Pirates’ Offense Struggles Again, Limited Support for Struggling Mlodzinski

PHILADELPHIA—The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 5-2 to the Phillies on Saturday, May 17, unable to mount any offense for their first eight innings to support a rough start from right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski.

The Pirates (15-31) managed four hits, two of which left the infield. Mlodzinski allowed four runs in 3.1 innings, with both of the baserunners he passed on to reliever Joey Wentz scoring on a single from Phillies’ second baseman Bryson Stott. Stott also stung Mlodzinski for a solo home run.

Philadelphia didn’t even need a third turn through the lineup to get to the reliever-turned-starter. Entering play, Mlodzinski notched a 0.00 ERA in his first two innings per game and a 9.30 ERA in innings three through five (21 earned runs across 20.1 innings pitched). After a strong start to the month of May, he fell back to square one.

The Phillies ended that streak, picking up three hits in the first inning and opening a 1-0 lead. Stott began the third with a homer to make it 2-0, then Philadelphia chased Mlodzinski from the game the following inning. While the Pirates’ bullpen ended the game with four scoreless innings, they’d already suffered fatal damage.

After Andrew McCutchen drew a one out walk, Bryan Reynolds slugged a two-run homer to break up the shutout.

Key Moment

Philadelphia’s three-run rally in the fourth inning, powered through a two-run single from Bryson Stott and a Bryce Harper double, put the Pirates in a hole their bats couldn’t dig out of.

Star of the Game

 Stott, who went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.

Notable Pirates Performances

•  Ke’Bryan Hayes, who went 1-for-3 with two strikeouts.
• Oneil Cruz made it back into the starting lineup but didn’t look anywhere near his best, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
• Bryan Reynolds went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk.

Stat to Know

The Pirates possess a 3-12 record in the month of May. Over the ten games prior to the start of play, Pittsburgh’s starting rotation possessed a 2.09 ERA that ranked second-best in Major League Baseball. They played to a 3-7 record across that stretch.

Noteworthy

•  Andrew McCutchen needs just one more hit to notch his 1,700th all-time with the Pirates. He currently occupies the No. 10 spot on Pittsburgh’s all-time hits leaderboard.
• The Pirates’ last series win in Philadelphia came in July 2017.
• Pittsburgh’s all-time record now sits just four games above .500 at 10854-10850. They sat 522 games above .500 at the start of the 1993 season.

Up Next

The Pirates will look to avoid a sweep beginning at 1:35p.m. on Sunday, May 18. Pittsburgh will send staff ace Paul Skenes (3-4, 2.63 ERA) to the mound against Phillies’ rookie and No. 8 ranked prospect Mick Abel, set to make his big league debut.