DENVER — Joe Musgrove didn't want to walk off the mound. It didn't matter that the Rockies scored a run following back-to-back singles and an error, or that the grounds crew was frantically rolling the tarp out at Coors Field. It wasn't until Musgrove got set on the left side of the rubber that he realized the entire field was clear.
"I was locked in, man," Musgrove said, recalling the fifth-inning rain delay Monday night. "I didn’t realize how hard it was raining until I stopped and walked off the field." His resolve offered hope on an otherwise dismal night for the visitors. The Pirates managed only two hits against Rockies starter Kyle Freeland and lost, 2-0, for their 11th shutout of the season, tied for the most in the National League
They're now 57-56, losers of three straight and seven of their last 11, and continued their tumble in the standings, dropping to 8 1/2 games back in the Central Division and 5 1/2 in the Wild Card race. Yet, Musgrove showed the Pirates may have a rotation capable of accomplishing another climb.
"Big-league wins are hard to come by and I seem to keep running into these guys on their best day," Musgrove said. "I feel like I’m going out and doing my job, trying to give us a chance to win, get deep into the game and save our bullpen a little bit."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOMusgrove allowed two runs, one of which was earned, on four hits with two strikeouts and no walks. The 25-year-old right-hander has pitched through at least the seventh inning in each of his last four starts and owns a 2.43 ERA over his last six. And his latest masterful performance came in a hitter-friendly ballpark against an aggressive offense.
Musgrove wanted to take advantage of the Rockies' aggression and their propensity to keep their bat paths low in the zone by locating his fastball on the outside corner early. Once he got ahead in the count, Musgrove would throw his fastball inside or challenge the Rockies with high heat.
If executed correctly, he'd then deceive the Rockies with his slider — which looks like a fastball when coming out of his hand — and finally, use his sinker when either in a jam or when he's pitching deep in the game. It worked brilliantly. He needed only five pitches to get through the first and retired the first 12 in order on only 28 pitches, including this strikeout of Ian Desmond, when he snuck a fastball inside:
"I'm pitching better, but I think my plan of attack has been better and I've been executing better," Musgrove said. "Today I had a feeling it was going to be an aggressive lineup and it showed early. Those first couple innings, they were really ready to swing at anything over the plate."
Musgrove threw a first-pitch strike to 23 of the 26 batters he faced, yet he's always thrown strikes, even when he posted a 6.12 ERA in 15 starts with the Astros last season. The difference is quality strikes, not missing over the plate and having a better understanding of how his pitches play off each other. With better command of his four-seam fastball as of late, Musgrove entered this start wanting to establish that pitch first before throwing his slider.
"He concentrates really hard on the sequences of pitches and the tunnels of pitches, on how they play off each other," Justin Meccage, the Pirates' assistant pitching coach, said. "Tonight he talked a lot about going hard up and slider off it. ... When you have four good pitches like he does, you can get creative with the way you pitch guys and that allows you to get deeper into games."
The strategy helped him get through the fourth inning unscathed, and again after he encountered trouble in the fifth. The Rockies, now 60-52, led off the fifth with back-to-back singles, and Gerardo Parra rolled over on a sinker, only for Josh Harrison to commit an error. That allowed one run to score and put two on with nobody out.
Then the rain came, forcing Musgrove to leave the mound and think about how to respond. "In that situation I was hoping we wouldn’t get delayed," he said. "I was hoping I would have a chance to get out of that inning there."
Although he hit the first batter he faced following the delay, he retired eight of the final nine batters he faced, including a strikeout of Chris Iannetta with a slider high and inside. He threw 32 fastballs and 30 sliders, six of which produced a swinging strike. The key, Musgrove said, is to not reveal the slider too soon:
Musgrove, acquired from the Astros as part of the Gerrit Cole trade, has a 3.41 ERA with 56 strikeouts to 19 walks in 74 innings over 12 starts. He's no longer struggling when facing a lineup the second or third time through, which led to his removal from the Astros' rotation after 15 starts last season. He has held opponents to a .266 average the second time through and .290 the third time through this season. That's a remarkable improvement from last season, when opponents batted .303 and .361 in their second and third plate appearances, respectively.
Musgrove also leads the majors with fewest pitches per inning (14), and he's held opponents to a .250 batting average.
