Germán's scoreless start vs. Rangers spoiled by offensive woes

ARLINGTON -- Anyone who took a quick peek at the score late in Wednesday afternoon’s game between the Pirates and the Rangers -- and didn’t delve any deeper into the proceedings than that -- could be forgiven for thinking it was as simple as a pitchers’ duel.

The Pirates’ 1-0 walk-off loss at Globe Life Field was definitely a battle, but not the kind such a score usually indicates. Although neither Pittsburgh starter Domingo Germán nor Texas starter Andrew Heaney surrendered a run, Wednesday’s contest ultimately became a scuffle of attrition between two offenses that couldn’t take advantage of the chances they kept being given.

Although both lineups squandered ample scoring chances, the Pirates wasted more. They struck out 16 times and left 10 men on base, though they had at least one baserunner in every inning from the second to the ninth.

“Extremely frustrating. We had opportunities,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We had the bases loaded twice. We just didn’t get a hit that we needed to break the game open. You can’t expect to win a game when you leave 10 guys on base.”

The game’s only run happened on the final pitch. Reliever David Bednar allowed back-to-back singles to begin the bottom of the ninth, then recorded two outs before Wyatt Langford laced a soft line drive past the shortstop.

Wednesday’s rubber game was a meandering contest that featured a combined 26 strikeouts, six walks, nine pitchers, four double plays and 17 men left on base. Together, the teams were 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position, with the only hit being Langford’s game-winner.

The Bucs missed a tantalizing opportunity to score in the seventh, when Yasmani Grandal and pinch-hitter Billy McKinney reached on a pair of singles with no outs. Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a sharp liner right at first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who reacted quickly for the catch and then tagged first base for the double play.

“Lowe made a great play. If that ball’s one foot or six inches right or left, all of a sudden we have a double and we score two runs,” Shelton said. “But we have to have better at-bats. We have to put the ball in play, because 16 strikeouts doesn’t give us an opportunity to score runs.”

All the offensive misfires for Pittsburgh obscured a competent outing by Germán, who made his first start for the Pirates and fourth appearance overall since he was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Aug. 9. The Pirates signed the 32-year-old righty, who threw a perfect game for the Yankees last season, to a Minor League contract in March. He tossed 68 innings at Triple-A before getting called up.

“I’m pleased with my outing today, especially after a year of not being able to start a [Major League] game,” said Germán, who walked four and scattered three hits in six innings. “I’ve been working on fastball location. ... I was working really hard to make sure that was sharp. That was the product today of being able to locate the fastball.”

Germán may have earned himself another turn in the Pirates’ rotation as they wind down the season while trying to protect their young arms -- most notably Paul Skenes -- from being overworked. Germán threw 75 pitches Wednesday, the same number he threw in a four-inning relief appearance in his Pirates debut on Aug. 9.

“He was really effective,” Shelton said of Germán. “The last start he had was Aug. 3, so for him to give us six innings was outstanding. ... I think there’s a chance he could get more starts. We all know that we like to have six [starters].

“We’ll have to look at it and see where he’s at, but I could see him getting more.”