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Pittsburgh Pirates: Series Victory Slips Away, Takeaways From Series Loss Against the Diamondbacks
By Marty Leap
The Pirates should have won this series
This series was 100% there for the taking. Game two on Saturday saw the Pirates snatch defeat from teh jaws of victory. Honestly, that loss was one of the most frustrating ones the Pirates have had thus far this season.
With Mitch Keller, who has become one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, was on the rubber and the Pirates handed him a 3-1 lead. At that point it appeared the Pirates were well on their way to a series victory, especially with Keller in cruise control.
Well, after some very poor managerial decisions by Derek Shelton and the offense failing to do more against a struggling pitcher the Bucs fell 4-3. When series victories are there for the taking you need to seal the deal. Very similar to their series loss against the Rockies earlier this month, this was a series the Pirates should have won. The loss on Saturday and that loss in game three against the Rockies are currently keeping the Pirates out of first place in the NL Central.
Sunday's final score was 7-3, but early on the game was there for the taking. Poor defense hurt the Pirates, as did a lack of offense. Derek Shelton once again going to Robert Stephenson in a close game for some reason didn't help, either.