By the Pirates’ standards, six runs is an offensive explosion — the most they have scored in a game this season is seven (twice) — and on many days it would be enough to win.
But Wednesday at PNC Park wasn’t most days. Injuries, a thin bench and an overworked bullpen all conspired against the Pirates in a 9-6 loss to the Texas Rangers, a game in which the Pirates took a four-run lead into the eighth inning before an afternoon collapse.
Michael Feliz gave up a tying grand slam to Hunter Pence in that inning, and the Rangers added three more in the ninth to complete their comeback.
Feliz actually started the inning off right, retiring Nomar Mazara on a pop up and getting a ground ball from Delino DeShields after walking Joey Gallo. The Pirates forced Gallo at second, but DeShields beat shortstop Kevin Newman’s throw to first, keeping the inning alive.
And then, the inning unraveled. Feliz loaded the bases by walking Rougned Odor and Danny Santana, and Pence, pinch-hitting, smashed is next pitch off the top of the left-field foul pole for a tying grand slam.
Why not bring in Felipe Vazquez, Keone Kela or Kyle Crick in that situation?
“Crick wasn’t available,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “Kyle had pitched three of the last four days.”
Crick came off the injured list April 16 with bicep tightness. Vazquez was only available for a save situation Wednesday. Kela wasn’t available, and after the game he was placed on the injured list retroactive to May 6 with right shoulder inflammation. Kela hadn’t pitched since he left Saturday’s game against the Oakland A’s after facing one hitter.
Without injured pitchers Chris Archer and Jameson Taillon, reliever Nick Kingham was forced into a starting role. Kingham pitched four innings and gave up two runs on three walks and three hits. He had five strikeouts and threw 78 pitches, 50 of which came in the first two frames.
“It was a solid start,” Hurdle said. “He put us in a spot where we were in the game. He gave us all he had and left us in a good place.”
Gallo hit his 12th home run of the season and 100th of his career off Kingham in the third, a two-run shot.
Steven Brault started and pitched four innings for the Pirates Tuesday, which meant the bullpen had to cover five innings the night before. Kingham’s short outing meant at least five more innings would be needed Wednesday, with at least two pitchers unavailable.
Before those late struggles, the bullpen gave a valiant effort, starting with Richard Rodriguez, who pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth. “It was great to see him do well today,” Hurdle said of Rodriguez, who had given up runs in his previous three outings. “He was able to get through a tough part of the lineup and not give up any runs.”
Rodriguez had also given up six home runs coming into the game after giving up five all of last season.
Francisco Liriano pitched a scoreless seventh. Hurdle was asked about the possibility of using Liriano to start the eighth, but Hurdle pointed out his usage over the past week. The veteran pitched Friday, Sunday and Tuesday before relieving again Wednesday.
Tyler Lyons finished off the eighth after Feliz’s exit, but gave up three runs in the ninth, including Odor’s two-run homer. Hurdle shrugged off the limited bullpen options as the reason for the loss.
“We didn’t get the job done,” he said. “We didn’t get the outs we needed to finish the game.”
In the fourth, Josh Bell hit a mammoth home run to tie the score, 2-2. The ball traveled 472 feet and was the fourth homer at PNC Park to hit the Allegheny River on the fly. Bell’s blast was the fifth-longest home run in the ballpark’s history and Bell’s ninth of 2019.
Bell extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double in the second. He entered the game 10 for 29 with 7 RBIs, 5 doubles and 2 homers in the previous seven games. Bell has a .295/.371/.648 slash line in 2019.
“He’s remained steadfast in his approach,” Hurdle said. “He continues to get the barrel of the bat on the ball. He’s driving the ball. His defense is getting better. He’s done a great job for us.”
Gregory Polanco drove in Starling Marte and Adam Frazier to give the Pirates a two-run lead in the fifth inning. Colin Moran, batting for Rodriguez, hit a solo home run in the sixth to make the score 6-2.
The Pirates will have to move on from the loss quickly. They start an 11-game road trip Thursday, with four games in St. Louis, three in Arizona and four in San Diego.
Each of those teams has a winning record, and the Cardinals and Diamondbacks have swept the Pirates at PNC Park this season.
Nubyjas Wilborn: nwilborn@post-gazette.com and Twitter @nwilborn19
Can’t get enough of our in-depth Pirates coverage?
Support quality journalism. Subscribe today.
First Published: May 8, 2019, 8:10 p.m.
Updated: May 8, 2019, 10:52 p.m.
