The quest for the number one draft pick continues to roll on for the Pittsburgh Pirates and up to this point the journey has been a successful one. Today they were crushed by the Kansas City Royals by the final of 11-0. The loss also gave Kansas City a sweep of Pittsburgh in this three-game series.
Chad Kuhl started for the Pirates today, and in what has become a trend with the rotation the past couple weeks, was terrible. Kuhl allowed nine runs on four hits, with six walks and five strikeouts in just 2.1 innings of work. I don’t know what the plans are for the starting rotation in 2021, but Kuhl can not be a figure that anyone would be excited to see in that rotation.
The Royals countered with Brad Keller. Keller was lights out and never gave the Buccos any real chance to make this a contest. Over his nine innings of work he gave up five hits, walked one, and struck out two. Those five hits were collected by Colin Moran(2), JT Riddle, Josh Bell, and John Ryan Murphy.
The short outing by Kuhl meant the bullpen for Pittsburgh would once again be heavily relied upon. Nick Tropeano worked 2.2 innings giving up one run on four hits with six strikeouts and one walk. He was replaced in the sixth by Dovydas Neverauskas. Neverauskas pitched two innings giving up one run on two hits with three strikeouts and one walk during that time. The eighth inning was split between Richard Rodriguez and Austin Davis.
Another ugly loss for the Pirates, but if you want the number one pick in the draft you have to lose games. The Buccos will now head to Great American Ballpark tomorrow for a doubleheader with the Cincinnati Reds. Game one is scheduled for 4:05pm with game two to follow 45 minutes after the final out.
Record vs. Royals: 0-3
Record vs. American League: 2-15
Record on the Road: 5-16
Overall Record: 14-30
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
