Pittsburgh Pirates Get Blown Out on Roberto Clemente Day

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the Chicago White Sox Wednesday night at PNC Park by a score of 8-1. They have now fallen to 14-27. 

It was a special day to honor the late great Roberto Clemente all across baseball on Wednesday, and for the Pittsburgh Pirates in particular. The pregame festivities were great, but the game did not follow suit.

On Wednesday night at PNC Park, the Pirates lost to the Chicago White Sox by a score of 8-1. With the loss, the Pirates are now 14-27 on the season. The loss also led to the Pirates splitting the two game series against the White Sox. They will finish the season just 1-3 against the White Sox.

Let’s get into it!

Honoring Clemente

There were players throughout the league that were able to honor Roberto Clemente by wearing his number 21 on the back of their jersey on Wednesday night. Every Pirate player shared that same honor. It was truly great to see the team all lined up for the National Anthem as they all shared the same number 21 jersey.

There was also a huge number 21 painted in right field to honor Clemente, who was the best or one of the best right fielders to ever play the game. Gregory Polanco started in right field for the Pirates on Wednesday night, and he was seen kneeling for a pregame pray in between the 2 and the 1. It was a great scene.

The Pitching

JT Brubaker made the start for the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. He looked dialed in for the first 2 innings, recording three strikeouts and not allowing a hit. However, James McCann was able to lift one over the center field wall to get the Sox on the board first in the top half of the 3rd.

Brubaker would find himself in more trouble in the 4th. He gave up three straight singles and then a walk before retiring a batter. After striking out Luis Robert, Brubaker gave up a sacrifice fly to McCann, another walk, and a single from Nick Madrigal that scored two more to make it 5-0.

Brubaker would retire the next batter to end the inning. After a quick 5th inning from Brubaker, his struggles came back in the 6th when he gave up another homer to McCann, this time a 2-run shot. That would conclude his night.

Tyler Bashlor came on in relief and did not look much better. He gave up an infield hit, a walk, and a double that scored two more off the bat of Yoan Moncada before getting out of the inning.

Nick Tropeano continues to shine as a member of the Pirates. He pitched 3 scoreless innings in mop up duty tonight. He gave up only two hits and struck out five.

The Offense

Going into the game, the lineup card actually did not look too bad. However, the guys in the lineup struggled at the plate on Wednesday night. Adam Frazier and Josh Bell each singled, JT Riddle added another single as a substitute, and Colin Moran doubled for the only Pirates’ hits in the game. They managed to push a run across in the 8th on a bases loaded catcher’s interference by McCann, but that would be their only tally.

What’s Next?

The Pittsburgh Pirates will have an off-day on Thursday and head to Kansas City for a series against the Royals this weekend. The series kicks off on Friday at 8:05 p.m. The pitching matchup will feature Steven Brault (4.37 ERA) for the Pirates and Kris Bubic (4.89 ERA) for the Royals.