On a night meant to celebrate the newest inductees into the Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame, the current roster failed to rise to the occasion, suffering a crushing 10-2 defeat against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park.
“We didn’t play good baseball tonight,” said manager Derek Shelton after the game. “We made baserunning mistakes, we made defensive mistakes, we didn’t play well.”
Starting pitcher Jake Woodford struggled mightily for the second consecutive outing, giving up eight runs—seven earned—on six hits and three walks. The Reds wasted no time, scoring four runs in the first inning and tagging Woodford for four more in the fourth, forcing an early exit for the right-hander.
“I was fighting myself a lot out there,” Woodford admitted. “They’re a scrappy lineup. They’re good. I just wasn’t executing enough pitches or making adjustments quick enough. The line speaks for itself.”
The Pirates’ defense compounded the team’s troubles, committing two errors that led to additional runs. A particularly costly mistake occurred when Hunter Stratton threw a wild pitch that allowed two runs to score. In the process, Stratton injured his left knee while covering home plate, forcing him to leave the game after just four pitches.
“We had a tough game defensively today,” Shelton remarked. “That’s something we have to do better.”
Reliever Ben Heller also struggled, allowing two more runs in the sixth inning, with one runner advancing on a fielding error by Bryan De La Cruz. The runs snapped a streak of four consecutive scoreless outings for Heller.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s rookie pitcher Julian Aguiar had little trouble handling the Pirates’ lineup, giving up just two runs on three hits and two walks over six innings. The 23-year-old secured his first major league win in the process.
“He got a lead and went right after us,” Shelton said. “We just didn’t hit a ton of balls hard.”
ON THE MOUND
Jalen Beeks provided a rare bright spot for the Pirates, pitching 1 2/3 innings of hitless relief after Stratton’s injury. Beeks quickly recorded five outs, including back-to-back strikeouts in a scoreless fifth inning. His performance lowered his ERA with the Pirates to a stellar 0.96.
“He’s done a good job,” Shelton said. “We’ve usually pitched him in leverage situations, but today we were just trying to finish the game. He’s been very effective against both right-handers and left-handers.”
AT THE PLATE
The Pirates’ only offense came from a two-run homer by Rowdy Tellez in the fourth inning. Tellez connected on a 3-2 sinker, sending it over the Clemente Wall and into the Allegheny River. The blast was Tellez’s 11th home run of the season.
In a surprising turn, Tellez also took the mound in the ninth inning, pitching a scoreless frame of relief—the second such appearance of his career.
“The home run was a good swing,” Shelton said. “It was one of the few good swings we had. And the fact that he saved our bullpen an inning was important.”
THEY SAID IT
“I think the impressive part of it is he stayed consistent with who he was,” Shelton said of Tellez’s transformation from struggling hitter to fan favorite. “He took accountability during the stretch where he wasn’t productive, and he’s become a productive offensive player. But through it all, he never changed who he was.”
INJURY UPDATE
The Pirates issued a statement regarding Stratton’s injury: “Hunter Stratton was removed from this evening’s game after sustaining a left knee patella tendon rupture. He is currently being examined by team doctors and undergoing imaging to determine the severity of the injury.”
Leave a Reply