After a war of a series against the Yankees in the Bronx earlier in the week, the Pirates returned home over the weekend for a matchup against a solid Chicago Cubs squad. It was Yinzerpalooza in the Burgh, with giveaways and events throughout the weekend. With a packed house for every game, the Bucs dropped the series but salvaged the final game to survive in the brutal NL Wild Card chase.
Game one was a series of frustrations. Jared Jones delivered an utterly dominant start, which is becoming a trend for him. Jones allowed just two hits and a single walk over six strong innings, and gave up just one run on a Pete Crow-Armstrong solo blast. Unfortunately, the Pirates' offense was equally befuddled by Matthew Boyd, who twirled seven one-run frames. Boyd wasn't great—he gave up ten baserunners—but time and time again the Pirates failed to drive them in. This was most apparent in the fifth inning, where the Pirates loaded the bases with no outs but were only able to score one on a Henry Davis squibber. Overall, the Pirates went just 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base, unable to deliver an extra-base hit the entire game. There were also some odd baserunning mishaps, as the Bucs had multiple runners thrown out throughout the contest. And yet, after nine innings, the Pirates were still in a great position, with the game still tied at one as it went to extra innings. A massive part of this was great outings from Wilber Dotel, Mason Montgomery, and Gregory Soto, who blanked the Cubs after the PCA homer. Unfortunately, the tenth inning didn't go the Pirates' way. Yohan Ramirez got two outs, but a Dansby Swanson single to Jake Mangum in center sent Ian Happ toward home for a play at the plate. Mangum and Henry Davis combined for a great effort, appearing to nail Happ at the plate. However, Happ was called safe, and the Bucs immediately challenged. It appeared as though Happ's foot went over the plate as Davis got the tag down, but the review crew in New York didn't see enough to overturn the call on the field. Down 2-1 with runners on first and second, Ramirez delivered two wide ones to PCA, and Don Kelly made the controversial call to intentionally walk the MVP favorite to load the bases. This proved to be a fatal decision, as Yohan immediately walked Seiya Suzuki on four pitches to send home another run. He got Michael Busch swinging to end the inning, keeping the score within reach, but the Bucs weren't able to deliver in the bottom of the inning. Jake Mangum tried to bunt for a single unsuccessfully, Nick Gonzales grounded out to score the ghost runner, and Bryan Reynolds lined out sharply to leave the Bucs with a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat.
Game two was looking like another low-scoring affair going into the fifth inning. Paul Skenes delivered a solid performance even though his line ended up being ugly, as he allowed three runs in the fifth and then two more in the sixth. He was able to strike out eleven batters, but simply ran out of steam in this one. The Pirates' offense was horrendous again, unable to push across a run the entire game. Shota Imanaga came into the game with a 0.28 lifetime ERA against the Bucs, and somehow came out of the game with an even better number. The Bucs absolutely cannot figure out the crafty lefty, as they have now scored just a single run total against him in his seven starts versus the club. The game was essentially over after the sixth, and the Pirates' bullpen got taxed in the blowout, as Isaac Mattson, newly acquired Ron Marinaccio, and Greg Eisert all turned in bad performances to push the score to 11-0. Tyler Callihan found himself on the mound for the fourth time this year in the ninth inning, and miraculously stayed unscathed on the year, allowing no runs yet again. Other than that, there was absolutely nothing to write home about in this one—the Buccos once again were not able to tally an extra-base hit.
Vibes were low going into game three. Brandon Lowe, Ryan O'Hearn, Bryan Reynolds, and Esmerlyn Valdez were all in the midst of their worst stretches of the year, and the offense had scored just two total runs in the last 18 regulation innings. And yet, like it has time and time again this year, the offense bounced back in a big way. They needed to—Braxton Ashcraft struggled once again. He was able to go six innings, but gave up four runs to push his season ERA over 4.00, which seemed unfathomable just a few weeks ago. However, he was able to get the win in this one, as the Pirates shellacked old friend Jameson Taillon. Brandon Lowe got out of his funk with three hits. Bryan Reynolds smoked multiple balls. Ryan O'Hearn crushed another grand slam. Esmerlyn Valdez reached base three times and pounded yet another homer, tallying two RBIs. Even Shawn Ross, the emergency call-up at catcher, destroyed a 440-foot two-run home run in his first Major League start. The Bucs were sitting pretty with an 8-4 lead in the eighth, and even though the Cubs made it hairy against Carmen Mlodzinski and Mason Montgomery to cut the lead to one, Monty was able to strike out Pirates killer Ian Happ to give the Pirates an 8-7 victory.
After game two, it really felt like the Bucs were in for a sweep. However, with the offense rebounding so hard in game three, the series still ended on a positive note. The Bucs have faced a slew of left-handed starting pitchers over the last few weeks, which has cooled off their bats considerably. That trend will be turning around soon, so hopefully the bats can follow.
Series MVP is tough. Esmerlyn Valdez and Ryan O'Hearn were masterful in game three, but it would feel odd to award a member of the offense an MVP. So, we will go with Jared Jones, who at this point might be the Pirates' ace. He looks even better than he did in his stellar rookie season, and he is pitching with the utmost confidence on the mound.
The Pirates will go straight into a massive series starting tomorrow at PNC against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are one of the teams the Pirates are in a war with for the NL Wild Card. Mitch Keller will get the ball in game one, coming off maybe his best start of the season, matched up against struggling veteran righty Merrill Kelly. Let's Go Bucs!
