On Friday night, the inevitable became reality at PNC Park. Loss No. 82 and a losing season were clinched when the Pirates fell to the Cardinals, 4-3.
The loss included two base running blunders -- Michael Chavis was picked off first base in the fourth inning and Colin Moran was thrown out at home plate by a wide margin to end the eighth -- a hung fastball from Dillon Peters that was crushed for a costly home run by Tommy Edman, ending his night on a sour note, and several sloppy plays in the outfield.
That’ll all be touched on later. And if you’re looking for the traditional losing season piece, it was written two days ago. There’s nothing more to add to that piece, other than this:
What is left for this season?
The future looks bright, but there is still the now first. There are still 33 games remaining, almost exactly 20% of the season. And in the grand scheme of things, the 82nd loss is an obligatory number, albeit a definitive one. No matter what, the Pirates will finish the year with a losing record. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be gained over this last month and change.
“These games are really important,” Ben Cherington said before the game. “We want to win these games. We want to be prepared to win. We want to play the right way. And obviously, it’s important for individual players to get playing time and to continue to improve and allow us to learn more about them.”
In terms of playoff impact, the games will be important for the Pirates’ opponent. After this series with the Cardinals, the Pirates will go to Chicago to face the White Sox. In September, they have two series with the Reds and a road series with the Phillies, all of whom are in the playoff mix too.
So they could potentially be a spoiler.
“Continue to play hard. Continue to get after it,” Derek Shelton said. “We’ve played well the last week, eight, nine days. We play some teams that are in playoff hunts. I don’t know if you want to use the term ‘spoiler’ or whatever but we have the ability to impact some people’s season if we continue to play well and play hard.”
But internally, there will be September call-ups next week. Bullpen leverage jobs are up for grabs. Playing time in 2022 and roster spots could be determined in these final weeks.
So even though the Pirates will finish the season with more losses than wins, there’s still a lot to be won before the year is through.
And getting into the win column a couple more times would do more than just potentially avoid the embarrassment of a 100 loss season.
“Everybody is playing for something, especially on our team,” Jacob Stallings said. “We don’t have many under-contract guys or veterans who know they’re going to have a job next year, frankly. Everybody has something to play for. All the personal goals, whenever you’re winning, a lot more of those goals are typically met.”
MORE FROM THE GAME
• For four innings, Peters matched Cardinals starter J.A. Happ pitch for pitch.
But the Cardinals broke through in the fifth with back-to-back doubles by Edmundo Sosa and Harrison Bader before Edman launched the big hit of the night on a hanging 90 mph fastball:
T💥mmy! pic.twitter.com/Akcs1E0oCC
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 28, 2021
"That was just a miss," Peters said. "Had a couple of mistakes that inning, and I got punished for it."
That fifth inning notwithstanding, Peters was able to avoid the barrel for most of the night, using a changeup/fastball heavy approach to navigate a right-handed heavy lineup.
"They hit the mistakes. Unfortunately, that happens in the major leagues," Stallings said. "I thought he threw the ball really well."
Peters allowed three runs on six hits over five innings, striking out four without allowing a walk.
• With two outs in the eighth, third base coach Joey Cora waved Moran home to try to score on a Kevin Newman base hit up the middle.
Bader and Yadier Molina got him by three steps:
That was the most glaring misplay of the night, but the Pirates' offense squandered other opportunities, like stranding Yoshi Tsutsugo on third with nobody out in the fifth and then stranding the bases loaded in the sixth. Anthony Alford led off the bottom of the ninth with a base hit and stole second, but was stranded in scoring position to close the game.
"We had opportunities to score and we just did not break this game open," Shelton said.
• Saturday night was more of the same from Tsutsugo. Offensively, he produced, lining an RBI triple in the sixth and drawing a walk.
In the field, though, he struggled, misplaying a ball off the wall. On two separate occasions, he and center fielder Ben Gamel had a hard time making a play on a ball, turning what should have been a double into a triple. In the seventh inning, they paid for it, when Edman hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Paul DeJong.
"It’s a challenging place to play right field, especially for the first time," Shelton said. "... The more he plays out there, the better he’ll get at it.”
The defense has been a problem, but Tsutsugo has, for the first time in the majors, really hit since joining the Pirates.
"This is someone that we've had interest in and liked the offensive game, going back to Japan," Cherington said. "We knew of him as a teammate, as a person, and then followed him as he got to the states in Tampa and LA. We were fortunate to be in position to get him and get him some playing time. So we want to see him play."
• Before the game, Cherington did a Zoom call with the media, talking about September call-ups, evaluating coaching and prospects. You can read about it here.
• The Pirates played tribute to the Homestead Grays Friday by donning throwback uniforms to the legendary Negro Leagues team. The club also made a donation to the Josh Gibson Foundation and had a display of Negro Leagues history under the left field bleachers.
“[We] really appreciate baseball history, and Negro League baseball history is a big part of that,” Cherington said. “Of course, there are not many places where that was more important than in Pittsburgh. So to be a small part of honoring that, I think it’s meaningful, and I think it gives us a good reminder to go back and learn some more.”
“Pittsburgh is the heartbeat of Negro Leagues baseball,” Shelton said. “Having two teams here and having maybe one of the greatest players of all time in Josh Gibson, it’s very special.”
THE ESSENTIALS
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Ben Gamel, LF
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Michael Chavis, 2B
4. Colin Moran, 1B
5. Jacob Stallings, C
6. Yoshi Tsutsugo, RF
7. Kevin Newman, SS
8. Anthony Alford, LF
9. Dillon Peters, LHP
And for Mike Schildt's Cardinals:
1. Tommy Edman, 2B
2. Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
3. Tyler O'Neill, LF
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B
5. Yadier Molina, C
6. Dylan Carlson, RF
7. Edmundo Sosa, SS
8. Harrison Bader, CF
9. J.A. Happ, LHP
THE SYSTEM
THE SCHEDULE
Steven Brault (0-2, 1.93) will try to get into the win column Saturday evening against Adam Wainwright (12-7, 3.10). First pitch will be at 7:05 p.m. I've got you covered from the ballpark.
THE CONTENT
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