Bucs need consistent defense to compete

PITTSBURGH -- The Pirates committed one of the most jarring defensive blunders on Thursday in their 5-3 loss to the Cubs at PNC Park.

What makes it even more frustrating? Pittsburgh’s defense has made vast improvements on the whole since last season, though this kind of a head scratcher has happened more than once this season.

With two outs in the third inning and Cubs catcher Willson Contreras at second, shortstop Javier Báez chopped a grounder to third baseman Erik González. He threw wide to first, where Will Craig caught the ball a few steps from the first-base bag. Báez alertly retreated back to home, slowly enough for Craig to run and catch up to him, but Contreras rounded third and slid home safely and Báez advanced to first on a throwing error by catcher Michael Perez.

It left the players, coaches and fans in shock.

“We’ve got a ton of years of experience in our dugout,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I asked [Joey Cora and Glenn Sherlock], ‘Have you ever seen that before?’ And they said no.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” Cubs manager David Ross said.

That play led to a two-run inning that put the Cubs ahead for good and sent the Pirates to their ninth loss in 10 games.

There were many different ways the Pirates could have recorded the third out there. Tag first base. Tag Báez. Maybe the final option, but get the ball to Perez quicker when Contreras is bowling down the line. But with a forceout at first that would have ended the inning without allowing a run to score, the easiest play was to tag the base.

“We have to make sure we get the force. That's just where it's at,” Shelton said. “I mean, [even] if Báez runs all the way back or runs into their dugout or runs down to the Strip District, we can walk down and touch first.”

“It was just a crazy play,” starter Tyler Anderson said. “Like, there should have been eight of us on the field yelling to just go step on first. Or anything, you know? That's a whole team thing right there.”

The Pirates were able to fight their way back into the game with three solo homers -- the first time since April 5 they’ve hit three home runs -- but Shelton knows they can't rely on their long balls to win games, saying, "I don't think we're gonna hit homers.”

How can they more consistently keep games close? Defense is a huge component. With an offense that has produced 80 weighted runs created plus (where 100 is league average) -- the second-lowest number in MLB entering Thursday -- they should be able to eke out some tight decisions by preventing runs.

And so far this season, they’ve done a pretty decent job of that.

After having 46 errors in 60 games last season -- the second-worst mark in the Majors -- the Pirates have committed 27 in 47 games, which is the 11th-best total in MLB. Their eight defensive runs saved is also in the top half of the Majors.

Pittsburgh has had a handful of highlight-reel plays, too. That includes an incredible jump throw on Wednesday night by shortstop Kevin Newman, who has yet to commit an error this season and is tied for the fourth-most outs above average (4), per Baseball Savant.

However, there have also been a few other instances of this type of a defensively woeful game this season. The clearest example came on May 5, when González committed three errors in a 4-2 loss to the Padres.

González factored negatively into the weird play on Thursday, though he was not charged with an error. Had the third baseman’s throw been on the mark, the out would have been recorded and the inning would have ended. Instead, it drew Craig off the base toward Báez and led to the awkward rundown.

Though the blunderful games are few, the Pirates will need to eliminate them if they want to compete heading into the remainder of this season. The Bucs are hoping to brush this one weird play off and continue doing what they’ve done in the dirt all season: Make plays when the ball is in the ballpark. But they won’t soon forget the play, either.

“There's no extra [fielding drills] for that play, because I don't think you could simulate that play. It's more of a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Shelton said.

“As much as it sucks, it's a talking point -- it's a teaching point. We can’t chase the guy. We’ve got to go touch the bag.”