Walks haunt Ortiz, bats hushed in a hurry, Pirates fall to Yankees again

On Friday, the Pirates suffered one of their most crushing losses of the year, throwing away a potential winning double play in the ninth.

Things didn't get much better Saturday, in really any facet of the game.

Luis Ortiz walked six Yankees and was pulled in the fifth inning, the last 21 Pirates batters were retired and fielding miscues up the middle haunted the Pirates in what would be a 6-3 loss at PNC Park Saturday.

Ortiz's inability to find the strike zone consistently is perhaps the most concerning development considering his recent run of success. In his three outings leading up to Saturday, Ortiz did walk seven, but kept opponents off the plate, allowing just four earned runs over 16 1/3 innings. Endy Rodríguez often set up low and near the right-handed batters box, but Ortiz could not consistently hit that spot:

"I was flying open with some of the pitches," Ortiz said, via interpreter Stephen Morales. "I can say that was part of my inability to throw strikes sometimes, but I just have to go back to what I was over my last three games and continue to work hard on it."

In his last start against the Braves, Ortiz talked about how he felt in control in his delivery and that it has led to a more repeatable motion. That wasn't the case Saturday, saying he was flying open.

"It’s easy to recognize," Ortiz said. "You try your best, and sometimes, it doesn’t go your way. I recognized with some of the hitters that I was trying too hard. Sometimes, when you’re trying too hard, that’s what happens: you try to throw harder and then you fly open."

The control problems started immediately, with Ortiz walking two of the first three batters he faced. Austin Wells blistered a ball to center shortly after, which Jack Suwinski was unable to bring in because he broke forward first and had a negative jump. 

"That ball is hit right at him and that's the hardest read for a center fielder -- a line drive right at him," Derek Shelton said. "He froze for a second."

A second was all the Yankees needed.

Estevan Florial dropped a two-run single later in the inning to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. The Suwinski play would not be the only time the Pirates sputtered on defense, as the double play duo Liover Peguero and Ji Hwan Bae both failed to convert an out on a ball hit to them, once on a lack of communication and another when Peguero couldn't snag a low liner.

That didn't do much to help Ortiz, who allowed four runs over 4 2/3 innings. Overall, Ortiz threw 88 pitches, 43 of which were balls. 

"It just looked like he rushed and ran away from it, and wasn't consistent with his arm slot, consistent with moving down the mound," Shelton said. "Today it was scattered."

The Pirates were able to get to Yankees starter Luke Weaver early, starting with a Bryan Reynolds two-run home run in the first and Ke'Bryan Hayes opening the third with a double and coming around to score. Hayes would end up being the last Pirate base runner of the night, though, as the Yankees went on to retire the last 21 hitters they faced.

"There's a little funk there and kind of kept us off balance," Shelton said. We just didn't have very good at-bats after the [third] inning."

The end product is loss No. 80 for the Pirates, putting them just two away from clinching their fifth consecutive losing season. That will almost surely happen this upcoming road trip when the Pirates take on the Cubs, Reds and Phillies, three teams in the thick of the wild card race.

While a losing season has seemed like an inevitability for some time, this series has been a bump in what had been a strong month of September. Now, the Pirates are in danger of suffering their first sweep since the first series of the second-half of the season.

If that happens, there is a clear lesson to be learned from this series.

"Overall, we cannot give free baserunners away," Shelton said.

THE ESSENTIALS

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THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE INJURIES

• 10-day injured list: DH/OF Andrew McCutchen (Achilles)

• 60-day injured list: SS Oneil Cruz (ankle), RHP JT Brubaker (elbow), LHP Jarlin Garcia (elbow), RHP Max Kranick (elbow), INF Tucupita Marcano (knee), LHP Angel Perdomo (elbow), RHP Vince Velasquez (elbow)

THE LINEUPS

Shelton's card:

1. Ji Hwan Bae, 2B
2. Bryan Reynolds, LF
3. Ke'Bryan Hayes, 3B
4. Jack Suwinski, CF
5. Endy Rodríguez, C
6. Joshua Palacios, RF
7. Henry Davis, DH
8. Alfonso Rivas, 1B
9. Liover Peguero, SS

And for Aaron Boone's Yankees:

1. DJ LeMahieu, 1B
2. Aaron Judge, RF
3. Gleyber Torres, 2B
4. Austin Wells, C
5. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
6. Anthony Volpe, SS
7. Estevan Florial, CF
8. Oswald Peraza, 3B
9. Oswaldo Cabrera, LF

THE SCHEDULE

The Pirates will try to avoid the sweep Sunday afternoon. Colin Selby (2-1, 8.20) will be the Pirates' opener, while the Yankees will counter with Carlos Rodón (3-5, 6.14). First pitch is set for 1:35 p.m. I'll have you covered.

THE MULTIMEDIA

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