The Pirates entered Cincinnati in the midst of the toughest stretch of their season, and with the trade deadline looming, this four-game series felt like one of the biggest of the year. Sitting right in the middle of the National League Wild Card race, Pittsburgh had an opportunity to make a statement before the front office had to decide exactly how aggressive it wanted to be at the deadline.
Instead, the Pirates left Great American Ball Park with another series loss and even more questions than answers.
Game 1 set the tone for what would become a frustrating series. The Pirates opted for a bullpen game, and for the most part, the pitching staff did enough to win. Yohan Ramirez got things started with two scoreless innings before Hunter Barco ran into some trouble and surrendered a pair of runs. Noah Murdock didn't have his cleanest outing either, but he repeatedly worked himself into jams before finding a way back out of them, giving the Pirates several valuable scoreless innings.
The offense, however, continued to be the problem. Pittsburgh struggled to generate much of anything all night and once again found itself relying on Brandon Lowe to carry the lineup. Lowe delivered in the sixth inning, launching a solo homer to tie the game at 2 and briefly breathe some life into the Pirates.
Mason Montgomery then turned in arguably his most dominant outing of the season. He needed just seven pitches to carve through the eighth inning and looked completely untouchable.
That made the ninth inning decision all the more surprising. Rather than sending Montgomery back out after such an efficient frame, Don Kelly handed the ball to Gregory Soto to face the top of Cincinnati's lineup. The move backfired quickly. Soto looked out of sync from the start and eventually allowed the winning run to cross the plate as the Reds walked off the Pirates, 3-2.
Game 2 somehow found a way to be even more painful. Paul Skenes took the mound looking to stop Pittsburgh's recent slide, but he never looked quite like himself. The Reds forced him to labor from the opening inning, where he needed 36 pitches just to escape. Cincinnati scratched across two early runs before Jake Mangum answered with his third home run of the season to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead.
The back-and-forth battle continued throughout the night. Nick Gonzales drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the opening inning, and despite Skenes allowing five earned runs, the Pirates kept finding ways to answer offensively.
Trailing 5-4 entering the eighth inning with two outs, Pittsburgh finally looked ready to steal the game. Henry Davis, Jake Mangum, and Brandon Lowe ripped three consecutive RBI singles to suddenly put the Pirates in front 7-5.
Unfortunately, the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Cincinnati rallied to tie the game before Nick Gonzales’ costly blunder allowed the go-ahead run to score, turning what looked like it might become one of the Pirates' biggest comeback wins of the season into another crushing defeat.
Gonzales had an opportunity to make a routine throw across the diamond but instead forced a throw to second that ultimately cost the Pirates. It was the type of mistake that has become all too common during this rough stretch. The Pirates simply look like a team pressing, and right now they are playing losing baseball.
To make matters even worse, Ryan O'Hearn exited the game with a quad injury that will sideline him for the next six to eight weeks.
At that moment, it truly felt like the lowest point of Pittsburgh's season. Skenes struggled again, the bullpen let another game slip away, sloppy defense returned at the worst possible time, and one of the team's best hitters landed on the injured list.
To their credit, the Pirates answered in Game 3. Braxton Ashcraft continued his impressive rookie campaign with another quality outing, allowing just a solo home run to JJ Bleday while otherwise keeping Cincinnati in check. After Ashcraft exited, Carmen Mlodzinski was outstanding in relief. He looked electric out of the bullpen and slammed the door long before Gregory Soto recorded the save in the ninth.
The offense got some unexpected help from the weather. Heavy rain created all sorts of problems for Reds starter Andrew Abbott, who repeatedly struggled to get comfortable on the mound. The Pirates took advantage of the conditions by drawing several key walks that helped plate their first two runs before Nick Gonzales added another with a ground out to make it 3-0.
Henry Davis later added an RBI single in the sixth inning to provide insurance, and despite a lengthy rain delay, the Pirates stayed in control throughout the night on their way to a much-needed 4-1 victory.
Any momentum from that win disappeared quickly in the finale. The Reds jumped all over Mitch Keller, chasing him after just two innings as another rough outing continued his recent struggles. Cincinnati never looked back.
Chase Burns dominated the Pirates lineup, while the Reds offense continued to pile on throughout the afternoon. Camilo Doval surrendered a home run in his Pirates debut, Don Kelly was ejected after arguing with the umpiring crew over the handling of the rainy conditions, and Ke'Bryan Hayes even homered against his former club to really run salt in the wound. None of the above was fun to watch.
By the time the final out was recorded, the Reds had completed a convincing 10-2 victory and sent the Pirates home after another disappointing series loss.
Final Thoughts
The Pirates now find themselves 3.5 games out of the final National League Wild Card spot, and the margin for error is shrinking by the day. With the trade deadline approaching, this was about the worst final impression they could have made if they hoped to convince the front office that this group is ready for reinforcements.
The frustrating part is that it wasn't just one thing that went wrong in Cincinnati. The bullpen let another late lead slip away. The defense made costly mistakes. Paul Skenes continued searching for answers. Mitch Keller struggled again. Ryan O'Hearn suffered a major injury. Every time it felt like the Pirates had a chance to build momentum, something else seemed to knock them back down.
This team is still close enough to make a run, but they need to figure things out quickly before this season completely slips away.
Next up for the Pirates is a huge divisional matchup against the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. Game 1 is set for Friday night at American Family Field as Bubba Chandler takes the ball against Brandon Sproat. First pitch is scheduled for 7:40 PM.
