Pirates continue to sink, allow 17 runs again

The boos seemed to echo throughout PNC Park when Josh Smoker threw ball four to Aaron Altherr. It was Smoker's second walk of the seventh inning, but that wasn't why fans were hollering towards the mound Friday night.

It was Altherr's second walk of the inning. The first, compliments of Dovydas Neverauskas, started the Phillies' seven-run assault in the seventh. When Smoker finally ended it with a ground-ball out, some fans began to sarcastically cheer. The ballpark was then relatively quiet as the Pirates were dismantled, 17-5, in four hours and 30 minutes — the longest nine-inning game in the history of both franchises and the National League.

It was the second time this week the Pirates had allowed 17 runs and they've now been outscored 48-13 in their past four games. That's dropped their record to 40-47, a season-low seven games below .500, and they're now only 1 1/2 games up on the last-place Reds. Like each of their past four losses, all of the Pirates' weaknesses were exposed.

"We’re tired of losing," Trevor Williams, the Pirates' starter, said. "I’m tired of getting my ass kicked every five days. I’m searching. It’s peaks and valleys, and right now, collectively, we’re in a valley. It’s going to turn around. We’re going to come to the field tomorrow expecting to win and looking to put up runs. For me, personally, it’s getting a little embarrassing."

That's the self-evaluation from a pitcher hours after the shortest start of his career. Williams, once the club's most consistent starter, lasted only 2 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs, three of which came on one swing by Odubel Herrera. Williams, now 26 years old, has failed to pitch through the fifth inning in four of his past six starts.

This loss, like those that preceded it, wasn't on his shoulders, though. The bullpen, relying on recent call-ups such as Smoker and Neverauskas, allowed 12 earned runs on 13 hits and accounted for eight of the Pirates' 10 walks. These struggles aren't limited to one week, and they're not the product of one rough stretch.

The Pirates' rotation has the second-worst ERA in the majors over the past 30 days, and its opponents' batting average is the fourth-highest in the National League. Williams exemplifies all that's gone wrong with that group, too. He threw only 31 of his 51 pitches for strikes, falling behind in the count before making a vital mistake in the zone.

A slider over the middle of the plate turned into a two-run double by Maikel Franco in the second inning, and he threw this fastball low and inside to Herrera in the third following a hit-by-pitch and a walk:

That three-run homer contributed to his 5.33 ERA since May 1, and showed a steep regression following a promising outing in San Diego last weekend. His struggles have contributed to the Pirates' fly-ball rate, which ranks third-worst in the NL, and the club's first-pitch strike percentage is the worst in the league.

"Some of the guys that pitched today had some challenges," Clint Hurdle would say afterwards. Steven Brault was the one exception, as the lefty threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings following his walk to load the bases in the third. 

After Starling Marte's RBI single cut the deficit to one run in the fourth, Richard Rodriguez allowed two runs in the sixth, despite allowing only two infield singles. Rodriguez, signed as a minor-league free agent during the offseason, walked three batters. He had been the Pirates' most consistent relief pitcher, striking out 43 with only four walks.

Neverauskas allowed three consecutive hits, two of which scored a run, following the leadoff walk to Altherr in the seventh. Smoker gave up a two-run double on the first pitch he threw, walked Scott Kingery and then threw this 3-2 fastball that turned into a three-run homer for catcher Andrew Knapp:

Tyler Glasnow gave up two more runs in the ninth, inflating the bullpen's ERA to 4.57 — the 7th-highest mark in the majors. The offense, on the other hand, did its part. The Pirates, with Josh Bell batting leadoff, scored a run in the first on an RBI single by Colin Moran and added two in the third, including a run-scoring single by Corey Dickerson to cap a 12-pitch at-bat. They added one more in the third and another in the ninth on a double off the Clemente Wall by Josh Harrison.

Dickerson, likely to represent the Pirates in the All-Star Game, and Harrison both went 3 for 4, and Marte added two hits with three stolen bases. The offense had 12 hits, including five with runners in scoring position, yet it didn't make much of a difference.

"You can give so many talks or say, ‘Let’s go,’" Dickerson said. "You go out there to do your job and be a good teammate. It sucks. It stinks to be hit around like this the last couple days. It’s not a good feeling. Everybody has to regroup and mentally understand what their job is. I’m not saying people don’t take anything seriously around here, but everybody should up their game."

