Defense might not win championships as the calendar hits May, but it does in fact cause games to be lost, much like the Pirates' 5-2 loss to the Padres on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park.
Late-game defensive mistakes spoiled a strong performance from starting pitcher Mitch Keller, who went six innings and allowed one run on on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
Following Keller being lifted with a 1-0 deficit, it was Chase De Jong who got the ball in the seventh. De Jong quickly dispatched He-Seong Kim and Matt Beaty, but then things began to go astray.
Austin Nola rocketed a ball toward shortstop Cole Tucker, who then fired to first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo:
“Obviously, if I could’ve picked that, that would’ve been the best," Tsutsugo said through interpreter Brian Tobin.
While the throw was in the dirt, that's a ball that has to be hauled in by Tsutsugo despite it not quite getting to him in the air.
"I think that's a ball that if you ask Yoshi, he probably should have caught," Derek Shelton said. "It was a short-hop. On the other side of it, we've got to make sure we get the ball in the air, so it's kind of the yin and the yang there."
Tucker fielded it routinely, but at the end of the day, the play has to be completed from start to finish, including receiving the ball at first base.
"I mean, he made a nice play, backhand play, and sometimes when you make really good plays, we have to finish them," Shelton said. "We didn't finish that play, and unfortunately he gets an error for it."
C.J. Abrams roped a double to right fielder Jack Suwinski during the ensuing at-bat, moving Nola to third. Following that, Trent Grisham laced De Jong's offering into right field for a two-run single to push the Padres ahead, 3-0.
The Pirates pushed two runs across in the eighth, but the defensive miscues wouldn't stop there for the Pirates.
In the top of the ninth, Jose Azocar singled a ball into the outfield off Ke'Bryan Hayes' glove before Nola notched a single to Jake Marisnick, who then threw to third where Azocar was safe, allowing Nola to advance to second.
Three hitters later, Jake Cronenworth hit a liner to Marisnick. This time it was Grisham whose aggressive baserunning led to him being safe at third after Cronenworth's single.
"I think [Marisnick] threw to the [wrong base] the one time," Shelton said. "I think the second time he came up and got aggressive, and I actually think Grisham got so far out. I don't think he deked him on it, I think he got so far out he realized he was out and just said, 'I'm going to go to third on it.' So I think the first one we should have kept the double play in order and we got a little aggressive on, and then the second one I thought it was one of things where [Grisham] got caught in no man's land, and he ended up taking an extra base."
While those plays pushed the game to 5-2, it's little things such as those that continue to hold the Pirates back from taking the next step -- one that's not so far away, according to Keller.
"The big first step is knowing we're there. And we are right there, we just need one or two plays here and there," Keller said. "We just need them to fall our way. And if that's a little bit more focus here and there, that's what we need."
JUSTIN BERL / GETTY
Austin Nola of the San Diego Padres scores on a RBI single by Manny Machado against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park Sunday, Pittsburgh
• Keller once again showed signs of the potential the Pirates see in him. He may have gotten the loss, but he became the first Pirates starter to make it six innings this season.
It was a confident Keller that dominated the Padres lineup, including this strikeout of third baseman Manny Machado in the first inning:
While that strikeout was impressive, Keller's strikeout of Grisham after an 11-pitch at-bat was far and away his most impressive of the five he recorded. Not only was he dealing with Grisham at the plate, but also trying to hold Abrams at first.
"There's two things that he showed me in that 11-pitch at-bat with Grisham. Number one, he had one of the fastest guys in the game at first. He maintained it off slide steps at 1-1, 1-2," Shelton said. "[He] just had a really good at-bat, and he continued to execute pitches and didn't get to the middle of the plate."
That type of execution shows the level at which Keller has matured over the course of his short career.
"Number one, controlling the running game like that, because any time he lifts -- and I think he lifted twice but he had mixed it up so well that they weren't able to steal -- and the fact that he continued to execute pitches and didn't give in," Shelton said.
The wins will fall in line for Keller, but until then the focus is on the results and Keller keeping the team in the game while he's on the mound.
"If I can just keep runs off the board, I think that keeps us in the game," Keller said. "I mean, we're in the game the whole time. Even the last time we still had a shot. ... Just trying to throw up zeros as many times as I can."
• Former Pirate Joe Musgrove and Keller went toe to toe throughout the entirety of their outings, with Musgrove coming out ahead 1-0 when he was lifted after seven shutout innings and eight strikeouts.
Musgrove was traded to the Padres ahead of the 2021 season, but there are no hard feelings when it comes to facing an organization he was a part of for three seasons.
“This is one I’ve had on the calendar marked for a little while," Musgrove said. "Not in the sense that I have a grudge against these guys or anything, but any time you leave somewhere and you go back, you have that sense of wanting to show them what they missed out on."
Musgrove is now 4-0 with a 1.97 ERA, which is the type of season the Pirates are sorely missing out on.
• Tsutsugo's struggles haven't been limited to just defensively, as the second-year Pirate entered Sunday's game hitting .172 on the season.
That average crept closer toward the Mendoza Line of .200 with his two-hit performance against San Diego. Is that the boost he needs at the plate? That remains to be seen, but for him he's not letting his success or lack thereof dictate his approach.
“I’m getting better and better every day. I don’t really want the results to make me shift one way or the other in my feelings, mentally, Tsutsugo said.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: SS Kevin Newman (groin), RHP Duane Underwood (hamstring)
• 60-day injured list: OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Daniel Vogelbach, DH
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
4. Yoshi Tsutsugo, 1B
5. Ben Gamel, LF
6. Josh VanMeter, 2B
7. Jack Suwinski, RF
8. Cole Tucker, SS
9. Roberto Perez, C
And for Bob Melvin's Padres:
1. Trent Grisham, CF
2. Jake Cronenworth, 1B
3. Manny Machado, 3B
4. Jurrickson Profar, LF
5. Eric Hosmer, DH
6. Ha-Seaong Kim, SS
7. Matt Beaty, RF
8. Ausin Nola, C
9. C.J. Abrams, 2B
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates have Monday off before heading to Detroit for a two-game series Tuesday. Bryse Wilson (0-0, 4.70) will take on the Tigers who have not yet named a starting pitcher. Alex Stumpf will have you covered in Detroit.
THE CONTENT
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