When the Giants arrived at PNC Park for the three-game weekend series, Jordy Mercer was asked about the opportunity ahead for the Pirates.
The Giants were 21 games under .500, 23 games back in the West Division and had among the worst records in Major League Baseball.
Meanwhile, the Pirates were four games out of first place, giving them an opportunity to close to a game in the final home series before the All-Star break.
Three games and three losses later, capped by Sunday's 5-3 loss that clinched a sweep for the Giants, the Pirates are eight games below .500 and 6 1/2 games back in the Central Division with seven road games remaining until the break.
Clint Hurdle downplayed the significance of the loss, but the Pirates are aware of the opportunity that slipped away.
"A couple close games here and we were right in them," Adam Frazier said. "We let them slip away. Yeah, missed opportunity."
This is the furthest the Pirates have been behind the first-place Brewers since June 9, when they dropped to nine games below .500 with a 12-7 loss to the Marlins. They are now 10 1/2 back for the second Wild Card spot.
A chance for redemption awaits with a four-game series against the Phillies — who own the worst record in the league — beginning Monday, followed by three games at the Cubs' Wrigley Field.
The challenge for the Pirates is that not one solitary problem has plagued them all season. It's been a combination of issues that have them only 1 1/2 games ahead of the last-place Reds.
Start on Friday, when Gerrit Cole allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 13-5 loss. It was the third time in six starts Cole had allowed seven runs in a start. Additionally, the four relievers Hurdle used were tagged for six runs on eight hits with three walks.
That came against a lineup that ranked among the worst statistically in every offensive category, including a league-worst .676 OPS. But the heart of their batting order — Hunter Pence, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford — each own a pair of World Series rings (Posey has three) and are proven offensive producers.
Yet, the Pirates' final two starters in the series — Chad Kuhl and Trevor Williams — fared well against the Giants, only to have the offense and bullpen come up short.
"That’s the challenge up here," Hurdle said. "They don’t give you wins. It doesn’t matter what things are said or are written on paper. You have to go in and beat the other team. That team, as you see, they have some very competitive guys and some veteran guys. We weren’t able to finish the last two games. We were in position to win them."
Kuhl, who has revamped his pitching arsenal with a four-seam fastball and a curveball since making his major league debut last June, had his best start of the season Saturday with a no-hitter through five innings.
The no-hitter was snapped by a solo home run, leading to a no-decision, but he was efficient after not pitching through the sixth in 12 consecutive starts. This time, though, Daniel Hudson's wild pitch gave the Giants a 2-1 lead in the 11th inning and the Pirates stranded 15 runners on base.
They were just 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. Sunday was much of the same.
Williams, who was converted from a reliever once Jameson Taillon was placed on the disabled list, needed only 78 pitches to throw six scoreless innings. He was pulled after allowing two hits to start the seventh, but he lessened the workload of a bullpen that has often been taxed because of short starts.
Tony Watson then allowed three straight hits, allowing three runs to score. Edgar Santana allowed a two-run homer in the eighth.
Since Watson was demoted as closer on June 8, the Pirates' bullpen has a 4.26 ERA. Additionally, their .243 batting average is 24th in the league.
With a number of problems, what's the key to stringing together a consistent stretch of wins?
"It’s all about playing a complete game," Hurdle said. "You look at the starts we had the past two days. We had opportunities out there throughout the game yesterday, especially late. We had a chance to walk them off. We had a two-run lead going into the seventh today. ... It's playing a complete game."
Playing a complete game has often been the problem, but once one happens, they're finding it tough to do so consistently. Their four-game winning streak from June 10-13 is their longest this season. They won three games in a row twice in May, but have reached that mark only once since.
Despite the inconsistent play, they have managed to stay within reach of the Brewers. That was not the case one year ago, when they were 40-41 but 11 1/2 games back of the Cubs. One might think there could be a sense of urgency with a seven-game road trip looming, but John Jaso insists that's not the case.
