ST. LOUIS -- For as much fun as the 2019 Pirates could have been -- and in the most optimistic outlook, still could be -- there was always this element of fragility in the event of emergency.
What if this would go wrong?
What if that would go wrong?
To whom could they possibly turn for help, having slashed payroll by nearly $30 million and having Major League Baseball's worst drafting/development over the past decade?
Well, the full story's yet to be written and, to the credit of all those taking the field, the team that leads the majors in populating the injured list -- a mindblowing 18 players in all, two more than the Yankees and six more than anyone else, per the Elias Sports Bureau -- is still somehow floating along at .500, now 17-17 after this 17-4 crushing by the Cardinals on this Thursday night at Busch Stadium.
To repeat from earlier this week back home, there's some serious moxie within that.
But let's not pretend there isn't more to the process. Because when two of those injuries struck the foundational starting rotation, Jameson Taillon and Chris Archer recently going down in rapid succession, the margin for further error dwindled to somewhere between zero and, uh, zero.
And don't think Joe Musgrove didn't realize that.
"It's not what you want," he'd say after a second consecutive sickly start, this time lasting three-plus innings for eight runs, six hits and five walks. "It's not what anyone would've wanted."
It's frightening. And yeah, it's fragile:
Musgrove's previous start, back home against the Athletics, saw him last 2 2/3 innings for seven runs, six hits and two walks. And with the way so many others have been reaching for elbows and shoulders of late following lousy outings, it feels almost fair to ask if this guy might not be hurting, too. He'd been brilliant with a 1.59 ERA through five starts, then suddenly has been erratic and, maybe most alarming, has shown a slight dip in release-point velocity.
"I don't have anything," Clint Hurdle replied when I asked if Musgrove is OK. "I can't answer that."
What about velocity or other signs?
"No. To me, it was a really clean first inning," Hurdle came back. "Maybe it was down a little in the fourth, but if you've thrown 70-plus pitches by the fourth, that can happen. It wasn't his night."
So what was the problem?
"Command. Overall command. All the indicators you look to, he's underneath all of them. First-pitch strikes were 50 percent. He had eight three-ball counts. Only four hitters retired on three pitches or less. Back-to-back 0-2 doubles. The overall pitch execution. Breaking balls were either short or left over the middle. The fastball wasn't getting the action or hitting the spots. ... Some of them were balls out of the hand. Uncharacteristic of him."
That seemed to be Musgrove's take, too. He'd been harsh on himself post-Oakland, but not as much this time:
Catch that at the end when I asked him if he maybe he wasn't OK?
Very quickly dismissed it.
We'll see, I guess.
Where there's never any suspense, of course, is that the Pirates under Neal Huntington and Kyle Stark have never been able to deliver talent internally. So, as has been the case forever, when the call went out to Class AAA Indianapolis for reinforcements, what arrived to the fire were more gasoline trucks.
Believe it or not, this had the makings of a fun game. The way Gregory Polanco had come out swinging, even some reasonable pitching could have afforded the offense a chance. But no matter how quickly Hurdle had come for Musgrove, it wouldn't have made a difference.
Clay Holmes?
Oh, you betcha. He had a 6.32 ERA, a 2.04 WHIP and a walk for each of his 15 innings in Indy, but he was the best they had to bring up Thursday. And he followed Musgrove by doling out three runs on three hits, two walks, and a hit batter in two innings.
Career ERA in 11 big-league appearances: 6.99
Dovydas Neverauskas?
He was next, as if via comic intention. And he followed Holmes by doling out -- hang on, I need to check the math again -- five runs on four hits and a walk, all in a single inning. In three times taking the ball this past week since his latest inexplicable recall, he's given up more runs (seven) than he's recorded outs (five).
Career ERA in 52 big-league appearances: 7.00
Add up the 7.00 twins, and that's 63 big-league appearances of absolute garbage, and yet they keep getting called up again and again.
Gee, can't imagine why.
Expect both to be gone, possibly Friday. Holmes needed 49 pitches for his two innings, Neverauskas 39 for just the one. They'll be of no use to anyone for a while.
But then, bear in mind, whoever comes up next will be the third- and fourth-best options!
