The Pirates entered the series in Philadelphia at an even .500, still looking for that pivotal jump in their season. They have been teetering around that .500 line for quite some time now, and while it has not hurt their season too much yet, it is certainly getting to be that time where they will need to go on a run if they want to see postseason baseball.
That said, the next month or so is filled with teams above .500, and this very well could be the toughest stretch they will face all season. It may be more about survival than dominance over the course of this month. Earning at least a split in Philadelphia against a red-hot Phillies team would have felt like an encouraging start.
Game 1
Game 1 may have been the game of the year for this Pirates ball club, but you would have never guessed that with the way it started.
The Pirates' most reliable arm, Braxton Ashcraft, got shelled for five runs early and Pittsburgh found itself staring at a 5-0 deficit.
Fortunately, the Bucco offense came ready to play. Esmerlyn Valdez started the comeback with his fourth home run in as many days, blasting a no-doubt two-run shot into the left field seats. The Magician has been seeing the ball incredibly well lately, and he has added even more thump to an offense that has already been one of the better units in baseball.
The Pirates put together one of their best offensive innings of the season in the fifth to completely flip the game on its head. Jared Triolo led off the inning with his first home run of the season to make it 5-3. Jake Mangum followed with a double before Konnor Griffin executed a perfectly placed bunt to keep the rally rolling. Brandon Lowe brought the Pirates within one with a sacrifice fly, then Ryan O'Hearn tied the game with an RBI single after Griffin stole second and advanced to third on a wild throw into the outfield.
Pittsburgh was not done there. Endy Rodriguez worked a bases-loaded walk to give the Pirates the lead, and another throwing error that nearly sailed into the Phillies dugout allowed two more runs to score. Just like that, the Pirates had turned a 5-0 hole into an 8-5 lead.
That score held until the eighth, when the Phillies made one last push. Brandon Marsh launched his second home run of the game, this one off Gregory Soto, to cut the lead to 8-6. Later in the inning, JT Realmuto floated a soft RBI single into right field to bring Philadelphia within one at 8-7. Yohan Ramirez was able to escape the inning, but the Phillies had turned the lineup over heading into the ninth.
With the heart of Philadelphia's order due up, insurance runs felt absolutely vital. Endy Rodriguez made sure the Pirates got them. After O'Hearn singled and Valdez walked with two outs, Rodriguez crushed a three-run homer into the right-center field seats to silence the crowd and put the game away. There could not have been a bigger swing in a bigger moment.
Mason Montgomery worked around the top of the Phillies lineup in the ninth, and the Pirates walked away with one of their biggest and most satisfying victories of the season.
Game 2
After the thrilling opener, Game 2 was the complete opposite.
Christopher Sánchez took the mound for Philadelphia and did exactly what he has done against the Pirates all season. After throwing a complete-game shutout against Pittsburgh at PNC Park earlier this year, he followed it up with seven more scoreless innings in this one. He had Pirates hitters completely fooled throughout the night, and there were very few legitimate scoring opportunities for Pittsburgh.
The bats remained quiet even after Sánchez exited, and one of the better offenses in baseball was blanked. To make matters worse, a combination of Bubba Chandler, Isaac Mattson, and Brandan Bidois surrendered eight runs as the Phillies cruised to an 8-0 victory to even the series.
Game 3
That set the stage for a pivotal Game 3 featuring one of the premier pitching matchups in baseball: Paul Skenes versus Zack Wheeler. It was a big start on a big stage for a struggling Skenes, and unfortunately the struggles continued.
In the second inning, a combination of sloppy defense, questionable challenge decisions, and a three-run blast by Trea Turner led to five Phillies runs. Before long, Philadelphia had built a commanding lead.
There has been a mixture of people remaining calm and others beginning to panic when it comes to Skenes. After this outing, it certainly felt like the panic side continued to grow after he allowed three more runs before exiting.
His final line read 4.0 innings, six hits, seven earned runs, five strikeouts, and two walks.
