The Pirates survived the grind of 17 games in 17 days, but the schedule break arrives with plenty of repair work still waiting.
Sunday’s 11-1 loss to the Mets finished off a brutal stretch in which Pittsburgh went 5-12 and dropped all five series. The club now gets a day off Monday before heading to Miami, and manager Don Kelly knows the margin for error is shrinking.
“Anytime you're playing 17 in 17 is tough, and we've got to find a way to bounce back,” Kelly said. “Got the off-day tomorrow and have a big series coming up in Miami.”
The finale turned quickly against Jared Jones. New York loaded the bases before an out was recorded in the first inning, then pushed across two runs on a single and sacrifice fly. Two innings later, Luis Robert Jr. made it worse with a two-run homer to right-center.
Jones was in trouble again in the fourth, loading the bases once more before leaving with no outs and 69 pitches. Evan Sisk entered and gave up a bases-clearing double that stretched the Mets’ lead to seven and effectively ended the game.
When the stretch began on July 24, Pittsburgh was three games above .500 and only a game behind Arizona for the final NL Wild Card spot. The offense was rolling, while the rotation and bullpen were still searching for traction.
Now the Pirates are four games under .500 and five games out of the third NL Wild Card position, and the issues have shifted. Paul Skenes has not been pitching like an ace.
The rest of the rotation has lagged, even with rookie Bubba Chandler’s improvement, and Mitch Keller is done for the year after suffering a right arm teres major muscle injury. That leaves the fifth-starter role unsettled.
The lineup has cooled, too. Pittsburgh averaged 5.27 runs per game before the July 23 off-day, but that production has faded. Spencer Horwitz came off the injured list on Aug. 2, yet the Pirates lost Ryan O’Hearn the day before, likely keeping the veteran out until only a few weeks remain in the season.
At the Deadline, the club chose not to address its issues against left-handed pitching. Instead, it released Marcell Ozuna and promoted Ronny Simon from Triple-A Indianapolis. Meanwhile, top rookie Esmerlyn Valdez has seen his production dip as opposing pitchers adjust, and Bryan Reynolds has fallen into a slump.
Sean Manaea took advantage of all of it. Against the Mets left-hander, Pittsburgh started just one true left-handed batter, Brandon Lowe, with the rest coming from the right side or as switch-hitters. Jake Mangum did supply a solo homer in the third, but Manaea controlled the game from there, striking out 11 and giving up only three hits across seven innings.
Even the bullpen additions have been hard to judge because the offense hasn’t held up its end. Before the Aug.
3 Trade Deadline, the Pirates added Camilo Doval, Luke Weaver, Kirby Yates and Lake Bachar, a group that looks built for a contender with more stability and experience. Instead, the late-inning reinforcements have been paired with an attack that hasn’t sustained enough pressure.
The numbers from the 17-game run paint the same picture. Pittsburgh lost nine games by three runs or fewer and finished with a minus-30 run differential. Eleven of those games came against divisional opponents, and 10 were against teams ahead of the Pirates in the NL standings.
There is still time left for a turnaround. Pittsburgh’s final 42 games include matchups with some of MLB’s weakest teams in the Giants, Angels and Royals, but also a heavy slate against the Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, Brewers and others. That leaves the Pirates with a .505 strength of schedule the rest of the way.
If they want to finish at .500, they need to go 23-19. If they want to get to 87 wins, a number likely tied to a Wild Card berth, they would need to finish 29-13.
“I don't think anyone needs to try to go out there and be Superman,” Mangum said. “I think we all just need to play a little bit better baseball collectively.”
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