Errors? Miscues? Insulted by a broadcaster? Here we go again taken in Philadelphia (Pirates)

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J.T. Realmuto slides home by Jason Delay to score in a bloop single Friday.

PHILADELPHIA -- It wasn't the first time I had gone to Ke'Bryan Hayes to talk about the team being in a rough stretch.

It also wasn't the first time I heard something like this.

“Regardless what happened the night before, you have to come back and treat every game like your record’s 0-0," the third baseman told me.

But their record isn't 0-0. Since the All-Star break, it's 8-24, contributing for a good chunk of those 78 losses on the season. And with losses like the Pirates' 7-4 defeat to the Phillies at Citizen''s Bank Park, it's hard to imagine that a stretch of losing isn't taking at least some toll on the team, even if they don't want to admit it.

“At least for me, you can’t really look at it that way," Hayes said. "You’ve got to just keep coming to the park and continue to battle, continue to get your work in.”

It isn't the first time the Pirates fell behind early. It wasn't the first time their offense didn't pick up until late when the game was already close to out of reach.

It wasn't even the first time the opposing team's broadcast casually belittled the last place club. In fact, it was the third time in 10 games. First it was Dennis Eckersley's "hodgepodge of nothingness" assessment, then Braves broadcaster Peter Moylan dropped this thought earlier this week:

And then on Friday, John Kruk said on the home team's broadcast the first two innings of the Pirates and Phillies "looks like an exhibition between a big league team and a college team." Kruk said shortly after, and then further clarified in a tweet, "We used to play exhibition games against college teams and what I meant by that is the college players tried to be quick with everything, and they made physical as well as [mental] mistakes against us."

Going by Kruk's criteria, yeah, that's the way to describe the Pirates' play in those first two innings Friday, two of the worst frames they have played all year. In the first, Rodolfo Castro started by booting a Kyle Schwarber roller for an error before being involved in two other plays that could have resulted in easy outs but didn't. First, Castro grabbed a bouncer and seemed to have the runner on second, Rhys Hoskins. Instead, Hoskins got back to the bag, as did the batter, Alec Bohm.

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"That's [Kevin] Newman's ball," Derek Shelton said postgame on the play and how Castro shouldn't have gotten the ball in the shift. "We have to make sure. They're not running contact. We have to make sure that we get an out there and throw across the diamond."

That play contributed to starter Bryse Wilson lasting only one inning. The next man up, new hybrid pitcher Zach Thompson, was greeted by Ben Gamel misplaying a ball at the wall by an ill-timed jump:

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Before Castro made another miscue and tossed a ball onto first when he appeared to have an easier out just stepping on first. That run would come home on a two-out Newman error, putting the Pirates behind 6-0.

"I’ve been learning how important it is to flush those things and do everything possible to help the team win," Castro said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. "I can’t allow my mind to just sit on those two innings."

"The first two innings we didn't play well defensively and put ourselves in a hole," Shelton said. "Against a club like this, we cannot give away extra outs."

Castro and Gamel would end up being two of three Pirates who homered on the evening -- Bryan Reynolds was the third -- even bringing the Pirates back to within two runs in the seventh.

But in sticking with the theme of the night, it wasn't the first time the Pirates have dropped a close game this season.

“We’ve got to do a better job with the starter," Hayes said. "I feel like we score all the time in the later innings, fifth sixth, seventh innings. We have to find a way to get some runs across early.”

“It’s hard to try to come back from six, seven runs every game," he said later. "It’s just not possible."

There in lies the frustration of an 8-24 stretch. There are times the pitching has looked good, where they made good fielding plays and got timely hitting.

Then there are games like Friday, where they did grind to get back in the game, but that was because they suffered many self-inflicted injuries on defense, a slow offensive start and getting only one inning out of their starter.

“I mean, we were right there and had a chance to win it," Hayes said.

They need to put themselves in better position to convert those chances, or these conversations will continue to happen again and again.