Complain about Bob Nutting and payroll. Complain about Huntington coughing up one, two, three of his top young talents for Archer. But never forget that all such problems are infinitely more manageable with a sound, productive minor-league pipeline of talent. All of that contributes to this organization's staggering lack of depth. But finding and fostering their own depth would have been the panacea. The payroll would work. The trades would come with more weaponry. Free agency's barely needed in that setting. There'd be youth, vitality, hunger, everything Pittsburgh would love to see in its team.
None of it's there. Even when a young player does come along with promise, like Bryan Reynolds of late, he's come from another system.
That's problem No. 1 with a bullet. It just takes a night like this, with all these misfires, to remind of that.
***premium***
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE GOOD
What a night for Polanco, anyway.
He homered for the second time in three games ...
... crushing the above Michael Wacha full-count changeup over the home team's bullpen in right, then torching RBI doubles in his next two at-bats -- tying his career high for extra-base hits in a game -- then walked in his fourth. Best of all, it feels like a real El Coffee roll, as his past seven games have seen him go 10-for-30 with two home runs and four doubles.
He acknowledged to me afterward he's been feeling "really good, thank you," at the plate. It sure shows.
"Man, it's been fresh to see a bunch of good swings from him," Hurdle said. "Still staying disciplined, too. It's been fun to watch him get some traction in that box. He's standing tall."
THE BAD
So much bad overflows from this one, almost all of it from the pitching, that it's hard to know where to start.
The pitchers walked eight batters, making it 16 now over the past two games, including walking four batters in a single inning in each of those games. They allowed 17 runs in a game for the first time since July 6, 2018, a 17-5 loss to the Phillies. They allowed 17 or more runs without allowing a home run for the first time since May 11, 1999, a 19-8 loss in Houston, and for just the sixth time since 1908. The 17 or more runs without a home run was actually a first in the majors since 2012.
Wait, this one's my favorite: The Cardinals went 11 for 25 with runners in scoring position.
Which means the Cardinals took 25 of their 41 at-bats with runners in scoring position in eight innings at the plate!
THE OTHER SIDE
Pining for a new owner for the Pirates?
How about the Cardinals?
Since the 2013 season, the one that saw the teams meet in the National League Division Series, the Cardinals are 65-52 against the Pirates, the best winning percentage against the Pirates of anyone in Major League Baseball.
What, you wanted actual St. Louis analysis here?
“It was just one of those outlier games,” Paul Goldschmidt told reporters after his three-hit output. “Guys had good at-bats. We found some holes out there, too. Just consistent good at-bats throughout the game.”
There you go.
THE DATA
• Josh Bell's hitting streak was extended to nine games with a first-inning single. In the streak, he's 13 for 37, a .351 clip.
• Melky Cabrera's hitting streak ended at 12 games with an 0-for-4. It had been the longest active streak in the National League.
• Polanco's home run gave the Pirates one in five consecutive games, their longest such run of the season.
• Colin Moran, starting at third base for the sixth time in seven games this month, isn't exactly seizing the opportunity. He went 0-for-3 with a walk, leaving him 2-for-18 with eight strikeouts.
• Not to be outdone, Cole Tucker's 1-for-17 in May with seven strikeouts. He's 22. He'll get better. But he was being cited as some shining light of the system upon his recall because of one dramatic home run, and that's far from a certainty.
THE INJURIES
• Keone Kela, right-hander, is on the 10-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation.
• Jameson Taillon, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with a strained right forearm flexor tendon. He will not throw until early June.
• Chris Archer, right-hander, is on the 10-day IL with right thumb inflammation. He is expected to pitch a simulated game Friday in St. Louis.
• Corey Dickerson, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a strained right shoulder. He is expected to begin throwing soon.
• Nick Burdi, relief pitcher, is on the 10-day IL with right elbow/biceps pain caused by a nerve problem.
• Lonnie Chisenhall, outfielder, is on the 10-day IL with a broken right hand. There's no timetable for his return.
• Jacob Stallings, catcher, is on the 10-day IL with a cervical neck strain. He's on a rehab assignment with Indianapolis.
• Erik Gonzalez, shortstop, is on the 60-day IL with a fractured right clavicle. He won't return until at least mid-July.
THE SCHEDULE
These two go at it again three more times, including tonight, 8:15 p.m. Eastern, with Trevor Williams opposing Adam Wainwright. The clubhouse will open to reporters at 4:45, with Hurdle speaking shortly thereafter. I've got the whole series, obviously.
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.