Pittsburgh Pirates Blown Out in Fourth Straight Loss

CINCINNATI, OH - APRIL 06: Adam Frazier #26 of the Pittsburgh Pirates is unable to catch a ball hit by Mike Moustakas #9 of the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Great American Ball Park on April 6, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - APRIL 06: Adam Frazier #26 of the Pittsburgh Pirates is unable to catch a ball hit by Mike Moustakas #9 of the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Great American Ball Park on April 6, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
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61. 1. 4. Final. 14

Tuesday night the Pittsburgh Pirates suffered their first blowout loss of the season

Since defeating the Chicago Cubs on Opening Day, the Pittsburgh Pirates have now lost four games in a row. Their latest was their first blowout loss of the season when they fell to the Cincinnati Reds by a score of 14-1 on Tuesday night.

With the loss, the Pittsburgh Pirates are now 1-4 on the season. The loss also won the series for the Reds, knocking the Pirates to 0-2 in series played this season. Unfortunately, there will likely be many of nights and series like this during the 2021 season. So buckle up, friends, there are choppy waters ahead.

Trevor Cahill Struggles in Pirate Debut

Veteran right-handed pitcher Trevor Cahill made his regular season debut with the Pirates. While Cahill has had plenty of success in his MLB career, the first outing of his 13th MLB season did not go as he had hoped.

Cahill lasted just 4 innings, allowing 7 runs on 9 hits. While he did not walk a batter and struck out 4, he also allowed a pair of home runs. To be honest, Cahill only even went as deep as he did due to the Pirate bullpen being so heavily used through the first four games of the season.

Due to signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates in late March, Cahill was not able to have a full Spring Training. Tuesday night he looked like a pitcher who was rusty due to a short spring. He struggled to spot his fastball and his breaking ball did not look sharp. Manager Derek Shelton mentioned this in his post-game press conference, and remains hopeful that Cahill can find his past form as he continues to build up arm strength and knock the rust off.

Phillip ‘Swiss Army Knife’ Evans

As AT&T SportsNet’s broadcast was going off the air former Pirate catcher turned analyst, and friend of the website, Michael McKenry called Phillip Evans a Swiss Army Knife. Right now this looks like a great way to describe Evans.

With Ke’Bryan Hayes on the injured list Evans has been starting at third base. Tuesday night, he started in right field. He can also play second base, left field and first base. Evans also took the mound on Tuesday night and pitched the lone 1-2-3 inning of the night for the Pirate pitching staff. In the 8th inning, Evans needed just 5 pitches to retire the Reds in order.

Evans also had another big night offensively. For a second consecutive night he hit a solo home run, accounting for the lone Pirate run on Tuesday night. Evans currently has an opportunity with the Pirates and he is seizing it.

All Evans has done at the plate since coming to the Pittsburgh Pirates is hit. After hitting for a .359/.444/.487 slash line with a 158 wRC+ in 45 plate appearances last season, Evans is now hitting for a .417/.462/.917 slash line thus far in 2021. Until he stops hitting Evans needs to be in the lineup every day.

A Bad Night For The Bullpen

After the bullpen had a strong opening series against the Cubs, the past two nights have not gone well for the Bucco ‘pen. After allowing 4 runs on Monday night, the bullpen was tagged for 7 runs on Tuesday night.

Not including Evans, the Pirate bullpen pitched just 3 innings on Tuesday night but these 3 innings were a disaster. Clay Holmes allowed 5 runs on 3 hits and he issued a pair of walks. Duane Underwood Jr. struck out 3 batters in 2.1 innings pitched, but he also allowed 2 runs on 5 hits. The lone bright spot was Richard Rodriguez who struck out the lone batter he faced.

The bullpen still has the potential to be a bright spot for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season due to the amount of quality arms Ben Cherington has stockpiled. Hopefully, these past two nights will prove to just be a blip on the radar.

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Next Up For The Pirates

The Pirates and Reds will play the finale of their three-game series at 12:35 PM EST on Wednesday afternoon. Chad Kuhl (3.00 ERA, 5.05 FIP) will make his second start of the season for the Pirates. He will be opposed by Cincinnati righty Luis Castillo (21.60 ERA, 10.17 FIP) who will also be making his second start of the season.