Pittsburgh Pirates: Bats Remain Silent is Loss Against the Cubs

A few rough innings from the pitching staff, and another night of minimal offense led to a third straight loss for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.

Following Saturday night’s 4-3 loss against the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates are now just 2-6 on the season. With the loss, they have also clinched their third series loss in as many series played.

There weren’t many bright spots for the Pittsburgh Pirates in game two of the series with the Cubs. However, there was plenty to talk about. So, let’s get into it!

The Offense

There wasn’t much action from the Bucco offense until late in the game for the second night in a row.

It looked promising when Adam Frazier led off the game with a hustling double, but that would be the only hit that left the infield until the 9th inning. Kevin Newman had an infield single in the 7th and another base hit to center in the 9th. Hopefully, these two hits will get the struggling Newman going. It’s not a coincidence that the Pittsburgh Pirates have struggled offensively with Newman struggling at the top of the line up.

For a second consecutive night, the offense would come to life in the 9th inning. Colin Moran launched his 5th home run of the young season into the bleachers to make it a 4-2 game. Moran has been a bright spot for the struggling Pirate offense this season. Moran’s 5 home runs lead all MLB hitters and he is hitting for a .321/.367/.893 slash line.

Bryan Reynolds would then double to right and steal third as Gregory Polanco came to the plate. Polanco grounded out to first which scored Reynolds to make it 4-3. A two out walk to Phillip Evans put the tying run at first. Jose Osuna would pinch hit and ground out to short to end the game.

Two Disaster Innings

Mitch Keller looked confident as he worked out of jams in the first 2 innings, but the 3rd inning brought him some trouble.

After retiring Victor Caratini to start off the inning, Keller hung a curveball that Ian Happ jumped all over. He sent one deep out to center to get the Cubs on the board. Then after retiring Rizzo, Keller gave up another bomb out to center off the bat of Javier Baez to make it 2-0.

The disaster would escalate as Keller called for the trainer after throwing a pitch to Willson Contreras. He would exit the game with what would later be diagnosed as a left side injury. All signs point toward it being an oblique issue for Keller, which is something that, with just 52 games remaining in the season, could cost Keller the rest of 2020.

Chris Stratton and JT Brubaker were able to keep the Bucs in the game as they kept the score at 2-0 heading into the eighth inning. However, disaster would strike again in the form of Michael Feliz. In his first appearance since the Brewers debacle, Feliz walked the first batter he faced and then gave up a homer to Kyle Schwarber.

Contreras would follow up with a single to right which led to another call to the trainer. Feliz exited the game and was replaced by Miguel Del Pozo. Del Pozo would finish off the inning without giving up any further damage.

These two chaotic innings would prove to be the deciding factor in the loss tonight.

The Good

Brubaker continues to shine for the Pittsburgh Pirates out of the bullpen, as he tossed three scoreless frames. Another bright spot for Pittsburgh was the red beard, Colin Moran. He hit his fifth homer of the year and is swinging one of the hottest bats in baseball.

The Bad

The Pirate offense made Tyler Chatwood look like a Cy Young candidate, as he struck out 11.

The Ugly

After hitting his first homer of the year on Friday, Josh Bell went back to looking lost at the plate. He went 0-4 at the plate with three strikeouts. The Pirates desperately need their star to figure it out at the plate.

What’s Next

The Pirates will look to avoid a sweep as they battle the Cubs Sunday afternoon at 2:20 pm. The pitching match up will be Steven Brault vs Jon Lester in the series finale.