Sloppy fundamentals plagued the Pirates Wednesday at PNC Park, dropping an 8-2 decision to the Chicago Cubs.
One of the few bright spots of the night was the return of Joe Musgrove from the injured list. While his final pitching line may have looked pedestrian -- two earned runs allowed over 3-plus innings -- it really didn't reflect the type of night he had. Those two runs were plated after he had been removed from the game. He allowed just three base runners, didn't walk a batter and had four strikeouts.
After a bloop double to open the game, Musgrove retired the next nine he faced. After missing almost a full month with right triceps inflammation, his first abbreviated outing went pretty well, all things considered.
"The one thing that really stood out was the sharpness in the breaking ball," Derek Shelton said. "It was really sharp for a guy who’s missed a month. We were only going to get him to 50 pitches, so we weren't going to extend him past that. … Excited to have him back, excited to be able to keep extending him.”
Musgrove threw 46 pitches, with Shelton saying he was on a strict 50-pitch limit.
It was Musgrove’s fourth start of a season that has had plenty of setbacks, some of which were out of his control. The COVID-19 shutdown. The triceps injury, and a right ankle one on top of that. He got the ball as the opening day starter and took on a staff’s ace three times before landing on the injured list, but was outpitched each time.
He came into this season wanting to be more of a leader, and many of his teammates view him as such. But to be away for so long, and for the team to struggle throughout August…
"It sucks," Musgrove said, "Regardless of where I’m at in the rotation, to see your team struggling, to see us not pull off many wins, you want to be able to be there to contribute, especially when the team is struggling. It’s even more of a wear on you to not be able to get out there and contribute and to at least be part of that.
“That was even more of a reason to continue to work in my downtime and make sure I was prepared to come back, make sure I was doing my best to come back. I’m totally good with where I’m at.”
Musgrove almost came back from his injury to pitch for a different team.
On Tuesday, MLB insider Robert Murray reported that Musgrove almost became a Blue Jay during the Aug. 31 trade deadline. The Pirates and Blue Jays were close to a deal, but it fell apart at the 11th hour.
Musgrove wasn’t the only Pirates pitcher the Blue Jays were connected to, with rumors swirling around Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl potentially going north, too, but he was the closest. And considering Ben Cherington and assistant general manager Steve Sanders’ affinity for the Blue Jays’ farm system, which they helped build from 2017-2019, it would seem safe to assume Cherington wanted to make a deal with that club. Not necessarily that they wanted to trade Musgrove in particular, but that they wanted to make a deal.
Cherington had been telegraphing that for over a week leading up to the deadline, essentially saying everyone was on the table. Despite that, he made only one deal this deadline, shipping Jarrod Dyson to the White Sox. There will almost certainly be more this offseason.
Musgrove knows what it’s like to be in trade talks. He’s already been dealt once before, coming to the Pirates from the Astros in 2018.
“I didn’t hear about the Toronto deal until the day after the deadline, and I really appreciate Ben for giving me a call and filling me in on where they were at, the whole situation and how it broke down,” Musgrove said. “I understand this is a business. It’s not my first time being in trade talks. It wouldn’t have been my first time being traded. My job is to go out there and perform.”
Cherington has purposefully avoided using the word “rebuild” when describing his plan with the Pirates, opting instead to use “build.” The franchise seems to be at a point that the latter cannot happen without the former, which raises questions about Musgrove’s future. He could potentially bring back good prospects, but he also has the clubhouse leadership traits that the franchise could use as it gets younger.
He also has the markings of a really good starter, but to this point, it hasn't all come together. Excusing the shortened outing factor, Wednesday’s outing was a microcosm of Musgrove’s Pirates career, flashing great stuff for most of the night, but a couple swings dictated the night.
The evaluation year for the Pirates isn’t over yet. A strong finish could dictate many players’ futures with the organization, including Musgrove. All have had moments, but as Musgrove said, they need more than just that.
