Pirates fall apart late to lose series to Diamondbacks

PHOENIX -- Chase De Jong focused on throwing a good two strike pitch.

Geraldo Perdomo was just trying to get a sacrifice bunt down. He would end up being hit by De Jong's aptly-named backfoot breaking ball, loading the bases with nobody out in the seventh.

"I executed a pretty good two strike pitch that he squared around," De Jong would say about what would end up being the game's pivotal pitch.

Two batters later, Emmanuel Rivera shot a one-out double passed a drawn-in Ke'Bryan Hayes, opening the floodgates for a seven-run frame in a 9-3 Pirates loss to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field Thursday.

"The game kind of got away from us pretty quick there," Derek Shelton said. "We did not execute pitches, and it floated both ways. We got behind in the count and didn’t execute and then I think we had two or three 0-2 counts where we did not execute pitches and we left balls in the middle of the plate, and they capitalized."

Rivera's double was on an 0-2 count off a Yerry De Los Santos hanging slider. Daulton Varsho would also do damage against the rookie right-hander on an 0-2 sinker right down the middle after struggling against pitches up that entire at-bat:

De Los Santos had been a bright spot in the Pirates' bullpen this season, but he allowed the two runners he inherited to score and was charged with four more runs on three walks and those two doubles, all while failing to record an out. It was a rare moment of the rookie showing that he is green.

"He’s got to be in a situation where he finishes guys there," Shelton said. "It looked like both those pitches, from just watching the replay on the board, were too much in the middle of the plate and we just have to execute off the plate in 0-2 counts."

Duane Underwood Jr. finished the inning while allowing one more superfluous run to score.

While the final score was lopsided, it did not accurately reflect how close the Pirates were to getting a road series split. That has been a recurring theme for most of this season, where they would fall just short because of one or two mis-executed plays. 

"Losing sucks," De Jong said. "We played pretty well. We were in a lot of games. It comes down to small execution of details. For me today, I didn't get swing and miss. If I'm going to throw late in the game, in close games, I need to do better."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• For the second game in a row, the wild wait-what-just-happened play benefited the Pirates.

With runners on the corners and one out, Greg Allen flared a base hit to center for a run. Tucupita Marcano, the runner on first, made a break for third, and Allen broke for second when it looked like the throw was going to that base. Perdomo cut off the throw and had Allen in a prime rundown position, but first baseman Christian Walker did not know he didn't have another fielder behind him, so he peeled off after making a toss, meaning Allen had a clear path back to first.

While that was happening, Marcano was able to break for home and score.

There was plenty of good base running that inning in general, including a successful double-steal that set the stage for Hayes to score on a bang-bang play at home on a Marcano ground ball.

However, the offense went cold there, only getting a pair of singles from Hayes and Bryan Reynolds with no walks over the final five innings.

"We ran the bases really well, it’s just after that we couldn’t get much going," Shelton said.

• Hayes walked off the field gingerly in the top of the seventh after grounding into an inning-ending double play, but finished the game playing in the field. No further update from the clubhouse afterwards.

Hayes had the only multi-hit performance of the game for the Pirates, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.

• JT Brubaker started strong, but lost his tempo in the fourth inning after allowing a home run to Rivera. He only allowed two runs on the afternoon, but his pitch count got up and he was removed after 92 pitches over five innings.

"Long ABs and yeah, just pitch count crept up," Brubaker said while assessing his performance. "Just trying to manage that and put guys away sooner."

• With the loss, the Pirates drop the four-game series in the desert and fall to 45-67 on the year, including 6-13 since the All-Star break. They are on pace for a 65-97 final record.

• Factoid of the game: This is the first time since July 5-6, 2013 that the Pirates stole at least three bases in game, per Stats By STATS.

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. Ben Gamel, DH
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
4. Oneil Cruz, SS
5. Bligh Madris, RF
6. Tucupita Marcano, 2B
7. Greg Allen, LF
8. José Godoy, C
9. Josh VanMeter, 1B

And for Torey Lovulla's Diamondbacks:

1. Alek Thomas, CF
2. Emmanuel Rivera, 3B
3. Josh Rojas, DH
4. Christian Walker, 1B
5. Daulton Varsho, RF
6. Carson Kelly, C
7. Jordan Luplow, LF
8. Sergio Alcántara, 2B
9. Geraldo Perdomo, SS

THE SCHEDULE

That's it for the Pirates in the desert. San Francisco is up next. Bryse Wilson (2-6, 5.86) will take on Carlos Rodón (10-6, 2.95) at 10L15 p.m. Eastern. I'm flying out Friday morning for the final leg of the road trip.

THE CONTENT

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