PHOENIX -- A few mistakes on defense lingered, solid bullpen work was wasted (en masse) and a listless offense again failed to produce as the Pirates were shutout by Diamondbacks, 3-0, Monday, the first game of a four-game set in the desert.
Rather than looking at that game as a whole, let's take it piece by piece.
IS THERE NO FIFTH STARTER?
For the second straight turn in the rotation, the Pirates turned to Tyler Beede and the bullpen to cover José Quintana's old spot. Results wise, it went about as well as they could have hoped. Beede, Manny Bañuelos and Yerry De Los Santos combined for seven innings and only one unearned run before Yohan Ramirez allowed a couple insurance tallies in the eighth.
But the end product was the Pirates used about half of their bullpen to get through one game, taxing Beede and Bañuelos in particular to a point that they probably can't be used for a day or two. Even when bullpen games work out well from a results standpoint, the effects of it linger.
So why did the Pirates do it twice in a week, especially when the Pirates are in the middle of a 10-game road trip?
"We wanted to give Tyler another opportunity," Derek Shelton said before the game, referencing Beede's last start on August 2 when he was pulled after getting just four outs while allowing four runs. "That was important. We thought about that going forward."
I asked Shelton pregame if we should read into that as a sign of things to come. He said not to, but that's Beede's second straight start as an opener and he pitched three innings in his outing against the Phillies right before that. He's going longer into games, to the point he could probably be considered a hybrid pitcher, like we saw in April and May. If the goal of the hybrid is to have someone who is a starter-reliever and there's a hole in the rotation, well, that's probably where they will be used.
Don't interpret any of that as a slight on Beede. He pitched admirably Monday, going 3 2/3 innings of two-hit ball, lowering his ERA with the Pirates to 3.28 (13 ER over 35 2/3 innings). He's been one of the better pickups for this bullpen. It's just a lot to ask the bullpen for nine innings that often, especially since it takes just one pitcher having a bad game to really tax the entire group.
But if not Beede, who? The Pirates don't have many options to pull from to start the major-league level at the moment considering Roansy Contreras is currently off the table. He's going to continue to stretch back out with Class AAA Indianapolis and won't be back until he can go at least five innings. He went four shutout frames in his last start Friday, so perhaps that means a promotion could come sooner rather than later, though obviously not for this turn in the rotation.
Miguel Yajure has struggled by and large in Indianapolis this season, but he turned in a good outing his last time out and has some major-league experience. Even with the hole in the rotation, it sounds like the Pirates would prefer he continues his development in the minors rather than be brought back up before they feel he is ready.
"We still have ways forward for him, and the big thing was making sure he continued those ways forward there," Shelton said, adding he's facing "the right level" right now for his development.
The Pirates traded for Johan Oviedo from the Cardinals for Quintana, and general manager Ben Cherington described him as having a "starter’s body, starter’s delivery [and] starter’s repertoire," but they also want to stretch him out since he spent most of this season in the majors as a reliever. He's out for now.
Cody Bolton could be another possibility, but he was pulled early from his start Saturday with an injury. Don't have a lot of details, but the initial word is it does not sound too serious, and Bolton would require a 40 man move and may not be built up for five innings right now either.
So yeah, that's why Beede and the bullpen got a second look. At least this one went smoother.
"I think just better delivery overall, kind of a focus on that this go around," Beede said on the differences between the two starts. "I felt good with my delivery since I've been over here. Definitely more of a focus on that, and then happier with the translation into the game versus last weekend."
TROUBLE BREWING UP
For all of the Pirates' issues on offense this year, one thing they had done pretty well is hit the fastball up in the zone. It's something they focus on in practice since so many pitchers across the league attack with high heat anymore.
Entering Monday, their .462 slugging percentage in the top third of the strike zone was ninth-best in baseball (league average .430) and their .252 batting average on pitches there was 10th (.249 league average).
Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen pitched high anyway, and the Pirates couldn't get a hold of anything he had to offer. Here are the results for all of his fastballs Monday:
Of the eight swings on pitches in the zone up, three were whiffs, four were fouled off and one was a Bligh Madris popped up bunt. (More on Madris in a moment). Mix in two called strikes as well.
While Gallen only got one of his eight strikeouts with the high fastball, his success there helped lead the way for seven nearly spotless innings.
