The Pirates haven’t won in a week, with six straight losses, and in those six games they’ve scored a total of only nine runs. Yesterday, it was a 6-1 series-sweeping loss to the Red Sox at PNC Park. The Pirates started the season 9-2. Now they are 11-11.
Wilver Abreu and Reese McGuire each drove in two runs for the Sox, who outscored the Pirates 18-4 in the three-game series.
Manager Derek Shelton says the Pirates are playing bad baseball.
Martín Perez gave up four runs on six hits in just four innings of work. Shelton says his starter wasn’t sharp.
On The Ben Cherington Show on WCCS yesterday, the Pirates general manager defended the team’s decision to limit the innings of his young pitchers, while acknowledging they “can’t be certain (they’re) right about…how they’re going about it.” The Pirates were criticized for pulling Jared Jones out of a game he was dominating against the Mets last week after he had thrown only 59 pitches, and they’ve also been on the hot seat for not giving Paul Skenes enough work. Skenes has thrown only 12-and-two-thirds innings in four starts, even though he’s not allowed a run yet this season. He’s not thrown more than 65 pitches or gone over 3-and-a-third innings in any start.
On the injury front, Cherington said catcher Jason Delay has had right knee surgery and is doing well. Catcher Yasmani Grandal “isn’t too far” from being brought up from his rehab assignment in Indianapolis. Grandal was 2-for-3 and hit a homer for Indy yesterday. Catcher Endy Rodriguez will start a hitting progression from the left side around the first of May. The switch hitter will not swing from the right side until he’s throwing again, but that will be a while. He’s recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Cherington says he is hopeful they caught Marco Gonzalez’s forearm strain early enough to keep it “relatively minor”.
The Pirates host the first place Milwaukee Brewers tonight in their first meeting with an NL Central Division team. Jared Jones (1-2, 3.13 ERA) takes the mound against the Brewers’ Joe Ross (1-1, 4.91 ERA). It’s a 6:15 airtime, 6:40 first pitch on 100.9 FM.
ALTOONA CURVE
Altoona lost to Bowie, 5-3, making it five losses in six games on the road trip to Maryland. Jase Bowen and Joe Perez each had two hits for the Curve and Matt Fraizer and Aaron Shackelford each hit ninth inning home runs. The Curve return to Altoona tomorrow to open a six-game set against Akron.
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