Pittsburgh Pirates Nearly No-Hit as St. Louis Cardinals Sweep Doubleheader

The Pittsburgh Pirates were nearly no-hit by the St. Louis Cardinals in the night cap of Tuesday’s day/night doubleheader at Busch Stadium

Tuesday was a miserable day in St. Louis for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Playing a day/night doubleheader against the Cardinals, the Pirates were swept at Busch Stadium and outscored 12-2. This included a 9-1 loss in game two, falling to 24-37 on the season.

Both losses on Tuesday were far from normal losses. In a 3-1 loss in game one the Pittsburgh Pirates committed four errors and we saw a controversial call as the Bucs fell 3-1. Then in game two the Pirates were nearly no-hit by Miles Mikolas in a 9-1 loss.

Mikolas carried his no hitter into the 9th inning. After recording the first two outs of the inning, Cal Mitchell lined a double over Harrison Bader’s head in center field to break up the no-hit bid. Mikolas was then lifted for a reliever, before Jack Suwinski grounded out to end the game.

Bryse Wilson… still not a MLB pitcher

Following a miserable start to the season that saw Bryse Wilson continue to make starts for some unknown reason, he was finally optioned to the minors in May. Well, Wilson returned to the majors as the 27th man for the Pirates in Tuesday’s doubleheader and things did not go well.

While Wilson did manage to settle in and pitch 5 innings, it came after he allowed 7 runs in the first 2 innings of the game. All told, Wilson allowed 7 runs on 10 hits, a walk, 3 home runs and just 2 strikeouts in 5 innings pitched.

Wilson has now pitched 33.1 MLB innings this season, posting a 8.37 ERA and a 5.36 FIP. He’s allowed home runs at a 1.62 HR/9 rate, walked 9.3% of batters faced and struck out just 16.0% of opposing batters.

At this point it is painfully clear that Wilson is not a MLB caliber pitcher, especially as a starter. It is truly remarkable that Ben Cherington traded Richard Rodríguez when he had peak value last summer, he was left off the postseason roster of the Braves, and the Pirates still lost the trade miserably.

The Pirates are in a bad, bad way right now

After winning 8 of 12 in late May/early June to improve to 24-28 on the season, the wheels have completely fallen off for the Pirates. The team has now lost nine games in a row since sweeping the LA Dodgers and taking two of three from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Right now the Pirates are searching for answers. Derek Shelton does not look like a good in game manager. The lineup is filled with holes and the bullpen is not deep enough. Top prospects such as Oneil Cruz and Cody Bolton continue to remain in the minors despite there being playing time available in the majors and them posting great numbers in the minors.

At this point there is no reason for Cruz to still be in the minors. Wilson starting over Bolton in game two today was criminal. The organization as a whole needs to get their decision making straightened out and fast.

The Pirates and Cardinals will play the final game of their four-game series at Busch Stadium on Wednesday night. Roansy Contreras (2.57 ERA, 3.25 FIP) will look to play stopper as he toes the rubber for a Pirate team that has now lost nine games in a row. Jack Flaherty is scheduled to make his season debut for the Cardinals. First pitch from Busch Stadium is scheduled for 7:45 PM ET.