“Regardless of where you’re at in the standings, any player here, I don’t think our goal is to get to the big leagues and have sporadic spurts of greatness,” Musgrove said. “It’s to find a way to be here for a long time. You face the same guys every year. There’s nowhere left to go once you get to this point. You’re constantly trying to improve your game and find a routine and things that will help you stay consistent. To be able to get back on the mound again against a team I think I fare pretty well against, it’s all going to be good for me.”
• To make room on the roster to activate Musgrove, the Pirates designated Carson Fulmer for assignment. Fulmer was claimed off waivers last week, but never appeared in a game.
Bryan Reynolds was also activated off the paternity list, but did not play. Jose Osuna was optioned to the Altoona training site to make room for him.
• The Pirates beat themselves on the field, making three errors and other gaffes along the way. To list them:
Jacob Stallings was dinged with a catcher's interference.
Colin Moran misplayed a pop up.
Kevin Newman let a two-out ground ball go through his legs, allowing two runs to score in the eighth.
Derek Holland balked.
Left fielder Anthony Alford tried to get the lead runner at third in the seventh, allowing Willson Contreras to reach second. Anthony Rizzo followed with a base hit past a drawn-in infield that could have potentially been an inning-ending double play if Contreras was at first.
Alford was addressed after he got back in the dugout.
"That was definitely the wrong decision on my part," Alford said. "[Outfield coach Tarrik Brock] came up and made sure I knew to keep the double play in order. That’s just a mental breakdown on my part. Those are mistakes that can’t happen."
The Pirates' 33 errors as a team are now the most in baseball.
"We have to continue to get better," Shelton said. "Tonight was extremely sloppy. We cannot give teams extra outs and extra bases, especially a team that's the best team record-wise in our division. We have to continue to work on it, we have to continue to make adjustments. Tonight was sloppy. We’ve got to be better than that."
• Alford and Moran at least homered to make up for their mistakes. Moran's second-inning blast went 450 feet, and Alford, put one in the bullpen in his first start as a Pirate.
"I was really just trying to not do too much and just put together a good at-bat," Alford said. "It felt really good."
• Derek Holland provided five innings of relief out of the bullpen, saving some guys after Musgrove's short start.
He allowed five runs, three earned, on five hits and two walks, striking out five. All five of those runs came in the seventh and eighth, where the Cubs were finally able to break away.
After earning a rotation job at the beginning of the season, Holland seems positioned to get more work out the bullpen down the stretch, though Shelton said it is going to be a "case-by-case basis" for how he'll be used.
"We're really fortunate that he's been, throughout his career, effective as a starter and as a bullpen guy," Shelton said. "And one of the things about him is he’s a consummate professional. He had no problem with it, ‘Whenever you guys want me to pitch.’ If that is the case, he goes down there and gives us another left-hander."
On a more neighborly note, Holland warmed up to Won't You Be My Neighbor by Fred Rogers, and had the cleats to match:
Hello, neighbor! pic.twitter.com/cQwP6VdJ8H
— Pirates (@Pirates) September 3, 2020
• Director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk met with reporters before the game Wednesday. Some highlights from that session:
Keone Kela (right forearm inflammation) is playing catch from flat ground and is throwing from 120 feet.
Jameson Taillon (Tommy John surgery) and Mitch Keller (left oblique) are both scheduled to throw a live batting practice at PNC Park Thursday, weather permitting.
This will be the second time Taillon has thrown a live BP. He will soon be entering the ramp down portion of his rehab, making sure he has as close to normal of an offseason as possible ahead of 2021.
• After his dazzling debut, Ke'Bryan Hayes went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Growing pains.
• Factoid of the night: Moran's 450 foot home run was the longest of his career. Since the start of the Statcast era in 2015, the only other left-handed Pirates to hit a home run that far were Josh Bell (six times), Gregory Polanco (twice) and Pedro Alvarez (once).