Musgrove falters, slumping Pirates fall to .500

A good 90 minutes after exiting the game after five innings, Joe Musgrove was having none of it.

Not about the 53-minute rain delay that preceded his third start in a Pirates uniform. Surely for a competitor as fiery as the Pirates right-hander, anything that alters his game-day routine would be problematic, no?

"That was something different, hadn't done that in a little while," he said. "But I don't think that delay affected anything too much."

He wasn't hearing it about what appeared to be a blister on the instep of his right foot either. Surely any sort of ailment on the foot he pushes off with would inhibit his mechanics, no?

"No, I've battled through that every start," he told DKPittsburghSports.com. "It's just a drag mark on my foot that rips open every start."

Those would all be excuses. Musgrove's own self-evaluation was a little more blunt.

"I didn't feel like my stuff was very sharp tonight," he said flatly. "Didn't have much life on it."

This was Clint Hurdle's assessment when I asked the manager:

No, Musgrove was OK but hardly great in Tuesday night's 5-0 loss to the Dodgers. And neither, once again, were his teammates.

After losing by a pair of walk-off home runs and nearly getting no-hit over the weekend in St. Louis, the Pirates fell in the opener of this three-game series against Los Angeles. It was their third loss in a row and 13th in their last 17 games, dropping them to 30-30, marking the first time this season that they haven't been above .500.

That their latest loss wold come with Musgrove on the mound is somewhat disappointing. After two outstanding starts against the Cardinals and Cubs, where he allowed just one run in each, the tall and talented right-hander was done in early. The delay and the foot were merely contributing factors.

Musgrove's ill-fated start stood in stark contrast not only to his last two starts but also his last outings against Los Angeles. Those four relief appearances, of course, came in last fall's World Series while with the Astros. The only similarity was Musgrove's struggles against Joc Pedersen.

Musgrove pitched a perfect first, striking out the side in order, but things quickly deteriorated from there.

Matt Kemp led off the second with a single to left and then Pedersen jumped on a 1-0, 90-mph cut fastball that "just wasn't a good pitch." Pedersen drilled it 382 feet into the seats over the Clemente Wall in right. It was Pedersen's fourth home run of the season and third in a row against Musgrove dating back to the 2017 Fall Classic:

"It's crazy," said Hurdle. "Saw that going in ... Just baseball."

Musgrove, who also served up a solo shot to Yasiel Puig to lead off the fourth, went five innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits with one walk and five strikeouts. After throwing 84 pitches, 54 for strikes, he said he's eager to get the ball back:

Four runs was all the support that Ross Stripling and the Los Angeles bullpen needed. The Dodgers starter struck out seven over five solid innings as the Pirates were unable to put any runners across the plate, despite having as many hits as Los Angeles (seven each).

The difference on Tuesday was that three of the Dodgers' hits left the yard, including Cody Bellinger's 422-foot blast to the batter's eye in center off Tyler Glasnow in the sixth.

The Pirates certainly had a few chances though.

In the fifth inning, Josh Harrison flew out to left with the bases loaded.

"We needed the hit right there," Hurdle said. "That could have pushed the inning and got us back into it."

But the Pirates didn't do it then or in the eighth when Adam Frazier made the third out of the inning on the base paths, a cardinal sin at any level of the game. With two runners on base, Frazier tried to tag up on Francisco Cervelli's fly to center but was gunned down by Kike Hernandez at third:

"It's a bad decision however you want to cut it up," Hurdle said. "It's not a play to make at that point in time."

But that gaffe and the lack of run production has been typical of the Pirates of late.

Though they are still one of the better offensive teams in baseball over the season's first two-plus months -- they are eighth in team OPS at .742 and ninth in runs per game at 4.59 -- their bats have gone cooler than the air at PNC Park on Tuesday. Over the last three games, they've managed to score just two runs.

Tonight, the Pirates will get another crack at the Dodgers, who have won 14 of their last 18 to get back to .500. The good news for the Pirates is that they will be facing Caleb Ferguson, who will be making his first big league start.

"Every game is important, but I think over the course of a season there's going to be ups and downs," said Josh Bell, who went 0-for-4 to drop to .239. "This is just a rut we're in. If we can't turn it around tomorrow, then it's definitely going to be soon."

The Pirates should only hope so.

1. Boo-birds let Rodriguez have it. 

The booing rained down on Sean Rodriguez about five minutes before Musgrove even threw the first pitch of the night. But it was not the last time that the veteran utility man would hear it from the announced crowd of 12,879 in attendance.

Can't blame Hurdle for this one, though. It was not his choice to play Rodriguez a 45th time in 60 games this season. Rodriguez started at shortstop as a last-minute substitution only after Jordy Mercer went down with flu-like symptoms.

Rodriguez has become a lightning rod for criticism and did little to win over fans Tuesday by going 0-for-3 to drop his average to a sickly .162. Worse, he botched Musgrove's pick-off throw at second in the third inning, allowing Chris Taylor to later score an unearned run.

When Rodriguez lined out to right to end the seventh a chant broke out that wasn't "Beat L.A.!" It was "DFA." Ouch.

Rodriguez's return to the Pirates last August, when he hit a walk-off home run against the Padres, was perhaps the biggest feel-good moment of yet another lost season. But given his struggles this year, one has to wonder if the organization is considering designating Rodriguez for assignment.

2. Kang's killing it in the minors. 

The Pirates could certainly use a big bat in the middle of their lineup but no one's expecting Jung Ho Kang to hit at his current pace when he returns to the major league level. Whenever that is.

The South Korean infielder is playing for Class A Bradenton and is 6-for-12 with two homers and seven RBIs in three games.

"He’s doing his work," said Hurdle, who said he spoke with the troubled player by phone on Monday. "He’s continuing to work into game shape. That’s the biggest challenge."

Hurdle relayed that Kang said he was impressed with the quality of competition he's faced. Kang has played at shortstop to maximize the number of fielding attempts he receives but Hurdle said that the organization just wanted to see some versatility from him.

"The work is being done," Hurdle said. "He seems to be in a pretty good place right now."

Kang, who has been out of MLB since 2016 following his third arrest for DUI, is scheduled to talk to reporters, including our Lance Lysowski, tomorrow in Bradenton.

3. His brother's keeper. 

Austin Meadows is the NL's reigning rookie of the month, despite not being called up until mid-May, and is hitting .382 after going 1-for-4 on Tuesday. But he's no longer the only pro ballplayer in the Meadows household in Loganville, Ga.

On Monday night, Meadows' younger brother, Parker Meadows, was selected in the second round (44th overall) by the Detroit Tigers.

Needless to say, Austin Meadows is quite the proud big brother.

"It’s amazing," Austin said. "For me being there five years ago with family, it’s like deja vu watching him. Him being 13 at the time, and now his name is called ... I’m excited for his opportunity. It’s definitely special."

Parker Meadows is a 6-foot-5, 185-pound, outfielder from Grayson High School (Ga.) and is currently committed to Clemson. Like Austin, he's a left-handed hitter who throws right.

"He’s going to help your team win.," Austin told DKPittsburghSports.com. "He’s got all the tools. He’s got the speed. He can play defense in the outfield and can cover a lot of ground. He’s going to hit and hit for you. He’s going to do everything. Definitely a special talent. Blessed to call him my bother and looking forward to following him."

Meadows has one-up on his little brother. Austin was the Pirates' first-round pick in 2013 (ninth overall).

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY