The Pirates' bullpen will get a lot of blame for Wednesday afternoon's 8-2 loss to the Padres at PNC Park. However, one thing that can't be overlooked was the lack of sound fundamentals -- and perhaps the stark contrast between the two teams.
"We didn't play clean baseball again today," Don Kelly said after the game. "It's something that we have to do moving forward. I mean, making the outs that we need to make."
After Mitch Keller tossed six scoreless innings and the game remained tied at 0-0, the Pirates started both the seventh and ninth innings with errors. The first was made by Nick Gonzales, then second made by Konnor Griffin after coming in as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. It's no coincidence those were the only two innings in which the Padres scored runs, both four-run outputs. Nick Yorke, who had a three-hit performance, also made a throwing error from first base that allowed more runs to pile up late.
In addition, the Padres stole six bases while Joey Bart failed to throw out any baserunners. He appeared to nab Ramón Laureano trying to steal third base in the sixth inning, but Gonzales was ruled by third base umpire Ryan Blakney to be blocking the bag.
Conversely, Laureano made three great plays in left field that limited run opportunities for the Pirates, including two diving catches. The first robbed Griffin of a hit, keeping it a sacrifice fly, and the second robbed Ryan O'Hearn, thwarting any potential for a Pirates rally in the eighth inning.
"To me, that was a big difference in the game," Kelly said. "They made some really good plays and we didn't make some plays that we will make as we go through the season."
THE ASYLUM
Kelly stresses 'clean baseball' after 8-2 loss
The Pirates' bullpen will get a lot of blame for Wednesday afternoon's 8-2 loss to the Padres at PNC Park. However, one thing that can't be overlooked was the lack of sound fundamentals -- and perhaps the stark contrast between the two teams.
"We didn't play clean baseball again today," Don Kelly said after the game. "It's something that we have to do moving forward. I mean, making the outs that we need to make."
After Mitch Keller tossed six scoreless innings and the game remained tied at 0-0, the Pirates started both the seventh and ninth innings with errors. The first was made by Nick Gonzales, then second made by Konnor Griffin after coming in as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning. It's no coincidence those were the only two innings in which the Padres scored runs, both four-run outputs. Nick Yorke, who had a three-hit performance, also made a throwing error from first base that allowed more runs to pile up late.
In addition, the Padres stole six bases while Joey Bart failed to throw out any baserunners. He appeared to nab Ramón Laureano trying to steal third base in the sixth inning, but Gonzales was ruled by third base umpire Ryan Blakney to be blocking the bag.
Conversely, Laureano made three great plays in left field that limited run opportunities for the Pirates, including two diving catches. The first robbed Griffin of a hit, keeping it a sacrifice fly, and the second robbed Ryan O'Hearn, thwarting any potential for a Pirates rally in the eighth inning.
"To me, that was a big difference in the game," Kelly said. "They made some really good plays and we didn't make some plays that we will make as we go through the season."
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