Felipe Vazquez shook his head, offered a slight laugh and wiped his face with his right hand, the unmistakable look of a man who had just endured a long, frustrating day at the ballpark.
A few hours earlier, Vazquez had the chance to close what was nearly a come-from-behind Pirates win, one about Starling Marte’s clutch home run, the bullpen’s perseverance, the continued success of Elias Diaz and back-to-back wins over the Brewers.
Instead, because of the home run Vazquez allowed and what followed during extra innings, the line of questioning was drastically different after the Pirates’ 12-10, 13-inning loss on Saturday at PNC Park.
“I’m not used to seeing the guys after me trying to win the game,” Vazquez said. “Just not fun. Should have made a better pitch than that, but it happens.”
Orlando Arcia’s two-run homer off Alex McRae technically won the game for the Brewers (33-26), but it’s hard to ignore what Vazquez allowed.
It was one of several opportunities the Pirates (28-29) had to win the game that ultimately slipped through their fingers. Plus, Vazquez is also right. He should have made a better pitch … and 99 times out of 100, he does.
As for Marte, his three-run homer in the eighth inning represented some significant progress, as it pushed the Pirates ahead, 10-8.
The bomb came off Josh Hader, the Brewers’ terrific, left-handed reliever who had not blown a save all season. Furthermore, Marte entered the game hitting just .174 against lefties.
But as part of his four-hit night, Marte rode a high-and-outside fastball to center, a picture-perfect piece of hitting. Marte now has multiple hits in four of his past five, and his average has spiked to .272.
“It’s good to see Marte taking ownership of some things and working hard to get better,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.
The pitch Vazquez made to Keston Hiura was not a good one — a center-cut, 98 mph fastball delivered in a 1-0 count. Hiura was looking for it and didn’t miss.
“As soon as I lifted my leg, I knew something was going to be wrong,” Vazquez said. “He hit it [Friday]. For me to go back at it, he was waiting on it.”
Vazquez will want the pitch back, but it should have never been the deciding factor in the game — or close to it. A much more frustrating sequence occurred in the sixth inning, and it cost the Pirates three runs.
The Pirates should’ve had Christian Yelich out when he popped into foul territory behind third base. Colin Moran was close to making the catch until Kevin Newman appeared to call Moran off. The ball dropped between them.
On the next pitch, Yelich smacked a three-run homer to right, and the Brewers jumped back in front, 8-7.
“Moran’s in position to make a play,” Hurdle explained. “I think Newman said, ‘You got it.’ That’s not something we want to say. You say nothing.
“When Moran heard a voice, he peeled off. It’s just like infielders going out to the outfield. The outfielder says something, they peel off.
“Just poor execution. That’s an out. We paid the price heavily for it. Ball hit that high, we needed an out right there.”
Saturday’s game was rife with craziness.
In 5 hours, 23 minutes, the teams combined to use 14 pitchers who threw a total of 513 pitches. There were 13 mound visits, and the Brewers went two for 12 with runners in scoring position ... yet still managed to score 12 runs.
Elias Diaz caught all 13 innings and added three hits and four RBIs, as he continues to function as the Pirates’ starting catcher. Diaz has started 13 of 17 while hitting .393 with eight multi-hit efforts and 11 RBIs during that stretch.
Jose Osuna gave the Pirates a boost with his pinch-hit home run in the fifth inning, and a few relievers — Rookie Davis, Geoff Hartlieb and McRae — delivered plus performances.
How the game ended was a cruel twist on McRae’s week, which started with his 2019 season debut on Monday against the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
McRae wound up with three appearances in six days while throwing a total of 153 pitches, including 61 on Saturday.
Even the pitch that got hit out of the park was a good one: low and inside to Arcia, in a spot where pitchers rarely get into trouble.
“I gave it everything I had,” McRae said. “I felt like I gave us a chance to win. Kept us in it for as long as I could. He hit a good pitch and outlasted me.”
If Saturday’s game was a referendum on anything, it’s that baseball can be frustrating sometimes. What else to expect from a sport where the best fail seven out of 10 times?
Surely there are things the Pirates will want to fix. Nick Kingham took a step back and needed 74 pitches to get nine outs. Pirates pitchers allowed five home runs. Gregory Polanco whiffed three times Saturday and has struck out eight times this series.
There will be frustrating days like the one Vazquez, McRae and others had, but the Pirates also showed some pretty good fight in twice erasing Brewers leads, including a 5-0 deficit to start.
The key now will be turning the page.
"That’s the closer’s mentality: You can’t carry what happened today into tomorrow,” Vazquez said. “I’m just going to go home, forget about it and come back fresh [on Sunday].”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: June 2, 2019, 1:43 a.m.
Updated: June 2, 2019, 3:46 a.m.
