Another rough night
Losing streak hits 9 in sloppy game; Reds score 10 runs in second inning
CINCINNATI — The Pirates spent the better part of Monday night trying to play some reasonable facsimile of baseball, halt a lengthy losing streak and bounce back from what many thought was the low point of their season.
Instead, they did none of the three.
They played sloppy baseball, kept their losing streak alive, and actually wound up breaking out the shovels and digging deeper into the ( soon- to- be) scorched earth around them, somehow turning bad into worse.
The end result for the Pirates was an embarrassing, 11- 6 loss against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, one made possible by the home team’s 10- run second inning. It extended the Pirates’ losing streak to a season- long nine games.
“It’s hard right now,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “There’s no doubt about it.”
The Pirates ( 46- 60) have gone 2- 15 since the All- Star break, when they were 2 ½ games out of first place in the National League’s Central Division. They’re 14 games under .500 for the first time since Sept. 29, 2017.
In that 17- game stretch, the Pirates have led after the fifth inning just three times and have been outscored, 103- 60. Their last lead after six came July 20. The problems have been widespread.
“We’ve been challenged across the board,” Hurdle said.
The look this team had before the break, one of hope and promise and even a little bit of swagger, is a distant memory. Issues showed up everywhere Monday night.
Sloppiness was a big one, but simple logistics threw a curveball at the Pirates Monday — and they whiffed.
With Jordan Lyles traded to Milwaukee earlier in the day, the Pirates needed a starting pitcher. So Hurdle told Alex McRae around 2: 30 p. m. he’d be making his first MLB start.
After an OK first inning …
“The command left him,” Hurdle said.
Scooter Gennett doubled in a run, then Tucker Barnhart made it 2- 1 with his single. Joey Votto had a tworun single and Yasiel Puig walked with the bases loaded before Josh Bell gifted the Reds a run.
With Montana DuRapau on in relief, John VanMeter bounced a ball to the right side. Bell double- clutched and threw wide of home. Two batters later, Jose Iglesias hit a grand slam to push the Reds ahead, 10- 1.
“We got the ground ball,” Hurdle said. “We didn’t get any outs. … ”
Perhaps most amazing, every Reds starter scored in the inning, the first time the Pirates have allowed 10 or more runs in an inning since April 11, 2010, at Arizona.
Starling Marte homered in the first inning, his 18th of the season. Bryan Reynolds homered in the fifth before the Pirates put together a actual rally in the sixth.
They knocked Reds starter Sonny Gray out of the game and loaded the bases with two outs. This time, Colin Moran came through with the third grand slam of his career to make it 11- 6.