ST. LOUIS -- Man, this sure felt like the end.
It isn't, of course. Not yet, anyway. Not with these Pirates still 5.5 games back in the Central, 3.5 back in the wild card, both very much mathematically viable obstacles to overcome. And certainly not with all the poise and passion shown over the better part of the season.
Still, this 7-0 silencing at the Cardinals' hands Monday night at Busch Stadium ... yeah, it just felt like all the wrong feels, you know?
Unless one can concoct another way to describe the franchise's reigning Gold Glove left fielder savaging these two early fly balls:
Corey Dickerson didn't make two misplays like those through all of 2018, but he botched those within the opening third of this game, each handing St. Louis a run and, maybe worse, each piling onto Joe Musgrove's already unwieldy early pitch count.
What happened?
On the first, Tyler O'Neill scorched a sinking laser Dickerson's way -- one that, in all candor, could be appreciated so much more live -- one he struggled to trail because of what several participants described as wicked topspin. Not that he shouldn't have caught it, but at least there was a plausible explanation.
On the second, a tall drive by Paul Goldschmidt ... wow, who knows?
I asked ...
... and he answered, "I should've made that play. I was at the wall. Jumped a little bit. It hit in my glove and popped out. I felt bad for Joe."
That was 3-0. And but for a blip of a rally by the Pirates that was thwarted by a brilliant Dexter Fowler catch -- more on that below -- that also was that. Musgrove was out after five runs over 4 2/3 innings, O'Neill kept scorching to the tune of two two-run home runs, and Miles Mikolas went the distance for an eight-hit, old-school shutout.
A week ago, this group fairly strutted into the All-Star break a game below .500, 2.5 games off the Central lead and poised for so much more in taking on the division leaders over the weekend in Chicago. But the Cubs swept that, and this loss makes it 0-4 -- and outscored, 29-10 -- for this pivotal, possibly season-defining six-game trip.
Consider this, too: Clint Hurdle had a chance to line up his pitchers the way he wanted coming out of the break, and the only starter to fare reasonably well was Chris Archer, the somewhat questionable choice to go first Friday at Wrigley with six-plus innings, three runs and 10Ks. After Archer's start, Jordan Lyles, Trevor Williams and now Musgrove have combined to concede 20 runs over 11 innings.
Remember Hurdle's assessment of the Central in Chicago? That the division would be won by "the team that pitches the best in the second half?"
This sure isn't it.
For that matter, remember Neal Huntington vowing to add to this roster by the July 31 trade deadline?
No, but that's because he didn't. And won't. As ever with this front office, they'll have to have their hand forced. It's already the middle of the month.
Time to put the season in Dario Agrazal's right hand. He's next. Third big-league start. No pressure, kid.
• What a "weird" start for Musgrove. And that's in quotes because both he and Hurdle used precisely that term for it. But also because his 4 2/3-inning line -- five runs, five hits, seven Ks, three walks, 104 pitches -- just might have been very different had his first inning not been so ... you know, weird:
Finally over. 36 pitches for five hitters. One run, no hits, 15 foul balls ... struck out the side. One for the Musgrove books. #DKPS #Pirates
— Dejan Kovacevic (@Dejan_Kovacevic) July 16, 2019
It ended up a weird combination, too, in having good enough stuff to strike out 7 of 23 batters while also getting fouled-off to death.
"We'll look at video, see what we can find," Hurdle replied when I brought this up. "You never know, sometimes pitchers are tipping pitches, giving something away, you don't know."
Hm. That was weird, too. And equally weird that Musgrove also raised the issue of pitch sequencing.
Not that he made excuses.
"They've got some good hitters who fouled off some tough pitches," he answered when I mentioned St. Louis' top five. "That puts you in a tough spot as a starter. I have a game plan going in to hopefully not have to show 'em as many of my weapons that early in the game."
• Want some legit Gold Glove work?
Behold this running beauty in right by Dexter Fowler, off the bat of Starling Marte in the fourth:
My goodness. Among the best I've seen all summer.
“I had a good bead on it,” Fowler told reporters in the other room. “I ran up under it.”
All the more compelling, Fowler winged the ball in to second to double off Bryan Reynolds and end the inning. With Josh Bell on deck. The Pirates were down by three at the time, and it felt right then and there that they'd never get another sniff.
Which, of course, they didn't.
• Reynolds had no business getting doubled off. That's obvious. As far as that ball was hit, he needs to hover halfway between second and third. If it finds the ground in any fashion, he can walk home.
My bigger issue was Joey Cora waving him home. I mean, jumping up and down and waving him home.
He has one job.
• That said, at the plate, Reynolds went 3 for 4. Including the two hits Sunday at Wrigley, it's safe to say he's emerging from that 4-for-23 blip through the previous eight games. Because he's really good and what he's doing isn't a fluke in any form.
• Marte's had a nice run of late, but it'd help if he'd ... run. Twice in this game, he was indefensibly slow out of the box. On the second of those, a 6-4-3 double play to end the Pirates' sixth, Paul DeJong bobbled the sharp bouncer his way, and there's an excellent chance Marte would have beaten the relay to first had he ... run.
Hurdle gave him an earful in the dugout after the latter and acknowledged as much afterward without delving into detail.
• Kyle Crick nearly put together a 1-2-3 sigh of relief, but he was robbed of a third strike to Goldschmidt by home-plate umpire Gary Cederstrom, then went on to give up a couple runs. He's now made 11 consecutive appearances of allowing at least one hit, 13 of allowing at least one batter to reach safely. That's nuts.
I'll keep insisting he's injured until someone makes it true. This is a dramatic dropoff.
• Don't take a Dickerson trade for granted, and no, not because of Monday's butterfingers.
It might not be a big deal in the moment, but Gregory Polanco reinjured his surgically repaired left shoulder Sunday in Indianapolis and, while his rehab stint hadn't been formally halted as of Monday afternoon, Polanco was known to be on his way to see the doctors anew. If Polanco's done for any appreciable amount of time -- and it's worth stressing that Hurdle downplayed the matter -- Dickerson's almost certain to stay.
I think so, anyway. It's the Pirates. One never knows. But if Dickerson is moved, and no outfielder comes back, Melky Cabrera starts -- which would be fine -- but all the reserves are gone. That's a pretty big rug-pull to risk in July.
• Then again ... is it?
• Don't miss my last-ever piece on the Francisco Cervelli thing. He's part of it.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
THE INJURIES
• Francisco Cervelli (7-day IL, concussion)
• Steven Brault (10-day IL, shoulder)
• Gregory Polanco (10-day IL, shoulder)
• Rookie Davis (10-day IL, forearm)
• Jameson Taillon (60-day IL, elbow)
• Keone Kela (60-day IL, shoulder)
• Erik Gonzalez (60-day IL hamstring)
• Lonnie Chisenhall (60-day IL, integrity)
Here's the most recent full report.
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates and Cardinals continue their three-game series Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. Eastern. The clubhouse opens at 4:45, and Hurdle will speak shortly thereafter.
THE COVERAGE
All 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.