"Overall, he was just really effective," Shelton said of Gallen's performance.
In the 16 games since the All-Star break, the Pirates have been held to two or fewer runners nine times.
At the end of Monday's game, no Pirate batter in the starting lineup has an OPS of at least .800. Only two have an OPS above .700: Bryan Reynolds (.797) and Ben Gamel (.710). The bench didn't provide much help either, as Pirate pinch-hitters went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts Monday.
The rookies wore this one. Tucupita Marcano struck out three times. Oneil Cruz grounded into his first major-league double-play. Madris was the only rookie to reach base safely, and he was thrown out on a caught stealing attempt in the fifth. The Pirates mustered just three hits on the night, all singles.
They're young, but that excuse only goes so far when the offense is struggling this much. The offense could either produce as a group or at least field a couple players who are having strong campaigns to point to as a sign of progress. Neither is happening right now.
THE LITTLE STUFF HURTS
In the bottom of the sixth, Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo bounced a ball to third baseman Michael Chavis, who fumbled it and gave the home team a base runner.
Two pitches later, Bañuelos' good move to first had Perdomo off running early, which should have been an easy pickoff. His throw to first was low but accurate, but it bounced in and out of the glove of Madris, who couldn't recover it in time to make a play. Instead of getting what should have been the first out twice, the Diamondbacks had the go-ahead run in scoring position:
After a perfect drag bunt for a base hit, the Pirates had to settle for a 4-6-3 double-play to kill the rally, but also allow the eventual winning run to score.
In the seventh, Reynolds had a hard time getting a read on a Gamel and if center fielder Alek Thomas would catch it. With Reynolds camped out by second base but stopped, Thomas dove and missed, giving Reynolds the green light to head to third. He was thrown out on a perfect recovery by right fieder Dalton Varsho, putting a damper on the Pirates' only rally of note on the night.
"I think in a situation where we haven't scored runs and we haven't gotten any momentum going offensively it was the right read," Shelton said, defending his center fielder. "They just made a good baseball play."
We've seen the Pirates lose by way of a thousand self-inflicted paper cuts several times in the second half of the season alone, but moments like that stick out in a game where there is barely any offense, or when they have to tax half of the bullpen to get through the game.
"Even if we lose that game 1-0 right there," Shelton said in reference to the sixth inning errors, "we still didn't score and we didn't create a ton of opportunities to even score. I think that's more what it came down to."
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Quick housekeeping notes to wrap this one up. Right-hander Austin Brice has joined the team's taxi squad and is with the team in Phoenix. Catcher Taylor Davis also remains on the taxi squad after being outrighted off the roster Saturday.
• Catcher José Godoy, who exited Sunday's game early, is doing better now after getting some more fluids into him. Doesn't sound like that early exit was anything major.
• Ke'Bryan Hayes didn't start Monday. It was a planned maintenance day due to the heat and the cross-country travel. He appeared in the eighth as a pinch-hitter. Go back to the end of the second takeaway to figure out how that at-bat went.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Standings
• Statistics
• Schedule
• Scoreboard
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE INJURIES
• 10-day injured list: C Tyler Heineman (right groin strain)
• 15-day injured list: RHP David Bednar (low back), LHP Dillon Peters (left elbow inflammation)
• 60-day injured list: OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), RHP Blake Cederlind (UCL), RHP Nick Mears (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Tucupita Marcano, LF
2. Kevin Newman, 2B
3. Bryan Reynolds, CF
4. Ben Gamel, DH
5. Michael Chavis, 3B
6. Bligh Madris, 1B
7. Oneil Cruz, SS
8. Cal Mitchell, RF
9. Jason Delay, C
And for Torey Lovulla's Diamondbacks:
1. Josh Rojas, 3B
2. Alek Thomas, CF
3. Ketel Marte, 2B
4. Christian Walker, 1B
5. Daulton Varsho, RF
6. Jake McCarthy, LF
7. Seth Beer, DH
8. Carson Kelly, C
9. Geraldo Perdomo, SS
THE SCHEDULE
The Pirates and Diamondbacks will square off again Tuesday at 9:40 p.m. Eastern. Zach Thompson (3-8, 5.15) will take on Tommy Henry (0-1, 7.20). I'll have you covered for some late-night baseball.
THE CONTENT
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