"We liked the guy when we made the acquisition, the trade," Clint Hurdle said. "The stuff, the skills, the makeup." Musgrove's thrown 70.7 percent of his pitches for strikes over his last six starts, yet the Pirates' offense has failed to score a run for him over his last two starts, and it's failed to score in its past 23 innings. Corey Dickerson led off the game with a bloop single and Musgrove hit a double in the third. Their only other baserunners were the result of three walks and a hit-by-pitch, and they went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position.
The Pirates now trail six teams in the Wild Card standings, including the Rockies, and play 30 of their final 49 games on the road. With their offense scuffling again, the rotation — led by Musgrove, Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer — may have to dig them out of yet another hole.
"He’s another guy that’s learning, that’s hunting,' Hurdle said.
1. Polanco did it again.
Gregory Polanco saved Musgrove. Following the rain delay, Musgrove hit Desmond with a fastball in the back and got a pair of outs before David Dahl hit a line drive to right. Only for Polanco to do this :
Brilliant. That gunned down Parra to end the fifth inning and Musgrove responded by retiring six of the next seven he faced. That's Polanco's second outfield assist in four days, and he made a similar throw that set up a 9-2-6-2 putout Saturday against the Cardinals. He has seven outfield assists this season. Pirates outfielders have recorded a league-leading 26 assists, including four in their last three games. Starling Marte has 10, while Dickerson also has seven.
2. Needing a return for Bell.
With how Dickerson swings a bat, it wouldn't be surprising if the hamstring injury is still impacting him in some way. At the very least, the Pirates will likely err on the side of caution and monitor his playing time more than they did last month. In addition to his violent two-strike swings, Dickerson has a relentless style of play on the bases and in the field.
He batted .400 with a 1.253 OPS last month, a catalyst of the Pirates' 11-game winning streak. They need him back at full strength. However, Josh Bell may be the Pirates' most irreplaceable player. Bell's been on the disabled list since July 28 with a left oblique strain and is unlikely to be activated when he's eligible Tuesday. Bell batted .345 with a .908 OPS, 10 doubles, one home run and 15 RBIs in 35 games from June 12 through July 24.
Bell, 25, was also batting .367 in 79 at-bats in the six-hole and had not committed an error in 30 games. He was even doing damage against left-handed pitching. Although David Freese has batted .26 for 75 in his last 26 games, the Pirates are a different team with Bell in the order. Bell's injury forced Freese to slide over to first base, while Colin Moran's in a 6-for-33 slump. Now Cervelli has to play first base, which isn't ideal given the Pirates' need to keep him healthy.
Bell, who has 49 RBIs and a .749 OPS this season, hasn't provided the same punch he did as a rookie, but he still gives protection to those hitting behind him and has a propensity to have long at-bats to elevate an opponent's pitch count. Plus, their three most important players are mired in slumps.
Marte and Polanco are each mired in an 0-for-14 slump, while Dickerson's 1 for 8 since returning from the disabled list. They couldn't be expected to keep up their ridiculous pace in July; however, the Pirates need another bat to help.
"Joe deserved the win,' Elias Diaz said. "We just couldn't get it done for him. He pitched amazing. This guy attacked all night."
3. Brilliant display of infield defense ... on one side.
In a move to address their poor infield defense, Huntington acquired shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria from the Rays for a minor-league reliever Monday afternoon. Jordy Mercer is a well-below-average defender, according to defensive runs saved, and Harrison is having the worst season of his career on defense, although injuries have contributed to those results. Moran and Bell are also below-average.
Hechavarria, who Mercer called "one of the best defenders I've seen," will play shortstop and second base, likely in a utility role. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Huntington made the move. Each of the starters in the infield lack range, which has contributed to the Pirates' issues with run prevention. They rank 25th in the majors in defensive runs saved and 24th in ultimate zone rating. The Pirates have also committed 12 errors in their past 12 games after having just three during their 11-game winning streak.
It's yet another area of their play that's fallen behind other contenders in the National League, as illustrated by the left side of the Rockies' infield.
Nolan Arenado has won three consecutive Gold Gloves, while Trevor Story is one of the best defensive shortstops in the NL. Or at least he's played like it this season. Story made a pair of outstanding plays in the third inning to rob Mercer and Dickerson of infield hits.
"Watching the tape, if you watch any highlight reels at night on any station, there’s a chance you’re going to see Story or Nolan making a play. … That’s pretty good street cred they’ve picked up, and they’ve earned it," Hurdle said.