"I don’t want to label any moment or week as pivotal because you want to play hard until the end," Jaso said. "It's pivotal until the very end. Take it one day at a time. There’s no reason to think one game is more important than the other or else you start magnifying things and you start easing up in different areas. It shouldn’t matter."
LANCE'S THREE THOUGHTS
• Williams is pitching with the same aggressiveness as Ivan Nova and that’s exactly what the Pirates need.
The right-hander used all four of his pitches against the Giants, attacking the bottom of the strike zone while mixing speeds. He challenged hitters with his four-seam fastball high and inside before mixing in a changeup low and away.
That strategy created 10 ground ball outs, and Williams threw 56 of his 89 pitches for strikes. He allowed only one hit through three innings, needing just 42 pitches over that span.
When asked about his strategy, it sounded quite a bit like Nova:
Williams created weak contact throughout his outing until the seventh inning. After Williams allowed a lead off walk, Posey lined a double down the left-field line.
With two left-handed hitters due up, Hurdle called on Watson.
It did not work, but Williams put Hurdle in a position to use his bullpen the way he wanted.
“The bottom of the strike zone played well for him,” Hurdle said. “He had good angle. There was some depth and finish to the fastball down there. He also used all four corners with his fastball. He moved it around. The curveball came around later. The changeup he threw left-handers and right-handers, and the slider was mixed in. It was a four-pitch mix. It throttled them really well. Good command.”
It was the third consecutive start that Williams pitched into the seventh inning. He was pulled in the seventh inning against the Brewers after striking out seven and allowing only three runs on six hits. Against the Rays on Tuesday, Williams struck out seven and allowed two runs before being lifted in the eighth.
But strikeouts aren’t his game. Williams wants opponents to make contact. Weak contact is the key, and yes, he’d love to model his game after Nova.
“It’s fun to watch up when he’s through the seventh inning and he’s at 60 pitches,” Williams said. “It’s fun to do and everyone wants to do that. No one wants to come out of the game in the fifth with 100 pitches, even if you have 15 strikeouts. That’s the type of pitcher I am. I’ve never been a strikeout guy. It’s been get a guy out in three pitches or less. It’s fun to watch him do it every fifth day.”
• It’s not time to panic about Watson, but the bullpen is starting to be a problem
Sure, he allowed three consecutive hits and now has a 4.03 ERA with 49 hits in 38 innings, but his velocity is trending upward.
Is that enough to create optimism?
“One-hundred percent, yeah,” Watson said. “I felt good today. I just came across on a couple sinkers. … Tough. Trevor pitched a great game. Got us deep into the game. He was efficient, and I just came in there trying to make pitches and, if you don’t, that’s what happens.”
The problem, as Watson noted, was his sinker. He left it elevated and that part of the Giants’ order is good enough to take advantage. Belt lined a single to left to score Pence, cutting the Pirates’ lead to 2-1. Watson then left a sinker high that Crawford sprayed to left to tie the score.
Santana then pitched the eighth, allowing a leadoff double. He recovered with back-to-back strikeouts, but then Belt lifted this ball over the Clemente Wall for the 5-3 lead:
• The Giants aren’t slouches. Sure, their 33-51 record is miserable, but that is not the product of having bad players
Pence, Posey, Belt and Crawford are a deadly middle of the order. Jeff Samardzija, who struck out five on Sunday, is also much better than his 3-9 record would indicate.
More important, this is a very good defensive team. Third baseman Jae-Gyun Hwang made a sliding catch in foul territory in the fifth inning and Austin Slater robbed Frazier of extra bases with a sliding catch in the eighth. There was also this impressive play by Pence against Jaso in the first:
“That’s frustrating, but that’s how baseball goes,” Jaso said. “It’s going to happen every once in a while. You just keep trying to put good swings on balls and they’ll fall eventually. It’s just the law of averages and all of that.”
ON DECK
The Pirates head to Philadelphia for a four-game series against the Phillies, who are 27-53 and 20 games out of first place in the East.
Nova will take the mound for the Pirates, holding a 8-5 record with a 3.08 ERA. He will face right-hander Aaron Nola with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.