Pirates’ Slide Continues With Clemente Day Loss; Ex-Bucco Mows ‘Em Down, Had a Chance Late
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates’ woes continued with a 4-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on Clemente Day.
How We Got There
Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft struck out four batters — including three of the first four he faced — through the first two innings before unraveling. Michael Busch put the Cubs (86-64) ahead with a solo home run in the third and Chicago added another later in the inning on a wild pitch.
Pete Crow Armstrong and Dansby Swanson hit back-to-back doubles off Ashcraft (4-3) in the fourth to extend their lead to 3-0.
The Cubs tacked on another in the sixth courtesy of Pete Crow-Armstrong’s solo homer off Cam Sanders.
With the loss, the Pirates (65-86) have dropped nine of their last 10 games after winning 12 of 16.
Key Moment
The Pirates loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Brad Keller entered in relief of Porter Hodge and struck out Jared Triolo to end the game.
Player of the Game
Former Pirates pitcher Jameson Taillon (10-6) blanked Pittsburgh on two hits across six-excellent innings. He walked a pair of batters and struck out three.
Stat to Know
Braxton Ashcraft has allowed home runs in back to back appearances. He only allowed one home run through the first 21 appearances of his career. Entering play, he was one of two pitchers to log 50-plus innings and allow two or fewer home runs since making his debut on May 26. (Sean Newcomb — A’s).
Notable Performances
- Braxton Ashcraft: 4.0 innings, six hits, three runs, two walks, four strikeouts, 70 pitches/46 strikes
- Bryan Reynolds: 1 for 2, one walk, one HBP
Noteworthy
- All Pirates’ uniformed personnel wore No. 21 for Clemente Day.
- The Pirates were out-hit 9-3.
- The Pirates reinstated OF Jack Suwinski from the 10-day injured list and optioned OF Ji Hwan Bae to Triple-A Indianapolis.
Up Next
RHP Paul Skenes (10-9, 1.92 ERA) will look to bolster his Cy Young case for the Pirates on Tuesday. RHP Cade Horton (10-4, 2.70ERA) will try and strengthen his Rookie of the Year chances for the Cubs. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET.
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