The Pirates didn't announce their lineup until 13 minutes before first pitch Friday night. Derek Shelton originally had Daniel Vogelbach penciled in his lineup for the first game back from the All-Star break, but was forced to remove him when Ben Cherington traded Vogelbach to the Mets for right-handed reliever Colin Holderman less than an hour prior to first pitch.
Shelton's new lineup, which included Yoshi Tsutsugo filling in for Vogelbach in the cleanup spot as the DH, then went out and barely did anything against the Marlins in yet another lopsided loss, 8-1.
Ever so fitting, on the night when perhaps the Pirates' most consistent hitter is shipped away, the team mustered only two hits on the night.
Two.
The first came in the second at-bat of the game when Ke'Bryan Hayes singled after Kevin Newman led off the game with a walk. With two on and nobody out, Michael Chavis, Tsutsugo and Diego Castillo all struck out.
The second produced the first run of the game for either side. On a 2-2 slider breaking down-and-in, Jason Delay smacked his first career home run to give Pittsburgh an early 1-0 lead in the third inning:
But after that, the Pirates did absolutely nothing against Braxton Garrett and the rest of the pitchers Don Mattingly deployed. After Delay's homer, 21 Pirates were retired consecutively. It was especially bad after the Marlins immediately answered the homer with a four-run fourth inning, sending eight hitters to the plate.
"Once they got the lead, I thought we kind of went away from our approach and started to chase a little bit," Shelton said.
This goes beyond just another loss. The Vogelbach trade leaves a gaping hole in this lineup. The splits against righties and lefties are a bit volatile. Vogelbach is one of the better hitters in baseball against right-handed pitching. He ranks 17th in all of baseball with a 149 wRC+ and 18th with an .896 OPS against right-handers.
But, even when he's not productive against lefties, he still turns in quality at-bats. It's not often you see Vogelbach step into the box then return to the dugout after three pitches.
"That guy can can navigate an at-bat as good as anyone in baseball," Ben Gamel said after the game. "Always had a plan, never unprepared and was always ready to play."
The challenges that await this young group of hitters without a guy like Vogelbach just became far more daunting. I asked both Shelton and Cherington about these challenges after the game, and Shelton echoed Gamel's same sentiment.
Having a guy that cares about having a significant impact on his teammates, that can pay off in the long run. Shelton praised Vogelbach's dedication to preparation, then when I asked him about what this lineup faces now without him, the first thing he said was, "This is a young group of players that have to learn how to develop and follow a plan at the major-league level on a consistent basis."
"I personally really appreciate everything that he brought every day because he was a wonderful teammate," Shelton added.
That takes this outside of the measurable production in the box score. Vogelbach brought a presence to the team that was highly valued by every single person in that clubhouse. Even with Bryan Reynolds on the injured list, this Pirates lineup still had at least one stabilizing force.
I asked Hayes about Vogelbach's impact on the club -- on and off the field -- and he beautifully painted a picture of what he meant to this Pirates team.
"His presence -- in the locker room, wherever we're at on the field, doing ground balls, all of that type of stuff -- you definitely felt it," Hayes told me. "Honestly, I felt like he was a big part of us coming back late in games. His energy in the dugout -- he was DH-ing most of the time -- he's the first one to meet us at the steps whenever we come in off of defense, getting us ready for our at-bats."
The Pirates need guys like this. This isn't a knee-jerk reaction because they lost by seven runs and barely squeezed out two hits. It's crucial that younger hitters have veteran guys around them who are willing to make the team better -- on the field and in the clubhouse.
Now the lineup moves forward with Hayes and Gamel leading the way until Reynolds comes back from his oblique injury. And theres' a good chance that Gamel isn't a Pirate by the time Reynolds returns.
Who can step up and take the next step in helping this offense trend upward in any way, shape or form? Because as bad as this offense was with Vogelbach, how much worse will it possibly get without him? That's a question Cherington at least acknowledged.
"Before trading Vogey and now, we know whether it was a week ago or today," he said, "we know we have to build a better offense to win games at the level we want to win them at."
• As far as Reynolds' return, he did take batting practice during an optional workout Thursday at PNC Park. However, he is still a bit restricted on what he can do, so his return is still unknown. Shelton maintains the hope that the Pirates got out in front of the injury when they pulled him from the game in Milwaukee prior to the All-Star break, but oblique injuries are always difficult to predict.
