Whether it’s from a statistical purview or a common-sense standpoint, no situation affords a team a better chance at scoring runs than having the bases loaded with none out.
Yet having the bases loaded always seems to bring out the worst in the Pirates’ offense. It happened again Tuesday night.
Down 4-3 in the fifth inning, a leadoff single by Adam Frazier followed by back-to-back walks to Bryan Reynolds and Starling Marte loaded the bases with no one out. Cardinals rookie right-hander Dakota Hudson was struggling with his control and the Nos. 4 and 5 hitters – Josh Bell and Colin Moran – were coming up. Everything seemed set up for a big inning.
Yet the Pirates did not score a run. In fact, they never had another batter reach base the rest of the game, as the Cardinals held on, 4-3, at PNC Park. The Pirates (46-54) have lost nine of 11 since the All-Star break.
Bell struck out on three pitches, the last a slider low and inside:
Two pitches later, Moran hit a four-seam fastball on the ground, and shortstop Paul DeJong, shaded toward second base, turned it into a double play:
Moran talked about the disappointment:
“It’s an opportunity to do something special and significant and we let it get away from us and it’s pretty much been that way for us in the second half,” Clint Hurdle said. “We had the guys we wanted up at the plate, guys who have done some things. It’s what makes the game so great, those opportunities. They’re one on one. You get the opportunity to help your club. If we throw something in the gap there, we pick up our starting pitcher.”
The Pirates haven’t found many gaps with the bases loaded this season. They haven’t even had many hits at all with the sacks jammed, going 14 for 65 for a scrawny .215 batting average.
Bell leads the major leagues with 86 RBIs, yet he has struck out in all four at-bats with the bases loaded this season. Moran is 0 for 9 in those situations.
The Pirates’ overall team batting average is .268, so it’s not as if they have a toothless offense. Yet the bats shrivel with the bases loaded, and Hurdle thinks a lot of it has to do with his hitters’ mindset.
“You make your own evaluations,” Hurdle said during his postgame press conference before making his own. “Look at the pitches we swung at. What pitches are we committed to? What’s the game plan? What’s the plan of attack? We’re trying to do too much and that’s the challenge, to have a plan and stay steadfast with that plan of attack.”
The Cardinals (53-47) retired the last 14 batters as Hudson (10-4) made it through the first out of the seventh inning, Giovanny Gallegos got the next five outs and Andrew Miller pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save. Starling Marte hit a three-run home run with none out in the first inning and the Pirates never scored again.
Chris Archer (3-7) took the loss, giving up home runs to Paul Goldschmidt and Jose Martinez among the four runs he allowed in six innings.
The Pirates’ offensive malaise of the first 11 games of the second half continued. They are scoring just 3.0 runs a game after averaging 4.9 before the break.
The hitters insist they have not lost any confidence and that the downward spell is just part of the ebbs and flows of a 162-game schedule.
“You can’t press or anything because that only makes it worse,” Moran said. “I think we’re in one of those ruts and I think we’ll get out of it any day now.”
Tine is running out, though. The loss dropped the Pirates 6 1/2 games behind the Phillies for the second National League wild card and eight games behind the first-place Cubs in the NL Central.
The lack of scoring has effectively turned the Pirates from contenders to also-rans in less than two weeks.
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)
• Erik Gonzalez (60-day IL, hamstring)
• Lonnie Chisenhall (60-day IL, second opinion)
THE SCHEDULE
The third game of the four-game series is set for 7:05 p.m. Wednesday with Jordan Lyles (5-6, 4.91) pitching against Adam Wainwright (6-7, 4.50). Lyles is 0-5 with an 8.59 ERA in his last seven starts. Wainwright is 1-2 with a 4.83 ERA in his last six starts.
I will be covering the game.