Pittsburgh Pirates Blow 5-0 Lead in Loss Against the Cincinnati Reds

Monday night the Pittsburgh Pirates jumped out to a 5-0 lead against the Cincinnati Reds but it was not enough as the team failed to hold onto the big lead in a 9-5 loss

Coming down the stretch of the 2021 MLB season the Pittsburgh Pirates are playing their best baseball of the season. Entering play on Monday the Pirates were 6-2-1 in their last 9 series played with an overall record of 14-14 in their last 28 games played.

The only reason the Pittsburgh Pirates do not have a better record in this 28 game stretch is due to a disastrous six-day trip to Chicago. During this trip to the Windy City the Pirates were swept in a two-game series against the White Sox and four-game series against the Cubs, with the Cub series being one the Pirates easily could have art least split if not won.

Monday night the Pittsburgh Pirates kicked off a three-game series at Great American Ballpark against the Cincinnati Reds. Despite jumping out to an early 5-0 lead, the Pirates were unable to hang on to their lead suffering a 9-5 loss. With the loss the Pirates are now just 56-94 on the season.

Pirates jump out to an early lead

It did not take the Pittsburgh Pirates long to grab an early lead. Yoshi Tsutsugo and Bryan Reynolds hit back-to-back solo home runs in the 1st inning. The 8th of the season for Tsutsugo and 24th for Reynolds gave the Bucs a quick 2-0 lead.

With the Pirates leading 2-0 in the top of the 3rd their offense would strike again. Dillon Peters walked to start the inning, Cole Tucker singled and Tsutsugo single. The Tsutsugo singled scored Peters making the score 3-0 Pirates.

Following a Reynolds sacrifice fly to make the score 4-0, Colin Moran and Ben Gamel recorded back-to-back signals to load the bases. Kevin Newman then reached on a fielder’s choice to extend the Pirate lead to 5-0.

Unfortunately, this is where the Pirate scoring would end. Michael Perez grounded out to waste the opportunity to extend the Pirate lead further. The Pirate offense would then go on to struggle the rest of the night as the Red bullpen would settle in.

Dillon Peters turns in first poor Pirate start

To steal a Steve Blass saying left-handed pitcher Dillon Peters has quickly become a ‘person of interest’ for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Peters had turned in 5 strong starts since joining the Pirates, but start number 6 did not go according to plan.

Early on things were looking good for Peters. He pitched a scoreless 1st and 2nd inning and appeared to be well on his way to another strong start. Unfortunately, things came unglued in the 3rd inning.

Peters allowed 4 runs in the 3rd inning. When the dust settled he had allowed 4 runs on 4 this, 2 walks and a home run in 4 innings pitched. Despite this poor start Peters still owns a 3.71 ERA and 3.65 FIP as a Pirate.

Even with his poor start in the loss Peters still appears to be on his way to pitching his way into an Opening Day roster spot with the Pirates in 2022. It could be in the starting rotation or it could be out of the bullpen, either way, it is difficult to envision Peters not being given every opportunity to be a member of the 2022 Opening Day roster.

Connor Overton’s history continues… the rest of the bullpen struggles

Since joining the Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Connor Overton has used a nasty changeup to find success on the mound. This continued on Monday night as he struck out a batter in a 1-2-3 inning of work. This extends Overton’s MLB record of consecutive scoreless innings to start a career to 11.2.

Outside of Overton, however, the bullpen was a mess. Cody Ponce inherited a 5-4 lead. After pitching a scoreless 4th inning he allowed a pair of solo home runs in the 5th inning, giving the Reds a 6-5 lead they would not relinquish.

Kyle Keller allowed a 2 earned runs and a home run in his lone inning of work. Enyel De Los Santos pitched 1.1 innings and was charged with a run. He also allowed a runner he inherited form Keller to score when he issued a bases loaded walk.

In 5 innings of work the Pirate bullpen allowed 5 runs on 7 hits, 3 walks and 3 home runs allowed. This includes the 1-2-3 inning pitched by Overton. As a whole it was not a good night for Bucco relievers.

What’s next?

Mitch Keller (6.14 ERA, 4.31 FIP) will look to build upon his recent improved work when he toes the rubber for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Righty Tyler Mahle (3.59 ERA, 3.86 FIP) is slated to start for the Reds. First pitch from Great American Ballpark is scheduled for 6:40 PM ET.