Despite the rough outing, the Pirates kept battling.Henry Davis launched a solo homer, and Bryan Reynolds drove home Konnor Griffin after Griffin reached on an infield single and stole second.
Trailing 8-2, Pittsburgh refused to go away. Nick Gonzales delivered an RBI single before Jared Triolo was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to plate another run. Later, Triolo came through again with a two-run double off the wall to suddenly pull the Pirates within 8-6 in the seventh inning. The Battlin' Bucs had life.
Unfortunately, that momentum did not last. The Pirates could not push across another run in the seventh, and Dennis Santana, after striking out the first two batters he faced, surrendered a crushing two-run homer to Alec Bohm that effectively ended the comeback. Philadelphia claimed Game 3 by a score of 10-6 to take a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4
As mentioned at the beginning of this series, a split against the red-hot Phillies would have felt like a "survive and move on" scenario. Despite dropping the previous two games, the Pirates still had an opportunity to accomplish exactly that.
Pittsburgh entered the finale facing Alan Rangel, a pitcher who has bounced between the majors and minors while carrying an ERA around 4.50.
Unfortunately, what has become a frustrating trend showed up again. The Pirates had plenty of opportunities against a lesser starter but repeatedly stranded runners in scoring position. Rangel worked through multiple jams and completed four scoreless innings while Bryce Harper's RBI double in the third gave Philadelphia a 1-0 lead.
One player who refused to let those missed opportunities define the night was Esmerlyn Valdez. After a Jake Mangum double and a Brandon Lowe single in the fifth inning, Valdez lined a base hit back through the middle to tie the game.
He came through in a big way yet again in the seventh. With Lowe standing in scoring position, Valdez ripped a ball past the diving center fielder and hustled all the way to third for a huge go-ahead RBI triple. The Magician continues to produce at an incredible rate, and every big moment seems to find him lately.
Nick Gonzales added to the lead by doing what he does best, hitting with runners in scoring position. He dropped a two-out RBI single into center field to make it 3-1.
Then came more insurance courtesy of the big fly. Endy Rodriguez led off the eighth with a solo homer to stretch the advantage to 4-1. Later in the inning, Valdez stepped up with the bases loaded and lifted a deep fly ball to the wall that easily scored another run and pushed the lead to 5-1.
Gregory Soto followed with one of his better outings in quite some time, retiring Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper in order during a dominant eighth inning. After some recent struggles, that was an encouraging sign for one of the Pirates' biggest bullpen arms.
Nick Gonzales added one final exclamation point with a solo homer in the ninth to make it 6-1.
Mason Montgomery finished things off in the bottom half, and the Pirates earned a hard-fought split in Philadelphia. Considering the quality of the opponent and the stretch of baseball ahead, it was a very respectable outcome to begin the road trip.
Final Thoughts
Esmerlyn Valdez continues to be one of the best stories in baseball right now. The Magician has completely changed the complexion of this Pirates lineup over the last few weeks. Every series seems to feature another clutch hit, another home run, or another big moment from the rookie. Whether it was his four-home run stretch, the game-changing hits throughout this series, or simply the confidence he is playing with, Valdez has quickly become one of the biggest catalysts for this offense. If he keeps swinging the bat like this, he is going to be a major factor in whether this team finds its way into postseason contention.
The Pirates also showed plenty of resilience throughout the series. They erased a five-run deficit to steal Game 1, nearly climbed all the way back again in Game 3, and responded with a strong all-around effort in the finale to earn a split against one of the hottest teams in baseball. It was not perfect, but surviving this series on the road against Philadelphia is a result the Pirates should gladly take.
Most importantly, Paul Skenes HAS to figure it out. Period.
Next up for the Pirates is another important series against a fellow Wild Card contender as they head to the nation's capital to take on the Nationals. The opener is set for Friday night with first pitch at 6:45 PM as Mitch Keller takes on Foster Griffin.
