CHICAGO - The Pittsburgh Pirates walked into Wrigley Field already thin on the mound, and the night got away from them fast.
With Braxton Ashcraft unavailable for his scheduled start because of right-side discomfort and a 15-day injured list stint, the Pirates pieced together eight innings with three rookie arms - Wilber Dotel, Khristian Curtis and Antwone Kelly - and got hammered by the Chicago Cubs, 12-2, in the series opener on Sept. 11.
Dotel got through a clean first inning before the trouble arrived in the second. Three straight singles loaded the bases, and the Cubs cashed in with a sacrifice fly and a two-run single from catcher Carson Kelly.
Curtis, who had been sharp in his previous three outings, couldn’t steady things either. He allowed two runs in the third, then four more in the fourth, including a two-run homer by Cubs third baseman Alex Bregman that pushed the game to 9-1.
Antwone Kelly followed in the sixth and was greeted by a leadoff triple, a single, a double and a sacrifice fly, leading to two more runs. In the seventh, a leadoff double turned into another run after back-to-back singles.
Pirates manager Don Kelly pointed to different issues for each pitcher - Dotel’s second inning, Curtis lacking command and Kelly catching too much of the plate - but said all three can take something from the outing.
"...Just, tough day and a good learning experience coming into this environment in a big game. Just something that’s easy to talk about the mindset of going 1-0 when you’re winning and after a tough loss, we got to take the same mindset going into tomorrow.”
There’s no hiding the reality for Pittsburgh now. With so few games left, the Pirates can’t afford to keep handing over nights like this while trying to stay alive in the National League Wild Card race. They’re five games back and need just about everything to break their way from here.
Ashcraft’s absence matters because of what he’s been this season. He went from newcomer in the rotation to one of the staff’s best arms, earned his first All-Star nod, and posted a 14-6 record with a 3.65 ERA over 165.1 innings. He struck out 173 and walked 35, held opponents to a .235 batting average and finished with a 1.09 WHIP.
For a pitcher with a lengthy injury history, the workload has been impressive. He also delivered two of his best outings in August: a complete game in a 13-1 win over the Miami Marlins on Aug. 13, when he threw 85 pitches and struck out 10, and eight innings on 80 pitches in a 4-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Aug. 18.
The Pirates don’t have many options who can match that kind of length and efficiency. Maybe Paul Skenes belongs in that conversation, though he hasn’t had the Cy Young season he put together last year.
Ashcraft’s injury is part of a larger problem. Mitch Keller is already out for the year after a right arm teres major muscle injury suffered in early August, and Pittsburgh has been forced into bullpen games in his place. Lake Bachar made the spot start after Keller went down, then the rest of the bullpen took over.
That tax on the relief corps has already piled up. The Pirates used eight pitchers over nine innings in their 4-2 win over the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Sept. 9.
Now they’re staring at two more bullpen games, and the question is how long they can keep leaning on relievers while also trying to cover for Bubba Chandler, Jared Jones and Skenes. Carmen Mlodzinski is the only arm they could really stretch out, but the Pirates already tried him in Keller’s spot, it didn’t go well in August, and he’s thrown one-inning outings in each of his last two appearances.
It’s a difficult assignment for Kelly and the coaching staff, and the calendar isn’t giving them much room to sort it out.
In Other News...
Pirates Fans May Be Rethinking That Paul Skenes Yankees Return
The Paul Skenes trade chatter keeps hanging around the Pirates, and the latest version of it has centered on a possible Yankees package built around Spencer Jones. It is the kind of rumor that inevitably grabs attention in Pittsburgh because Skenes is already the face of the pitching staff, but it also lands in a moment when the conversation has gotten more complicated, with Jones starting to look more like a real asset and Skenes coming off a stretch of uneven outings.
For Pirates fans, that is what makes the speculation tricky to sort through. A young pitcher with ace upside is not something a team gives away lightly, yet any return would have to be substantial enough to match the value of a player like Skenes, and the Yankees have at least one intriguing piece in Jones to talk about. For now, though, it remains exactly that: talk, with no confirmed trade and no official decision from either side. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Get A Needed Return As Another Lineup Concern Emerges
Ryan OHearn is back in the Pirates lineup mix after the club reinstated him from the 10-day injured list, giving Pittsburgh a needed boost following his absence with a left quad strain. His return came at a time when the roster could use some stability, and the Pirates were at least able to welcome back a familiar bat as they try to keep their lineup moving.
Esmerlyn Valdezs day ended with a different kind of concern, though, after he left the field with left hamstring discomfort while limping to first base. Any lower-body issue at this stage of the season draws immediate attention, and Valdezs status now becomes a storyline to watch as the Pirates assess whether theyll have him available down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Pirates Lose Key Rookie Bat As Late Push Gets Tougher
The Pirates late-season push took another hit when they placed right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez on the 10-day injured list after he sustained a left hamstring injury in the Sept. 12 game. Valdez had emerged as a key power bat for Pittsburgh, giving the lineup a needed jolt at a time when every productive at-bat matters, and losing him removes one of the clubs more important sources of pop.
In the corresponding move, Pittsburgh recalled outfielder Ronny Simon from Triple-A Indianapolis, and the team is expected to cover right field with Jake Mangum and Simon while Valdez works back. For a club trying to keep its offense moving, the injury leaves even less margin for error, and it puts more attention on how quickly the Pirates can piece together production in a spot that had finally become a real threat. [Read more 🡒]