Pirates
Back to Reality: Pirates’ Offense Shut Down and Shut Out by Nats
PITTSBURGH — The magic the Phiten necklaces provided the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night wore off as the offense came back to earth on Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals.
For the second time in three games, the Pirates were blanked, falling 3-0 to the Nats at PNC Park.
How We Got Here
James Wood led off the game with a 445-foot blast to center field for his sixth home run of the season.
Pirates starter Mitch Keller (1-2) managed to keep the Nationals (7-10) off the board until the sixth inning. With two outs, Keller hit Paul DeJong in the face with a 92.7 mph fastball. DeJong was replaced on the bases by Amed Rosario. After a two-out hit and stolen base from Dylan Crews, Nasim Nuñez broke his bat and dumped a two-run single into center field.
Jake Irvin, Jose A. Ferrer and Kyle Finnegan contributed in the shutout and didn’t allow a runner to reach third base. Finnegan recorded his sixth save of the season.
Key Moment
The Pirates (6-12) were at least within striking distance in a 1-0 deficit, but Nuñez’s two-run bloop single proved to be a back-breaker.
Star of the Game
Jake Irvin (1-0) scattered three singles in 7.0 shutout innings. He walked one batter and struck out six. It was his longest outing of the season and the fifth time in 61 career starts he’s gone at least 7.0 innings.
Notable Pirates’ Performances
- Mitch Keller: 6.0 innings, six hits, three runs, two walks, three strikeouts, 105 pitches/67 strikes
- Jack Suwinski: 2 for 4
- Tommy Pham: 1 for 2, one walk
Stat to Know
A day after collecting a season-high 14 hits in 31 at-bats (.452 batting average), the Pirates went just 4 for 31 (.129).
Noteworthy
- Jack Suwinski recorded his first multi-hit game since last year on July 23 against the Cardinals.
- The Pirates placed C Endy Rodríguez on the 10-day injured list with a right hand laceration. RHP Chase Shugart was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis. Additionally, C Abraham Gutierrez was added to the taxi squad.
Up Next
LHP Bailey Falter (0-2, 7.20 ERA) will look for his first win of the season on Wednesday night. LHP Mitchell Parker (2-0, 1.96 ERA) will start for the Nationals. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET.
Lots of Mendoza Line and under hitters! Good thing they fired last hitting coach! New hitting coach is making Pirates fans have nightmares. Why buy a sports team and not even have a F…ing clue! Lucky I was able to see 2 World Series in my lifetime, I feel bad for those who won’t ever see one as long as Nutsack owns them!
Lots of Mendoza line hitters, I will never understand buying a sports team and never trying to win!
For now Pittsburgh pirates is underwhelmed.
Pirates have lot young player who can make the job . Experience not means the job is done..
When you only have a couple hitters who can impact a game with their bat, you might as well have zero. Because the other team will give those 2 absolutely NOTHING to hit. You can’t pitch around 5 or 6.
So true and its hurt the young hitters development for years.
This team is so snake bit right now, nothing can go right. You have Keller one pitch away from pitching 6 strong innings of 1-run ball, then he hits a guy in the face and unravels. You just knew with utmost certainty when watching that 10-pitch Nunez at-bat that it wasn’t going to end well, even though he is a relative unknown. Sure enough, he shatters his bat and bloops a 2-run single to CF.
By contrast, we get the first 2 guys on in the top of that inning, and you know equally as well that we will somehow NOT score.
Move needed to be made immediately Shelton out Kelly in. At the end of the season if that didn’t bring improvement everyone out except Marin and Strom. Changing GMs at this point in the season makes no sense. If the players that Ben assembled do not perform after being liberated from Shelton’s blundering, then also show him the door. However, if they do well or at least reasonably well it will show Shelton was the problem and BC keeps his job for another year. This is the best that can be done right now because the biggest impediment to winning will not sell the team. The other small market teams owners have opened up their wallets when appropriate to get a quality free agent. This hasn’t occurred in Pittsburgh in either the Cherrington or Huntington eras. If allowed I am willing to bet Huntington, if allowed, would have signed a pitcher and would have not been in desperation mode resulting in the Chris Archer. Just as BC would have pursued someone of the ilk of Anthony Santander.