Pirates Scuffle in Pivotal Loss to Angels

PITTSBURGH, PA — The Pittsburgh Pirates entered the second game of their three-game homestand against the Los Angeles Angels looking to take the series after an electric game-one win. They unfortunately fell short of their goal, dropping game two in 6-1 fashion.

After a relatively quick first three innings, the Angels broke open the scoring by way of a Moises Ballesteros RBI base hit, and the runs just kept coming for the club after that moment. Josh Lowe went deep in the fifth, as his homer was a 410-foot shot to straightaway center for the second run of the game.

Then, the club’s stars came through when it mattered most, as Zach Neto and Mike Trout drove in the next two runs of the game, giving the Angels a 4-0 lead over the Bucs. The team effort continued in the seventh inning, as following the Trout RBI single, Wade Meckler doubled in a pair of runs on his own, extending the lead to 6-0.

Aside from their offensive successes, the real story of the day was Yusei Kikuchi’s stellar performance on the mound that blanked the Pirates’ bats all game long. He went six innings of shutout baseball, notching six strikeouts and only allowing eight baserunners all game long.

“Yeah, we didn’t get much going,” manager Don Kelly told the media after the game. “You know, he had the velo working, the splitter was pretty good, and he threw the breaking ball in the zone that we chased a few, but just he he had some pretty good stuff tonight.”

The Pirates bats finally broke through the next inning with Bryan Reynolds’ first homer since July 28th, but this was ultimately a story of too little, too late for the Battlin’ Buccos. They ended up falling short, dropping this contest 6-1 to the Angels when all was said and done.

For the Pirates, after initially looking like their playoff hopes had gone quickly and silently in the night, they’ve begun to make things look interesting once again over the last two weeks. They’ve been as close to 4.5 games out of a wild-card spot and have repeatedly picked up series wins during this stretch. If they want any shot at October, these are the series they can’t afford to drop, as every single game matters.

Ashcraft Stays Fairly Sharp

On a positive note for the Pirates, Braxton Ashcraft looked pretty sharp on the hill once again despite not pitching as deep into the game as he has been recently. He finished his start with a final line of five innings, seven hits, three earned runs, no walks, one homer, and nine strikeouts.

“Early on, really, really good stuff,” manager Don Kelly said in his postgame press conference. “You know, fastball was working; curveball and slider were good. And then just ran into trouble there in the fifth inning.”

That summed up Ashcraft’s night well, as the fifth inning was the ultimate deciding factor in how his outing went. After leading off the inning with the homer allowed to Josh Lowe, Ashcraft surrendered three more hits, which led to another run coming across the plate.

After this tough inning, the Pirates decided to go to the bullpen after allowing Ashcraft to throw just 67 pitches.

“Just in that fifth inning, it looked like everything was getting elevated,” Kelly said. “Velo was down a little bit, and command didn’t seem to be where it was earlier in the game. And just felt like it was a good time to go to Mattson.”

A couple of weeks ago, after Ashcraft’s eight-inning performance against the Detroit Tigers, Kelly said they’ve been monitoring his innings and keeping arm protection in mind. Today, he spoke on a similar sentiment when pulling the plug relatively quickly on his outing.

“Not necessarily limited,” Kelly said when asked about if the plan was to limit Ashcraft in today’s outing. “Just, as we’ve talked about going through the year, understanding the amount of innings that he’s thrown and just paying attention to where he’s at throughout the game.”

All things considered, though, this was yet another very solid outing for Ashcraft. It’s the eighth start in a row where he’s thrown at least five innings, and the first start since his game against the Tigers on August 13, where he struck out nine or more hitters. He’s been a masterful piece of this rotation all season long.

Struggles Against Left-Handers

As mentioned in the introduction, another main theme that emerged during tonight’s contest is the Pirates’ continued struggles against left-handed pitching. Following last night’s loss to the Angels, the Pirates are 14-31 in games started by a left-hander, as opposed to 56-42 in games where a right-hander starts the game.

The club is just 27th in wRC+ in baseball against left-handed pitching, as their mark of 86 is only four points off the Colorado Rockies, who currently hold last place in this category. It’s been a tough year for hitting left-handed pitching in the Steel City, and tonight continued this trend.

“When we’ve been good, we’ve stayed up the middle the other way and found a way to back the ball up, so to speak,” Kelly said regarding the Pirates performance against lefties. “When we haven’t, and we got outside the approach, and I felt like tonight, you know, he did have good stuff. I know his numbers coming in weren’t very good, but he’s a good pitcher, and he showed tonight with 98 and a good split. We just need to be more selective and and have a better approach against left-handers.”

Sticking to their approach will be key for the Pirates as they continue to search for success against lefties down the stretch this season. Even though there are only 19 games remaining this season, there’s plenty of room to grow, build momentum, and carry that momentum into next season.