A tough week continues for the Pirates, who lost their third straight game last night in the opener of an eight-game, two-city road trip.
Joe Block recaps a walk-off loss in Cincinnati.
The loss drops the Pirates to .500 on the season, and puts them two-and-a-half games behind the Phillies and Diamondbacks in the race for the third Wild Card slot in the National League.
Manager Donnie Kelly says there’s only one way for the Pirates to break out of their slide.
Kelly says the Pirates’ bats have to come through with runners on base.
Nick Gonzalez had another multi-hit game. He is tied with the Giants’ Luis Arraez for second in the Major Leagues in multi-hit games, with forty, one fewer than Otto Lopez of the Marlins, and he is third in the NL behind Arraez and Lopez in batting average, at .316.
The Pirates will look to right the ship tonight in Game Two of the series. Paul Skenes (9-9, 3.65 ERA) takes on the Reds’ Hunter Greene (2-2, 7.06 ERA). Airtime is 5:45, first pitch at 6:10 on WCCS.
Pirates’ left-hander Evan Sisk started a rehab stint and struck out two in a ten-pitch 1-2-3 third inning in Indianapolis’s 12-7 win over Louisville. Sisk has been on the injured list with a sore elbow since the 4th of July.
Reliever Dennis Santana has cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent.
The MLB trade deadline is 6 PM on Monday, with the Pirates looking for bullpen arms entering the weekend.
