Tim Benz: Pirates' tension-packed season-opener feels like a forecast of what's to come

The reaction of Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton was one of bemused relief when he was asked a question following his team’s exhausting 6-5 season-opening win over the Miami Marlins.

Is this how it’s going to be for his team all year?

“Ha! I hope not,” Shelton said via the postgame show on 93.7 The Fan. “If that is the case, we’ll take it. I was just happy that we played throughout the whole game.”

The whole game lasted three hours and 24 minutes and 12 innings. For the first 11 innings, the Pirates never led, but managed to take the lead in the 12th thanks to a Jared Triolo base hit.

JARED TRIOLO FOR THE LEAD! ???? pic.twitter.com/A6whOzdP6P

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) March 28, 2024

Then, Jose Hernandez managed to shut the game down for his first Major League save after being recalled just before the game thanks to Roansy Contreras going on paternity leave.

“I don’t think anybody ever thought that we were gonna lose,” Triolo said on SportsNet Pittsburgh after the game.

OK. I’m glad he felt that way. But when the Pirates were down (in part because of a Triolo error) 5-2 in the seventh with a bushel full of strikeouts on the box score already, I’ll admit to having a different opinion.

So much of what transpired Thursday felt like it could end up being part of the Pirates storyline throughout the rest of the season.

• At the plate, they showed power with three home runs from Bryan Reynolds, Oneil Cruz and Edward Olivares. However, Pirates hitters struck out 17 times and were 2 for 17 with runners in scoring position.

• On the mound, the bullpen allowed no runs and just one hit over the last 6⅔ innings pitched, without closer David Bednar even making an appearance. But starter Mitch Keller wasn’t great, yielding four earned runs and 10 baserunners in 5⅔ innings while striking out only three.

• Ke’Bryan Hayes and Connor Joe made some really good plays in the field, but Triolo’s second-inning error on what could’ve been a double-play ball led to the first two runs in the game.

More sports

• First Call: Patrick Peterson's request for whatever team signs him; Steelers coaches scouting along O-line
• Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby power Penguins past Blue Jackets again
• Aliquippa sues PIAA to prevent football team’s promotion to Class 5A

In microcosm, that’s basically the analysis of the entire Pirates preseason.

The lineup has lots of potential but will likely strike out a ton. The fielding at certain spots could be great, while we should expect it to be shoddy at others. The rotation is in question, but the bullpen is supposed to be a strength. The Pirates are good enough to hang with any team but are mistake-prone enough to give other clubs a chance to blow them away any night.

So when Shelton was asked if Thursday’s game is going to get replayed 161 more times, naturally, I get why he laughed off the response. And, no, we aren’t going to see all those things manifest in every game, every night.

But they all might over any given week. Or any given homestand. Or any given road trip.

And that’s why this team will probably be right around .500. It’s talented enough to threaten the wild-card standings, but it’s also flawed enough to resemble one of the 100 loss teams from 2021 and 2022 any time it takes the field.

However, if the next 161 results match the opener in terms of twists and turns, this season will at least be worth watching for the next six months.

That’s more than what we can say about a lot of Pirates seasons.