'Hard to hit': Bucs have no answer for Waino

ST. LOUIS -- It was a reassuring weekend overall for the Pirates at Busch Stadium, as they took a series against the postseason-contending Cardinals.

However, a familiar foe kept the Bucs from completing their first series sweep of the season.

Right-hander Adam Wainwright shut down the Pirates over eight innings, sending them to a 3-0 defeat on Sunday afternoon in the finale at St. Louis. The Bucs remain the only team without a sweep in the Majors, going 0-for-9 in sweep opportunities.

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“We don’t really talk about it too much,” said starting pitcher Steven Brault about the sweep-less run in 2021. “It’s kind of just like one of those, ‘Egh! … Ack! We were so close.’ But I think we’ll get one. We’ve got enough time, and I think we’ll get one here soon.”

The Pirates’ pitching unit gave the squad a chance to fight back for the sweep, keeping the offense within a couple of runs for the bulk of the game. Brault, who allowed one run in four innings, even made a highlight-reel diving toss home to cut down Lars Nootbaar from third in the fourth inning.

“Once the bunt was down and I was coming in, I thought he would turn around,” Brault said. “So I enjoyed it. It was fun. I caught the ground pretty hard with my knee, which is why I was oof-ing afterwards. I left a nice little divot, but it was fun."

However, a potential game-tying blast from Colin Moran came just shy and was snagged by Nootbaar in the ninth, and the lone run Brault allowed in the first inning on a seeing-eye single from Yadier Molina was enough for a team which is the Pirates’ kryptonite.

Over 23 innings against Wainwright this season, Pittsburgh’s offense has mustered only one run and six baserunners. He’s now 7-0 in his past seven starts vs. the Pirates -- including a Maddux last time out in Pittsburgh -- dating back to July 2019. Wainwright has 20 career wins against the Bucs, which is the most against any team in his career, with many of them having come in recent seasons.

“They beat me around pretty good early on in my career,” said Wainwright of the Pirates, “so this is all just payback for them getting my career ERA over about a point higher than it should be.”

Wainwright is a rare starter in that he uses a heavy dose of curveballs to vanquish opposing lineups, making it tough for a team to sit on the fastball and drive it. He threw the breaking pitch for 40% of his 106 offerings on Sunday.

“I think he has elite feel for it,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton of Wainwright’s curve. “He’s been throwing it for a long time. He’s able to execute it in any count. He’s able to change speeds on it. At some point, we have to figure out a way to combat that because he’s gotten us three times now.”

A few years ago, Wainwright’s numbers began to take a downturn in the run-prevention department, as he posted a 4.58 ERA over 2016-19. But he's had a resurgence as he nears his 40th birthday, with a 3.11 ERA over the past two seasons.

over the past two seasons, he’s had a resurgence with a 3.11 ERA as he nears his 40th birthday.

Brault said that as a pitcher, what Wainwright has been able to do late in his career has been “inspirational.”

“He’s one of those guys who has made the transition from being a power pitcher in his younger years to now being able to finesse and stay at the corners, just off corners, using his big, slow curveball a lot and using it well,” Brault said. “It’s hard to hit.”

The Pirates respect what Wainwright has been able to do against them in recent starts, but they’re not taking it lightly. The offense, as well as Shelton and his hitting staff, will go back to the drawing board soon to try to decipher Wainwright’s success against them, with it being increasingly likely that he will go up against the Bucs during this weekend’s set at PNC Park.

“We have some days to think about it and talk with our staff,” Shelton said, “because we need to come up with a way, a solution to break through that. I’m open to ideas if you got any.”