The Pirates returned home to PNC Park for a week-long homestand against the Colorado Rockies and Philadelphia Phillies, and it felt like a massive opportunity in the early portion of the season. With the Cubs and Brewers both facing difficult competition this week, the door was open for the Pirates to gain some ground in the division if they could simply take care of business against two teams that have struggled for most of the year.
Game 1 could not have started much better, especially when you consider who was on the mound.
How do you follow up an eight-inning scoreless gem in Arizona? Apparently by doing almost the exact same thing again.
Paul Skenes was absolutely electric from the very first pitch against Colorado. To say he got off to a good start would be an understatement. Skenes struck out the first six batters he faced, completely overpowering the Rockies lineup to the point where it honestly looked unfair. The dominance became so overwhelming that Willi Castro essentially waved the white flag in the third inning by dropping down a bunt right back toward the mound just to stop the strikeout streak. It genuinely felt like the Rockies were saying, “Here, just take the out. Let us at least make contact.” Skenes smiled as he fielded it cleanly and reportedly muttered “Nice bunt!” while Castro walked back toward the dugout.
By the end of the sixth inning, Skenes had faced the minimum and retired all 18 batters he officially faced. He did hit a batter earlier in the game, but Henry Davis immediately erased it by gunning the runner down attempting to steal second base. Skenes was completely cruising.
The no-hit bid finally ended in the seventh inning when Mickey Moniak dropped a soft single into left field just beyond the diving reach of Oneil Cruz. The crowd gave Skenes a huge ovation for the effort, but he was far from finished. He quickly recorded two more outs to finish the seventh before returning for yet another dominant inning in the eighth. Just like his previous start in Arizona, Skenes finished his night after eight shutout innings and just under 100 pitches. His final line was absurd once again: 8.0 innings pitched, two hits, no earned runs, no walks, and 10 strikeouts.
The reigning NL Cy Young winner has entered another stratosphere lately, and honestly, it has become must-watch baseball every time he takes the mound.
Thankfully for the Pirates, the offense gave him more than enough support. They jumped on the board early after Cruz led off the first inning with a double and Bryan Reynolds followed with a walk. With two outs, Nick Gonzales came through again with an RBI single to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. At this point, what else is there to say about Gonzales? Fans constantly harp on the lack of power and extra-base hits, but the guy simply produces. He just hits.
The Pirates added another run in the fifth after Cruz ripped yet another double. Brandon Lowe followed with a two-out RBI single to right field, bringing Cruz home on a close play at the plate. Cruz’s speed was on full display as he flew around third and slid home safely. One inning later, Reynolds added an infield hit that scored Konnor Griffin to make it 3-0.
With the way Skenes was throwing, three runs felt like thirty.
Gregory Soto entered in the ninth to finish things off and briefly made things interesting after allowing a couple doubles that brought home a run, but he shut the door from there to secure a 3-1 Pirates victory.
After the opener, it felt like the Pirates were in perfect position to stack another win and take control of the series, and Game 2 started in almost identical fashion.
Mitch Keller looked completely unhittable early on, carving through the Rockies lineup with incredible efficiency. Keller retired the first 12 batters he faced and needed very few pitches to do it. Through four innings, he was perfect and looked totally locked in.
While Keller dominated on the mound, the Pirates offense found a way to provide some run support, even if it came in one of the weirdest innings you will ever see.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the second inning, Davis smoked a line drive toward third base that looked destined to drive in runs. Instead, Kyle Karros made an unbelievable diving stop to keep the ball in the infield, and then complete chaos broke out. Karros fired toward second base, but Lowe beat the throw by running through the bag, a move that the St. Louis Cardinals have made famous over the years. That alone allowed one run to score, but things somehow got even stranger after that. With Gonzales trapped in a rundown between third and home, pitcher Jose Quintana was called for interference, resulting in Gonzales being awarded home plate. If that entire sequence sounds confusing, that is because it absolutely was. Somehow, after all the madness, the Pirates suddenly led 2-0.
They added another run in the third inning thanks to Griffin and Reynolds. Griffin hustled his way into a leadoff double, and Reynolds quickly brought him home with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 3-0.
At that point, it honestly felt like a carbon copy of Game 1, but then the fifth inning happened.
Keller went from retiring 12 straight batters to suddenly being unable to record an out. The Rockies ripped off five consecutive hits in a matter of moments, instantly erasing the 3-0 deficit and tying the game. Keller managed to stop the bleeding temporarily by recording a couple outs, but Moniak delivered the crushing blow when he demolished a three-run homer that completely flipped the game on its head. In the blink of an eye, the Pirates went from comfortably in control to trailing 6-3, and the entire vibe inside PNC Park died immediately.
Honestly, the biggest thought after the game was simply this: how did Keller go from completely unhittable to whatever that fifth inning was?
The Pirates tried to respond. Ryan O'Hearn launched a solo homer in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to two, and for a brief moment some life returned to the ballpark. That feeling disappeared pretty quickly, however.
