The offensive struggles that have plagued the Pittsburgh Pirates for the past week continued on Saturday night in a 2-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
Roansy Contreras started for Pittsburgh, and held his own on the mound. He lasted seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits with a walk and a strikeout. He was tagged with the loss, falling to 3-4 on the season.
The Bucs could not solve Orioles’ starter Tyler Wells. He was masterful on the mound, giving up one hit and two walks while striking out eight in his seven innings on the mound. He improved to 3-1 while lowering his ERA to 2.68 on the season.
Baltimore didn’t have a lot of offense on Saturday, but it was enough to beat the Pirates and their dreadful hitting. A solo homerun by Adley Rutschman, his sixth of the season, gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Gunnar Henderson’s solo homerun in the second inning, his fourth of the year, made it 2-0, which would be the final score.
As a team, the Pirates managed only three hits total, while also drawing two walks. Bryan Reynolds, Carlos Santana, and Tucupita Marcano each had a hit, but each was stranded on base.
Not too long ago, the Pirates held a 20-8 record. Now they have lost 11 of 12 games, while their offense is as bad as it gets right now. For the most part, the starting pitching has kept them in the game, but the relief pitching coupled with the putrid offensive output has made it impossible to come away with victories.
The Bucs will look to avoid the series sweep when they take the field against the Orioles on Sunday afternoon.
Record vs. Orioles: 0-2
Record vs. American League: 6-11
Record on the Road: 11-10
Overall Record: 21-19
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
