Pittsburgh Pirates: Defensive Woes Continue & More Takeaways From Series Loss Against the Rockies

Hitting woes with runners in scoring position continue

After starting the season strong with runners in scoring position, the Pirate offense has been woeful in such situations in their last 10 games. Those woes continued against the Colorado Rockies and was arguably the biggest reason why the team lost the rubber match of the series.

With the game tied at 3 in the 6th inning the Pirates were in prime position to grab the lead. Facing Daniel Bard who had zero command they were able to load the bases with no one out. Well, this is where things went south.

Connor Joe, who has been as consistent as any Pirate hitter this season, struck out looking for the first out. Rodolfo Castro then lined out to center field, but it was not deep enough to score Bryan Reynolds who was thrown out at the plate on the play to end the inning.

In the 9th inning the Pirates had a chance again. With two outs Ji Hwan Bae hit a pinch-hit double to put runners on second and third. With the Pirates trailing 4-3 and the winning run at second base, Josh Palacios struck out swinging without ever seeing a strike in his at-bat.

They finished the series 3-for-19 with runners in scoring position and left 20 runners on base.