MORE FROM THE GAME

• The defense didn't help Wilson at all, but his 43-pitch first inning was also partially inflicted, especially since almost half of those pitches came in the two of at-bats against Hoskins and Bohm. The No. 2 and 3 hitters worked him for 19 pitches overall, which is an inning's workload by itself.

"That can really do some damage to a starter, and we saw the effects of it," Shelton said.

There wasn't anything wrong from a health standpoint for Wilson, but 43 pitches in one inning is taxing, so Shelton opted to not push him back out there.

• Fortunately for the Pirates, Thompson was able to provide five quality innings, allowing just two runs, one earned, on four hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out a pair on 82 pitches.

While he did allow nine hard-hit balls, he kept them on the ground or as pop ups.

"He did a good job," Shelton said. "He came in, was extremely efficient. Was able to go through their lineup multiple times, executed pitches. I mean, it's probably about as good as we've seen him throw."

The curveball was working in particular, getting nine whiffs on 11 Phillies swings against it. That's a career best for most whiffs on that pitch in a game. His previous record was eight on August 21.

• Ok, the real (well, not real) reason Thompson pitched well was he was powered by a cheesesteak before the game, with the right-hander declaring one of the free ones that players get at the park is the best in the city.

So take that, Geno's and Pat's.

• With nobody out in the seventh and Rodolfo Castro on first in a 6-4 game, Greg Allen squared up to bunt him into scoring position. The bunt was successful, but given how few outs the Pirates had left to give and how Castro did not represent the tying run, it was a curious move. One that if the bunt was successful and a run came home, the Pirates would still be losing.

Oneil Cruz followed with a walk before Jose Alvardo entered the game and got Jason Delay to ground into an inning-ending 5-3 double play. 

• Some injury news to go through. Reliever Colin Holderman was placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder soreness, which he experienced in his most recent outing Wednesday. It's retroactive to August 25. Shelton said they wanted to get another look at it and let some time pass before making any determination of if he will be able to return this season.

Yohan Ramirez was recalled to take his spot on the roster. He pitched two innings of one run ball Friday, allowing two hits and striking out one.

Additionally, David Bednar and Dillon Peters, both of whom have been shelved since early August, are traveling with the team. Both are throwing again and the Pirates want coaches to keep tabs on them.

"We would like to see them pitch again," Shelton said.

• A reminder that things don't get much easier from here. Of the Pirates' final 37 games of the season, 26 are against teams in the playoff hunt.

• With the loss, the Pirates fall to 47-78, including 8-24 after the All-Star break. Their .376 winning percentage puts them on pace for a 61-101 record, the same as last season. They need to go at least 16-21 down the stretch to avoid a second straight 100-loss season.

THE ESSENTIALS

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THE HIGHLIGHTS

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THE INJURIES

• 15-day injured list: RHP David Bednar (low back), RHP Colin Holderman (right shoulder soreness), LHP Dillon Peters (left elbow inflammation)

60-day injured list: RHP Yerry De Los Santos (lat), OF Canaan Njigba-Smith (wrist), RHP Blake Cederlind (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), C Roberto Pérez (hamstring)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Kevin Newman, SS
2. Bryan Reynolds, CF
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
4. Michael Chavis, 1B
5. Ben Gamel, RF
6. Rodolfo Castro, 2B
7. Greg Allen, LF
8. Oneil Cruz, SS
9. Jason Delay, C

And for Rob Thompson's Phillies:

1. Kyle Schwarber, LF
2. Rhys Hoskins, 1B
3. Alec Bohm, 3B
4. Bryce Harper, DH
5. J.T. Realmuto, C
6. Nick Castellanos, RF
7. Bryson Stott, SS
8. Jean Segura, 2B
9. Matt Vierling, CF

THE SCHEDULE

Game two of the weekend series will get underway a bit earlier than normal Saturday, with first pitch coming at 6:05 p.m. Tyler Beede (1-3, 4.13) will continue his journey from reliever into a starter against Kyle Gibson (8-5, 4.30). I'll have you covered.

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