LOS ANGELES – There was plenty of blame to assign as the Pirates’ losing streak kept on keeping on Sunday.
Trevor Williams was staked a four-run lead in the second inning and couldn’t hold it. After scoring five runs in the first two innings, the Pirates' offense basically took the rest of the afternoon off, and it added up to an eighth straight loss, 7-6, at Dodger Stadium. Swept in the three-game series, the Pirates saw their record drop to 12-14.
The five-game winning streak that vaulted the Pirates into first place in the National League Central before this current skid seems like it happened a long time ago.
Most frustrating for the Pirates is that an old bugaboo – poor defense -- also helped do them in. Josh Bell’s two-base throwing error helped the Dodgers toward breaking a 5-5 tie with a two-run seventh inning.
“This one’s on me,” Bell said to me while standing at his locker long after most of his teammates had already showered and dressed.
Bell has showed major improvement at the plate over the first month of the season after struggling a year ago. He is hitting .280/.355/.591 with team-leading figures of six home runs and 19 RBIs in 26 games.
However, defense continues to be a problem for the big first-baseman.
Chris Taylor led off the decisive seventh by working Richard Rodriguez for a walk. Joc Pederson followed by hitting a sharp grounder to first base.
Bell reached for the ball, fielded it and tried to start a 3-6-3 double play. However, his throw hit Taylor in the back on a bounce. Taylor wound up scrambling to third and Pederson reached second:
Rodriguez induced Corey Seager to pop out, but Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger followed with back-to-back RBI singles to make it 7-5. The Pirates got a run back in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough to stop their longest losing streak since 2016.
Throwing has been a problem for Bell going all the way back to instructional league in 2014, when he was converted from a right fielder to a first baseman following his first season at the Class AA level. A serious knee injury in Class A led to Bell losing much of his range in the outfield.
Those around the team marvel at Bell’s work ethic. He regularly gets to the ballpark early to work on his fielding. Yet all the effort doesn’t seem to translate.
Take what happened Sunday.
Bell did not have a clear path to make the throw to second base and the ball hit Taylor. The prudent play would have been to step on first base for the sure out. Of course, it is easy to say that when you don’t have to make the decision with a sellout crowd of 52,875 yelling in your ear and Dieter Ruhle relentlessly pounding on the stadium organ.
Bell, who has two errors this season, admitted he made the wrong choice. Clint Hurdle, meanwhile, thought Bell rushed his throw.
“Right there, it’s probably that he didn’t have a lane to throw in because the throw might have been accurate,” Hurdle said. “When you dive for the ball, maybe you don’t feel you have time to create a lane.”
The Pirates basically have no alternatives with Bell. There is no way he could succeed in the outfield and the National League does not have the designated-hitter rule.
Thus, all the Pirates can do is hope Bell’s work at first base eventually pays dividends, though he is now in his fifth full season at the position.
“There’s work to do and he’s working every day,” said Hurdle, who declined to specify what kind of work Bell is doing. “We have him throwing as much as we do without wearing him (out). There’s work being done. He’s very intentional with it. He understands.”
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
Melky Cabrera had his first multi-homer run game since 2015, as he went deep twice and also doubled while going 4-for-5.
The switch-hitter took left-hander Rich Hill deep in each of the first two innings. Cabrera also singled and scored on Bell's single in the eighth when the Pirates got within a run. The 34-year-old's double in the ninth off closer Kenley Jansen put runners on second and third with two outs, but Gregory Polanco struck out to end the game.
"I always appreciate the opportunity to play and get some hits and do what I can to help the team win," Cabrera said through translator Mike Gonzalez. "What is most important for me, though, is for the ballclub to win and it's disappointing that we came up short."
Signed to a minor-league contract the day before spring training began, Cabrera is hitting .333/.357/.506 with three homers in 25 games.
THE BAD
Trevor Williams turned in quality starts in each of his first five outings this season but struggled this time.
The National League West-leading Dodgers got five runs and six hits off the right-hander. Williams struck out six and walked one.
Williams couldn't hold the four-run lead. Bellinger hit a solo home run in the fourth that cut the deficit to 5-2, then the Dodgers tied it with a three-run fifth that was keyed by Seager's two-run double.
“They had some good at-bats throughout the game. They won some good battles,” Williams said. “They’re a professional ballclub. They’ve played a lot of big games over the years. They have a lot of experienced hitters who stick with their approach and don’t waver from it.
“This one is going to sting, though. I wanted to go out there and be the stopper to this losing streak and I didn’t get it done. That’s disappointing.”
Hurdle talked about Williams' outing:
THE OTHER SIDE
Bellinger showed his versatility as a hitter.
The home run was his 14th of season, tying the Brewers' Christian Yelich for the major-league lead. Bellinger also tied the MLB record for most homers before May 1, set by Albert Pujols in 2006 and matched by Alex Rodriguez a year later.
However, Bellinger also rolled a run-scoring single through an infield shift in the seventh inning. His .427 batting average tops the majors.
"Whether it's a lefty or a righty, there is a time to get big and try to go for the big homer, or really drive the baseball, and there is a time to go for another club," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "And right now, Cody has different clubs to use."
THE DATA
• The Pirates last lost eight straight games from Aug. 29-Sept. 6, 2016.
• Cabrera's last two-homer game came with the White Sox on July 23, 2014 against the Indians at Cleveland.
• Cabrera has a six-game hitting streak, going 9-for-21.
• Bryan Reynolds had a pinch-hit single and now has a hit in all seven of his major-league games. He is batting .429 (9-for-21).
• The Pirates are 2-14 against the Dodgers since 2017.
THE INJURIES
• Starling Marte, center fielder, is on the 10-day IL with an abdominal wall contusion/bruised right quad. The Pirates say he is close to being "game ready." He could be activated Tuesday.
• Chris Archer, right-hander, was placed on the 10-day IL today with right thumb inflammation. He is expected to resume throwing in a few days and likely to be activated when eligible May 7.
• Corey Dickerson, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a strained right shoulder. He joined Triple-A Indianapolis Friday but did not begin a rehab assignment as expected because of tightness in his shoulder.
• Nick Burdi, relief pitcher, is on the 10-day IL with right elbow/biceps pain. He will get a second opinion Monday from Rangers team orthopedist Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a broken right hand. His rehab assignment at Indianapolis was stopped today because of left calf tightness. He had gone 3-for-17 with four strikeouts in five games.
• Kevin Newman, infielder, is on the 10-day IL with a lacerated right ring finger. He is on a rehab assignment with Indianapolis and is 5-for-17 with a double, a walk and six strikeouts in four games.
• Jacob Stallings, catcher, is on the 10-day IL with a cervical neck strain. He began a rehab assignment Saturday with Indianapolis and went 2-for-3 with two home runs, a walk and a strikeout. He had today off.
• Jose Osuna, infielder/outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with neck discomfort. He is on a rehab assignment with high-Class A Bradenton and is 4-for-18 with two walks and two strikeouts in five games.
• Erik Gonzalez, shortstop, is on the 60-day IL with a fractured right clavicle and had it repaired surgically Thursday. He will not return until at least mid-July.
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates have an off day tomorrow in Arlington, Texas before opening a two-game series with the Rangers on Tuesday night at Globe Life Park. Jordan Lyles (2-1, 2.05) will face Adrian Sampson (0-1, 4.50). Sampson, the Pirates' fifth-round draft pick in 2012, was traded to the Mariners in 2015 for J.A. Happ.
THE COVERAGE
All of our expanded baseball coverage, including Indy Watch by Matt Welch, Altoona Watch by Jarrod Prugar, and Mound Visit by Jason Rollison, can be found on our team page.
