Pirates drop another heartbreaker: 'We're in every game'
Alex Stumpf
@AlexJStumpfPITTSBURGH -- By the time the 10th rolled around Wednesday, manager Derek Shelton¡¯s only options left in his bullpen were Colin Holderman and Dennis Santana, the latter of whom was considered the multi-innings guy for the night. And for the fourth time in eight days, it was Holderman who would be taking the loss for the Pirates.
That is an oversimplification of what was one of the more wild nights on the North Shore of Pittsburgh this season, but the end result was the same: a third straight loss and the fifth over the past six games, four of which have been decided by one run. A shaky Marco Gonzales start and continued struggles from the high-leverage relievers was just too much to overcome Wednesday at PNC Park, as the Pirates would end up falling to the Padres in 10 innings, 9-8.
¡°We¡¯re in every game,¡± Shelton said. ¡°We¡¯re battling. We¡¯re battling back. We just haven¡¯t been able to finish games, and we got to do that. To continue to do what we¡¯ve done through the first 110 games, 120 games, whatever it is, we have to just continue to finish games. Unfortunately on this homestand so far, we have not. We¡¯ve had leads in three of the losses in the seventh or later.¡±
Coming close is probably not much consolation when looking at the standings. The Pirates have now dropped back-to-back series against the Diamondbacks and Padres, both of whom are ahead of them in the NL Wild Card chase, and the Pirates (56-57) dipped below .500 for the first time since before the All-Star break. There¡¯s still time to make a run at the postseason, but the path has become measurably harder with back-to-back series losses that very well could have been wins.
Gonzales was unable to complete the fifth inning, allowing five runs over 4 2/3 frames, which included home runs by Jackson Merrill and Kyle Higashioka. Gonzales is still building back up after missing three months with a forearm strain, so this marked the third time in four games a Pirates starter didn¡¯t go at least five innings, with Mitch Keller and Bailey Falter being booted early from their outings due to lengthy rain delays.
"Physically I felt good,¡± Gonzales said. ¡°Command-wise, I wasn't as sharp as I would've liked to be. I made a couple of mistakes over the middle of the plate and paid for it. Overall, I felt like we handled the top of the lineup well. It was the middle and bottom parts that hurt us tonight."
The Pirates' offense was able to pick him, rattling off six two-out RBIs, including a game-tying home run by Andrew McCutchen in the fourth and a two-run single by McCutchen in the sixth to give the Pirates a 6-5 lead. The three RBIs for McCutchen tied him with Ralph Kiner (802) for sixth place on Pittsburgh's all-time list.
The taxed bullpen was able to get the ball to David Bednar in the ninth, but the Pirates¡¯ closer snapped a streak of 19 straight saves by serving up a home run to Merrill to tie the game at 6.
¡°[Bednar] tried to get a fastball above Jackson Merrill¡¯s hands and he didn¡¯t get it there, and [Merrill] hit it out,¡± Shelton said.
The Pirates had a chance with the bases loaded in the ninth, but Ji Hwan Bae and Oneil Cruz both grounded out to end the frame. They also had another chance to win it in the 10th, managing to rattle off three straight walks off Tanner Scott and moving runners to second and third with nobody out in a one-run game, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Connor Joe and Yasmani Grandal all failed to get that pivotal extra RBI.
As a result, the recurring themes of the past few weeks again played out the same. Relievers have taken Pittsburgh's last seven losses. The Pirates have played the most one-run games in baseball, but they are sub-.500 in those games (19-21). Their 23 blown saves are the second-most in baseball.
So how do they proceed with their season on the line?
"Show up and play the game tomorrow,¡± Gonzales said. ¡°That's how we're wired. That's what we do. I know it's tough after some of these losses, but you have to find a way to turn the page, show up and compete."