Pittsburgh Pirates Smacked Around by Cubs in Ugly Loss
By Matt Shetler
This wasn’t the game to watch for Pittsburgh Pirates fans with their finger on the panic button.
Nothing went right for the Bucs Monday night in a 14-4 beating at the hands of the Chicago Cubs, the second ugly loss in a row for the Pirates. The reality is, it’s the same thing a losing a game 1-0, as a loss is a loss; but this was an ugly one to watch.
The Bucs actually took a 2-1 lead in this one after a Starling Marte RBI single in the third and a Michael McKenry fielder’s choice in the fourth, but starting pitcher Erik Bedard blew up shortly after that.
Bedard was coming off a pair of solid starts in a row and despite falling behind 1-0 early on a Starlin Castro double, Bedard put up zeroes in both the second and third innings.
But then things came unglued.
Darwin Barney touched up Bedard for a three-run shot in the fourth and Anthony Rizzo did the same in the fifth to make it 7-2. That wasn’t it though as the Cubs batted around in the inning. Barney, Joe Mather and David DeJesus delivered RBI singles in the inning and Castro put the finishing touches on a big inning with a two-run bomb to center. In the blink of an eye the Cubs went from trailing 2-1 to leading 13-2.
The Bucs added a pair of runs in the sixth, but it was way too little, too late by that point.
Bedard was charged with nine of the runs (eight earned), Chris Resop gave up four and Tony Watson allowed an RBI double by Mather in the seventh to cap off the scoring.
Games like this happen though, as the Pirates have allowed six or more runs only 17 times in 101 games on the season, the second best mark in the league. It’s a shame they happened on back-to-back days against two bad teams, but they happen.
This one is easily forgotten and the Bucs will be back at it tomorrow night and we will see if they can pull off any deals as tomorrow’s trade deadline is a 4:00 p.m. EST.
If there is a silver lining off this beating, it’s that the Cincinnati Reds finally lost, so the Pirates remain 3.0 games back in the National League Central and remain in a three-way tie for the first Wild Card spot.
Notes: The Cubs dealt three players during the game- Geovany Soto to the Rangers and Reed Johnson and former Pirate Paul Maholm to the Braves…. Rookie Starling Marte had three of the Pirates eight hits on the night, the only bright spot if you had to find one.
Winning Pitcher: Justin Germano (1-1)
Losing Pitcher: Bedard (5-12)
Save: None
MVP: Barney, 3-for-5, double shy of the cycle, 4 RBI.
LVP: Bedard/Resop combined to throw 5.0 IP, 11 H, 13 R, 12 ER, 2 BB, 3 HR
Play of the Game: A missed called strike three to Jeff Baker in the 4th. He ended up singling and it was all down hill from Bedard from there.
Home Runs: Barney (5), Rizzo (8), Castro (10)
Up Next: Tuesday, July 31 at Chicago Cubs at 8:05 p.m. EST
Probable Starters: A.J. Burnett (12-3, 3.52 ERA) vs. Ryan Dempster (5-5, 2.25)