Pirates Pitchers Struggle in Another Loss to Diamondbacks
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Pirates pitchers struggled from the mound, as they dropped their second straight game to the Arizona Diamondbacks Saturday night at Chase Field in Phoenix.
The Pirates (52-52) loss against the Diamondbacks (55-50) is their second straight, the first time for them when they lost two games to the New York Mets at PNC Park, July 6-7. It is also the first series they have lost since they dropped two out of three against the St. Louis Cardinals July 2-4, also at PNC Park.
Shortstop Oneil Cruz opened up the scoring for the Pirates in the top of the first inning, smashing a ball way over the left field wall off Diamondbacks starting pitcher Brandon Pfaadt, 472 feet, for a solo home run, 1-0.
Oneil Cruz just sent this ball 472 feet 😳 pic.twitter.com/OtKvWpf6dF
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 28, 2024
Pirates left-handed starting pitcher Marco Gonzales walked Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte on four straight pitches and then allowed a single to catcher Gabriel Moreno with no outs in the bottom of the first inning.
Gonzales would strike out left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., but then allowed another single to first baseman Christian Walker, scoring Marte from second base and tying the game up for the Diamondbacks. Gonzales did get designated hitter Randal Grichuk to fly out, but center fielder Jake McCarthy hit a ball to Cruz, that he would just beat out at first base to load the bases.
Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez did ground out, ending the first inning level.
Arizona took the lead in the bottom of the second inning, as right fielder Corbin Carroll hit a pitch that Gonzales left over the plate for a solo homer, 2-1.
CORBIN BARRELS! 💪 pic.twitter.com/BVhDQfaDYp
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 28, 2024
Gonzales continued to struggle, allowing a single to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, that turned into a double after fielding miscues, and then another home run to Marte to make it a 4-1 lead for the Diamondbacks.
KETEL STAYS HOT. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WQbSneQq0l
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 28, 2024
The Diamondbacks continued to befuddle Gonzales, as he allowed a single to McCarthy and then walked Carroll with one out in the bottom of the third inning.
Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton chose to end Gonzales' night, bringing in right-handed Dennis Santana out of the bullpen. Santana struck out both Perdomo and Marte to end the inning and strand both runners.
Moreno singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning for the Diamondbacks and then stole second base ahead of the throw from Pirates catcher Joey Bart.
Santana would strike out the next three batters in Gurriel, Walker and Grichuk to make it five strikeouts in just 1.2 innings of work.
Pirates left fielder Joshua Palacios singled to start the top of the fifth inning, the first base runner that Pfaddt allowed. Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes then singled, just beating out the glove of Walker, putting two runners on with no outs.
Bart would come through for the Pirates, as he hit a ball into left field, just over Gurriel, who misplaced it. Palacios scored from second base to make it a 4-2 game, and Bart ended up at second base with a double, plus moved Hayes to third base.
Pittsburgh right fielder Ji Hwan Bae would hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Hayes and moving Bart to third base with one out, cutting the Diamondbacks lead to 4-3.
Taylor then would ground out, giving enough time for Bart to score from third base to tie the game at 4-4.
Right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester came on in the bottom of the fifth inning, where he would allow a single to McCarthy, his third hit of the night, hit Suárez, and walked Carroll to load the bases with no outs.
He would get Perdomo out, but on a sacrifice fly, allowing McCarthy to score and Suárez to move to third base. Marte would hit a sacrifice as well, scoring Suárez, restoring the Diamondbacks lead at 6-4.
Cruz opened the sixth inning with a hit to center field, that McCarthy missed, allowing Cruz to speed all the way to third base for a triple.
Pirates second baseman Nick Gonzales grounded out, but grabbed his groin on the way to the dug out. First baseman Connor Joe would score Cruz on the next ground out, cutting the Diamondbacks lead to 6-5.
Shelton took out Gonzales, putting in Jared Triolo at second baseman in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Priester continued to struggle in that bottom of the sixth inning, allowing a single to Gurriel and then hitting Walker to put two runners on with no outs.
Joc Pederson came in the game and hit a triple to right field, scoring both Gurriel and Walker. McCarthy would single right after, extending Arizona's lead to 9-5.
RUN, JOC, RUN! pic.twitter.com/tJvTvHDXer
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 28, 2024
Arizona's bullpen shut down the Pirates the rest of the way, with right-hander Justin Martinez, left-hander A.J. Puk, who they acquired in a recent trade with the Miami Marlins, and right-hander Bryce Jarvis, who pitched scoreless seventh-ninth innings of work to secure the victory.
The Pirates will look to avoid the sweep against the Diamondbacks Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 4:10 p.m. (EST)
DOMINIC CAMPBELL