• As part of the Marlins' eight-run outburst, they ended a 34-inning scoring drought. Apparently, the team played "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion -- the hit song from the 1997 blockbuster, Titanic -- in the clubhouse prior to the game to remind themselves of one thing:
“Scoring a run is not as hard as what the people on the Titanic went through,” Miguel Rojas said.
That is an immediate candidate for quote of the year in the 2022 Major League Baseball season. Pure gold. Unfortunately for the Pirates, it came at Zach Thompson's expense.
• Thompson seems to be really struggling with direction in his delivery. Yes, Friday night was a rough outing, especially that fourth inning. He gave up seven runs in 5 1/3 innings. It wasn't pretty.
But, just about every time Thompson has a rough outing, he mentions his direction being "off." Shelton pointed to Thompson leaving breaking balls up in the zone in this particular outing; that his cutter was really the only effective pitch he had on the night. But I wanted to ask Thompson if direction was an issue yet again, and got an immediate confirmation.
"Direction was off a little bit today," Thompson said. "I started fixing it a little bit as we went, and then I think I overcorrected, and I think that’s where some of the stuff was left up a little bit. Just have to learn from it and make sure I fix it in my bullpens."
• Roansy Contreras will be built back up to eventually rejoin the Pirates' rotation, but will be going to Indianapolis to do it. Shelton said of the buildup, “It’s making sure that we build him back up properly, so when he comes back up here, he’s pretty much unrestricted and full go.”
That doesn't sound like a quick one- or two-start buildup. It'll probably be August before Contreras pitches in Pittsburgh again. Just in time to take a vacated spot in the rotation after the trade deadline. Speaking of which ...
• With Vogelbach now gone, attention will turn to several other Pirates that could/will be shipped out by Aug. 2's deadline. Gamel could be one of them. He's a legitimate major-league hitter and plays solid defense. He'd be a fine addition to any roster in baseball.
"I've been traded a few times," Gamel said. "I don't think it's anything I can control, so I try (to) eliminate the noise and just go out and play."
Gamel's been through this before and will do just fine if Cherington does find a deal worth accepting. Of course, he's probably the Pirates' most consistent of the healthy hitters right now, so just imagine this lineup without him.
• As far as the DH spot goes, yes, Tsutsugo slotted in Friday night, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. Shelton, however, is not publicly committed to anyone in that role on a full-time basis. "I think moving forward, we'll have to look at it. But I don't think we've decided anything right away."
• The Pirates have signed four of their draft picks: RHP Thomas Harrington, LHP Hunter Barco, 3B/RHP Jack Brannigan and RHP Cy Nielson. Harrington, the club's pick in Competitive Balance Round A, led the way with a $2.050 million bonus, Barco signed for $1.525 million, Brannigan for $770,700 and Nielson for $175,000, per source.
Between the four of them and their respective slot values, the Pirates saved $367,000.
• Greg Allen has a locker in the Pirates' clubhouse. He didn't have one prior to Friday's game, so it looks like his return is at least somewhat imminent.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: OF Bryan Reynolds (right oblique)
• 15-day injured list: RHP Chase De Jong (knee)
• 60-day injured list: OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), OF Greg Allen (hamstring), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow surgery) RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Kevin Newman, SS
2. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
3. Michael Chavis, 1B
4. Yoshi Tsutsugo, DH
5. Diego Castillo, 2B
6. Cal Mitchell, RF
7. Jake Marisnick, CF
8. Ben Gamel, LF
9. Jason Delay, C
And for Mattingly's Marlins:
1. Joey Wendle, 2B
2. Garrett Cooper, 1B
3. Jesús Aguilar, DH
4. Brian Anderson, 3B
5. Avisaíl García, RF
6. Miguel Rojas, SS
7. Jorge Soler, LF
8. Jesús Sánchez, CF
9. Nick Fortes, C
THE SCHEDULE
Same two teams tomorrow, back to playing Saturday night baseball at 7:05 p.m. José Quintana (2-5, 3.99) faces off against righty Max Meyer (0-1, 8.44). I'll have you covered once again.
THE CONTENT
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