.

That’s why the likes of Clint Hurdle and Neal Huntington may still need to be sold a bit on the results they are seeing. But the players themselves seem confident that the hot stretch the Pirates enjoyed before the All-Star break (winning 12 of 17) was legitimate.

In today’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast, Kevin Newman, Trevor Williams and Bryan Reynolds talk about their attempts to keep the momentum going once the second half of the season kicks off Friday in Chicago.

LISTEN: Pirates players insist July output is sustainable

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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