The Pirates have allowed 59 hits, including 12 home runs, in their past four games. They've had back-to-back starts of 2 1/3 innings, placed two starters on the disabled list over the past eight days and have changed personnel in the bullpen, calling up Neverauskas and Smoker, both of whom have ERAs above 11.

The club's starting rotation has the fifth-highest ERA in the NL and a roster move will now be needed since six pitchers threw a combined 296 pitches Friday night. The Pirates did not sign a free agent to a major-league contract this past offseason, despite trading Gerrit Cole and losing two of their top relievers near the trade deadline last season.

Instead, Neal Huntington relied on player development to improve youth on the 25-man roster and in the farm system. The results through 86 games don't bode well for the Pirates' chances to salvage the season, and all involved are now left wondering how to climb out of this valley.

"We’ve given up a lot of runs," Hurdle said when questioned about how he'll handle this particular loss. "What do you mean, 'Handle it?' A lot of times I talk to the team and you never hear about it. Those are the best meetings you can have."

1. Seriously, the bullpen won't change. 

Brault doesn't throw enough strikes. He'll be the first to admit that. His 37 walks lead the Pirates, and those have occurred in only 62 innings, mostly in long relief. The lefty walked one more Friday night; however, he was the one bright spot from that group.

Brault has walked at least one batter in five of the seven relief appearances in which he's allowed at least one run. He walked the the first batter after entering with two on and one out in the third, only to strike out Franco and get a groundout to end the inning. The rest of the group was a disaster. Rodriguez is now trending in the wrong direction. Glasnow struck out six over two innings, but he also walked a batter and gave up five hits. His ERA is 5.06 and his command has escaped him his past two outings.

And the Pirates aren't in a position to make any changes. There aren't any major-league relievers in Triple-A Indianapolis. Michael Feliz, acquired in the Cole trade, is on the disabled list and Kyle Crick's command is erratic. Again, this club chose not to sign a proven reliever in what was a deep free-agent pool. The Pirates are again asking players to learn in the major leagues, which isn't unusual, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a roster with as many holes as this one.

"You feel helpless when you’re in a slump," Dickerson said. "It’s hard when you haven’t failed much or it’s your first time failing. How do you get out of it? How do you be consistent? It’s tough to be consistent up here. That’s the toughest part. … It’s tough for young guys to learn up here."

2. Cora'd ... two more times.

Joey Cora's job isn't an easy one. The third-base coach is criticized on even the most talented teams. But it's vitally important on every team in the majors, and Cora has now made three critical errors in less than a week. The latest were as egregious as the one that cost them the tying run in San Diego.

With two on and two outs in the first inning, Dickerson hit a line-drive single to right with Phillies right fielder Nick Williams playing deep.

Cora chose to signal for Moran to try to score from second base, despite Harrison, a .405 hitter with runners on base this season, on deck. Moran, mind you, is the Pirates' slowest position player and would lose in a race against most pitchers. Williams, a quick 24-year-old with two outfield assists this season, used a well-placed throw to get Moran at the plate, ending the inning.

Oh, it got worse. Much worse, actually. Dickerson whacked at a slider out of the zone and drove a ball into the left-field corner for a one-out triple in the third. He was told to run to home plate on contact to the left side of the field and ... guess what? Harrison hit a weak grounder to third and Dickerson was thrown out easily:

The Pirates have recorded 13 outs at third base — the worst mark in the majors — and 11 at home plate. Good teams can afford to make such mistakes. The Pirates can't. And Harrison chose to shoulder the blame for this one.

"Gotta get a better pitch," Harrison said. "That’s what I got. I didn’t do what I was supposed to do."

3. Progress from Bell in the field.

Bell was giddy in the clubhouse Friday afternoon. He smiled when recalling his previous experience batting leadoff — as a sophomore at Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas — and joked that maybe he could even draw a walk to lead off the bottom of the first.

He hasn't shown much emotion over the past few weeks. The former National League Rookie of the Year finalist has been frustrated with his production at the plate. After all, his goal was to drive in 100 runs this season. His 41 are well off that pace. So, I was a little taken aback by his excitement.

It's not that he's been a jerk. Far from it. But he's been frustrated this season with his performance at the plate and in the field. Bell hasn't stopped working, though.

He was infuriated in Phoenix three weeks ago after making an error on a play he and Kevin Young practiced only hours earlier. So, he continued working on his throws to second base during infield drills the past few weeks. His work is paying off. Bell made one of his best defensive plays I can remember, diving to his right to snag a grounder from Herrera and executing a throw to second to start a 3-6-1 inning-ending double play in the first inning.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY