Can we expect JMac to get back on track?

Today begins an extremely important series for the Pirates against the division-rival Cardinals. St. Louis begins the day just one game back of the Pirates and the final Wild Card spot. Taking the bump for the Pirates is first-half ace James McDonald. But that makes the Pirates faithful more uneasy than confident. No Pirates starter has struggled as much as JMac since the All-Star break.

The numbers are ugly: an 8.71 ERA, a .321 BA against and 21 walks in 31 innings. Things have gotten so bad that there was some talk of moving the erstwhile ace to the bullpen. Still, the struggles seem more mental than mechanical. McDonald will breeze through a couple of innings before losing concentration and giving up a big hit. Then, things fall apart. It reminds one of the pre-2012 James McDonald: lots of promise, very little consistency.

McDonald addressed this in a recent interview with Pirates Prospects' Kristy Robinson:

“I just got to keep focused throughout the entire start,” McDonald said. “I can’t lose focus. That one pitch might be a game changer. Just really try to keep focused on every pitch one pitch at a time, one batter at a time. Don’t try to get ahead of myself.”

As I mentioned in my recent post discussing the staff's collective issues in August, there are two men that can help JMac right the ship: pitching coach Ray Searage and fellow starter A.J. Burnett. Searage put McDonald through an extra side session recently and focused on rhythm and timing. The hope being that JMac can get into a flow on the mound and not get distracted as easily or thrown off his game. Burnett, in the meantime, called a clubhouse meeting the day before his most recent start to help re-focus the whole team and regain a winning mentality. Burnett pitched a gutsy game yesterday, earning a win and being a stopper for the Pirates, despite not having his best stuff. That kind of performance doesn't look great in the stat books, but it can help motivate a floundering team. JMac was pitching best when he was going back-to-back with Burnett in the rotation. Burnett has become a real mentor for McDonald and and he attributes much of his early-season success to Burnett's influence. Maybe following Burnett's gritty win will help JMac get back to his dominant self. The Pirates could sure use that kind of a boost going into their biggest series of the season. Their 20-year playoff hopes hang in the balance.