The Pittsburgh Pirates opened this weekend with a 4-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at PNC Park on Friday.
Managing just five hits total, the Bucs were held in check by Toronto starter Alek Manoah throughout the night. He improved to 13-7 on the season, giving up five hits and one walk in 7.1 innings, lowering his ERA to just 2.48 on the season.
Johan Oviedo started for Pittsburgh, throwing three innings of shutout ball. Tyler Beede was tagged with the loss, giving up two runs on five hits in three innings while falling to 1-5 on the season.
There was not much offense to go around on this night. The Blue Jays broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs. A double by Santiago Espinal scored Matt Chapman and Cavan Biggio to make it 2-0.
They added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth on a two-run homerun by Bo Bichette, his 18th of the season, to make it 4-0. That proved to be more than enough for Manoah & Co., as they cruised to the easy shutout victory.
This was a rather difficult game to watch. The Bucs seemed rather lifeless and lethargic. This has been a terrible stretch of baseball, basically since the All-Star break, and it’s a difficult challenge to find bright spots as we head toward the final few weeks of the season.
One of those few bright spots on the Bucs’ roster is Roansy Contreras, who will make the start for Pittsburgh on Saturday. The Blue Jays will send Trevor Richards to the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm.
Record vs. Blue Jays: 0-1
Record vs. American League: 4-12
Record at Home: 26-37
Overall Record: 49-82
And…
As Always…
Let’s Go Bucs!
