Derek Shelton has been through his share of tough times throughout his tenure as the Pirates manager. Hired at the start of a rebuild, he knew the early days would be filled with plenty of bumps along the road. But it’s the bruises acquired as of late that have the Pirates skipper hurting more than ever.
After limping into Wednesday's contest after back-to-back blowout losses, Shelton had good reason to feel optimistic that his club was safe from a sweep, leading by seven runs entering the seventh inning. But after turning the ball over to a bullpen that has struggled mightily throughout August, the unit of reserve arms had its biggest implosion yet, surrendering 11 runs in the final three frames to allow the Cubs to run away with a 14-10 victory at PNC Park.
"It's frustrating,” Shelton said. “It's about as frustrated as I've been. We've got to execute. You cannot have a 10-3 game in the seventh inning and give up 11 runs. We've got to be better."
Headlining the comeback effort for the Cubs was catcher Christian Bethancourt, who drove home seven of his team’s 14 runs, six coming in the final three innings. Bethancourt started his club’s rally with a two-run homer off of Kyle Nicolas in the seventh. He then doubled home two more runs in the eighth off of Aroldis Chapman.
Clinging to a 10-9 lead in the ninth inning with two on and two outs, the Pirates elected to intentionally walk Pete Crow-Armstrong — who finished the game 4 for 4 — to face Bethancourt one final time. Closer David Bednar was once again unsuccessful in a save effort, serving up a single to Bethancourt that scored the tying and go-ahead runs.
"Just the fact that it's right on right,” Shelton said when asked about his decision to pitch against Bethancourt with the game on the line. “Crow-Armstrong has handled the ball at the top of the zone."
Chicago kept its rally going after Bednar’s exit, scoring three more runs to run away with the ballgame. Bednar’s loss dropped him to 3-7 on the season. The two-time All-Star surrendered five earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning of work Wednesday afternoon.
"He had no command of the secondary stuff,” Shelton said. “Had to throw fastballs. I mean, we almost got out of it. Alika [Williams] made a hell of a play, and we almost got out of it. [Isiah Kiner-Falefa] would've had to make a good play, but I mean, we have to cover. We had a 10-3 lead into the seventh. We have to cover the game."
On the mound
Paul Skenes started slow but finished strong. Cody Bellinger tagged the rookie for a run in the top of the first with a two-out, RBI single that scored Ian Happ. The Cubs scored twice more in the top of the second, building a 3-1 lead prior to a five-run explosion by the Pirates offense in the bottom half of the frame.
After getting a lead, Skenes didn’t look back. The flame-throwing right-hander pitched a perfect third and fourth inning, striking out four of the six batters he faced. And while the Cubs managed to put a pair of runners on in the fifth, Skenes was able to dance out of the jam without surrendering any further damage.
“I've faced the Reds twice, Dodgers twice, third time facing these guys,” Skenes said. “I think, to some extent, when you face a team multiple times, the scouting report goes out the window a little bit in terms of plans with individual guys. You've got to read how they're going to attack. We were able to do that after the first couple innings today, and we shut them down pretty good."
Skenes allowed the three earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out six. Just 82 pitches into his outing, Shelton elected to pull Skenes due to the Pirates holding onto a comfortable seven-run lead. But the decision to rely upon the bullpen to cover the final four innings backfired.
"That's a time you should be able to take the guy out, where you're trying to make sure that you're being thoughtful about his innings, with the lead that we had,” Shelton said. “That's a game that we had to finish, and we didn't finish it."
At the plate
Each of the Pirates’ starting nine offensive players reached base safely through three innings of Wednesday’s game. The last time such a feat was accomplished by a Pirates club took place on June 9, 2010, against the Washington Nationals.
Pittsburgh’s big offensive effort came thanks in large part to a five-run second inning, in which they sent 11 batters to the plate, chasing Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks in the process. The Pirates continued to build on after the big inning, scoring two more runs in both the fourth and fifth.
Bryan Reynolds, Rowdy Tellez and Connor Joe each finished the afternoon with three hits, while Oneil Cruz and Jared Triolo tallied a pair. Reynolds was the most productive Pirates hitter Wednesday, going 3 for 5 with a walk, a solo homer, three RBIs and three runs scored. Joe also homered in the loss, marking his second long ball in the past three games.
But despite 10 runs and 16 hits, the Pirates were unable to come away with a victory.
“I think we need to play a complete game,” Joe said. “ ... When we’re not scoring runs, [we] try to press too much at the plate. On the mound, just not letting pitches compile and that sort of stuff. Stop putting a lot of pressure on ourselves and get back to competing, pitch to pitch.”
In the field
Wednesday’s loss also marked the first game for Cruz in center field. Cruz flashed his arm strength in the second inning on a line-drive single from Crow-Armstrong.
The recently converted outfielder fielded the ball cleanly and delivered a strike throw to home with a velocity of 103.3 mph. Yasmani Grandal, however, was unable to catch Cruz’s missile, allowing the ball to sail past the plate, a run to score and Crow-Armstrong to advance an extra base.
"He threw the ball to the right base, made a good throw to the plate,” Shelton said of Cruz. “He's gonna have to learn how to long hop, it kinda short hopped. But, I mean, the other times, he threw the ball to the right base. He had two fly balls. He did a nice job."
“I felt good,” Cruz said with major-league coach Stephen Morales translating. “Not like playing shortstop, but I felt pretty good.”
They said it
"There's no complacency. It's execution,” Shelton said after the loss. “We've gotta execute. We're not executing. If you don't execute at the end of games, you don't win games. That's what happened to us in August. It's what we did a really good job at in June and July. We need to figure it out."
Up next
Thursday: Off day
Friday: Pirates at Guardians, 7:10 p.m., Progressive Field
TV, radio: SportsNet Pittsburgh, KDKA-FM (93.7 The Fan)
Probable pitchers: LHP Bailey Falter (6-7, 4.25) for Pirates; RHP Ben Lively (11-8, 3.62) for Guardians
Key matchup: Falter is 2-0 in his last five starts since losing a 5-2 decision against the Mets on July 6 at PNC Park.
Hidden stat: Oneil Cruz has reached base safely in 20 straight games and has hit safely in his last nine.
Saturday: Pirates at Guardians, 6:10 p.m., Progressive Field
Probable pitchers: RHP Luis Ortiz (5-4, 3.36) for Pirates; LHP Matt Boyd (1-0, 2.70) for Guardians
First Published: August 28, 2024, 8:22 p.m.
Updated: August 29, 2024, 5:32 p.m.
