PIRATES

Bryan Reynolds may not have been charged with an error on a Masyn Winn liner that came right at him in the eighth inning. But it was that miscue that caused a late spiral and saw the Pirates allow five runs on five hits in an eventual 10-5 loss to the Cardinals here today at PNC Park. 

During his postgame media availability, Don Kelly suggested the lights played a factor in Reynolds coming up short of making the play in right field on a ball that he might otherwise catch. Reynolds told me that the lights did indeed impact his ability to make the play, as he saw "a 50-foot tower of lights shining straight into left field and right field." 

"If the lights were not on, we probably get out of that inning with minimal damage," Reynolds said. "You have a tower of lights that are blasting in the outfielders eyes, not angled down, so if you play oppo with righties, or lefties if you're in left, and they hit a ball like that, you just hope you can get around the lights. If you can't, you just try to tackle it. I almost did." 

Whether the lights played a role in this situation or not, it doesn't take away from the fact that things continued to unravel after the missed opportunity to retire Winn for what would have been the first out of the inning. The half inning prior, the Pirates had made it a one-run game on a Brandon Lowe homer and the momentum seemed to be in their favor as they attempted to rally. That was wiped away in an instant during an inning that featured a two-run double by Nathan Church, a two-run single by Alec Burleson and an RBI single by Jordan Walker. 

It was a rather appropriate ending to a disheartening series for a Pirates team that lost in different ways. They led the first game by two runs before Dennis Santana blew the save in the ninth inning and they couldn't find ways to rally back from significant deficits in the final three. They nearly pulled it off on Wednesday and made it close again today before things slipped away.

"We're still playing some pretty good baseball, honestly, on almost every front of it," Lowe said. "There's just been some unlucky breaks or one or two pitches that our pitchers wish they had back. And vice versa on the offensive side, there's probably one or two pitches guys wish they could get back in there and have another chance at. But that's kind of the way the baseball rolls. There's going to be ups and downs and peaks and valleys. Just try to shorten your valleys and get back up on the way up."