Brandan Bidois made his MLB debut later in the game and looked understandably shaky at times, though Davis helped him escape a jam with another excellent throw that caught a runner sleeping at third base. Unfortunately, the next big moment went Colorado’s way as Bidois surrendered a solo homer on a full count with two outs to make it 7-4 and completely suck the life back out of the stadium.
Just to make things worse, Justin Lawrence entered later and struggled again, allowing three more runs while also committing a brutal throwing error that helped turn the game into a 10-4 rout.
What looked like it was going to become another dominant Pirates victory completely unraveled in the middle innings, and suddenly a series that felt firmly under control was headed toward a decisive Game 3.
The Pirates were banking on the opener strategy in that rubber match, with Mason Montgomery getting the start before turning things over to Carmen Mlodzinski for long relief.
Right from the jump, it worked exactly as planned.
Montgomery allowed a hit in the first inning, but his electric stuff was on full display as he struck out three. He continues to be such a bright spot for this team, and honestly that Brandon Lowe trade somehow keeps looking better and better by the day. After Montgomery’s strong opening frame, Evan Sisk entered and tossed a clean 1-2-3 second inning to buy Mlodzinski an extra inning of rest before he entered the game.
While the pitching staff executed the plan perfectly early, the Pirates offense made sure there would be no wasted opportunities this time around.
The first two games of the series had both featured moments where the Pirates left some meat on the bone offensively. That was not the case in the rubber match.
Cruz got things rolling immediately with a leadoff double that came courtesy of some poor Rockies outfield communication. Honestly, it felt pretty nice seeing another team deal with that problem for once. After Lowe lifted a fly ball that moved Cruz over to third, Reynolds lined an RBI single to make it 1-0. Then O’Hearn stepped up and absolutely launched a two-run homer into the right-center field seats to make it 3-0 before Colorado could even settle in.
The bats went right back to work in the third. O’Hearn and Griffin ripped back-to-back singles to open the inning before Marcell Ozuna worked a walk to load the bases for freshly recalled Endy Rodriguez. Endy wasted no time making an impact, lacing a double off the Roberto Clemente Wall in his first at-bat back. In his very next chance, he delivered again with a sharp single into center field that drove in two more runs and stretched the lead to 5-0.
Those hits had to feel incredible for Rodriguez after all the tough injury luck he has battled through trying to work his way back to the big leagues. Good for him, and really good for the Pirates.
Cruz later drove in another run with a groundout and just like that it was 6-0 after only three innings.
Mlodzinski gave a couple runs back in the fourth after issuing two walks, which quickly turned into a two-run double from Troy Johnston. It was the perfect reminder of why free passes can become dangerous so quickly, even with a large cushion.
The Pirates answered back in the bottom half. After Spencer Horwitz doubled and Rodriguez worked another quality at-bat that resulted in a walk, Jared Triolo picked up his second hit of the day with an RBI single to make it 7-2. The bottom part of the lineup, especially Rodriguez and Triolo, really carried the offense in the finale.
Mlodzinski continued grinding through traffic over the next few innings. There were multiple moments where Colorado threatened to claw back, but each time he got exactly what he needed by inducing ground balls that allowed the Pirates infield to turn double plays. The second of those twin killings ended the seventh inning, and Mlodzinski came off the mound fired up. The dugout greeted him with high fives all around, and the smile on his face said everything.
It is not always sunshine and rainbows when Mlodzinski takes the mound, but with all the outside noise surrounding his place in the rotation, he continues to handle himself well.
Dennis Santana followed with a clean 1-2-3 eighth inning and looked far more like himself, needing only 12 pitches to retire the top of Colorado’s lineup.
Then came one last test for another struggling bullpen arm. Yohan Ramirez immediately walked the first batter he faced in the ninth with a five-run lead, which is always a major no-no. To his credit, he bounced back in a big way by striking out Castro before inducing yet another double play ball to end the game.
That was that. The Pirates took the rubber match 7-2 and secured the series victory.
Final Thoughts:
- This was not technically a must-win game, but it absolutely felt like a much-needed one. Dropping a home series to Colorado fresh off losing a series in San Francisco to another struggling club would have sent some really ugly vibes into Rivalry Weekend against the Phillies. Instead, the Pirates responded exactly the way they needed to and handled business against a bad baseball team.
- O’Hearn looked every bit like the professional hitter he has been all season after a brief slump, tallying three hits in the finale and homering for the second time in the series.
- The offense failed to cash in enough during the first two games, but it absolutely came through when it mattered most in Game 3.
- How about that return to the big leagues for Endy Rodriguez? Awesome stuff to see.
Now the Pirates turn their attention to a huge weekend matchup against the Philadelphia Phillies. The pitching matchups are outstanding, the ballpark should be packed, and these are exactly the kinds of games this team wants to win with a full house behind them.
Game 1 is set for 6:40 PM as Braxton Ashcraft squares off against Aaron Nola.
