Pirate Bats Stay Icy In 2-0 Loss to Rox

Well, looks like more people in the dugouts that the stands; maybe MLB would like to rethink its scheduling a little bit to allow for makeup dates for snowy winter nights. Trevor Williams went 3-2 on the first two batters, walking one, and a check swing single put Rox on the corners. A grounder brought in the run as Williams finished the frame at 24 pitches. Chad Bettis walked Starling with two gone, but J-Bell bunted back to the box (no, we have no idea why, either) to shut it down. It was 1-2-3 on seven pitches for the Rockies in the second; the Pirates got a two-out rap from Colin Moran. It was a clean third for Trevor, and he led off the Bucs' half with an infield knock. He was quickly doubled up trying to tag on an S-Rod fly to Gerald Parra, one of the better arms in the NL on another what's-he-thinking play, and the frame sputtered out. The fourth wasn't good to Willy - after an out, a walk was erased on a caught stealing. But that was followed by another walk, double & single, and Williams was lucky to escape with just a run. Starling singled to open, followed by three bounce outs, with Bettis cruising at just 42 tosses.

It's baseball season in Pittsburgh... (photo Pittsburgh Pirates)

The Rox got a one-out double but no damage resulted in the fifth; the Bucs got a Jordy single for their effort. Trevor spun a quick sixth, and on the night gave up two runs on four hits, three walks (two scored) and four K after 104 pitches. Gregory walked to open, and an out later J-Bell rolled into a DP to continue his tough series. Edgar Santana toed the slab in the seventh and took care of the bottom of the order; Bettis kept dealing, too. The Rox led off the eighth with a walk, which has been bad news so far tonight, but Santana dodged the bad mojo. Jordy started things up with a two-bagger and a ground out later, he moved to third and Bryan Shaw moved to the mound. Jordy was cut down on the contact play when S-Rod bounced ball four to to third; Mercer was a dead duck, but didn't get into a rundown, so Rodriguez stopped at first. Lefty Jake McGee got the call to face Gregory and got him on a lazy pop to third. Richard Rodriguez got his debut Bucco outing in the ninth, giving up a single while striking out the side; he got plenty of chases off his running arm-side four-seamer. Wade Davis came in for the close; the Bucs put up nary a peep, not getting a ball out of the infield.

They weren't going to take every series, but a couple of things worth noting tonight: the Pirates patience at the plate is wearing thin; their disciplined approach has been slipping and it shows in the box score. The other is that they continue to make fundamental mistakes. The team's not going to hammer five or six runs home every night, and it's tough to take those tight contests when you're busy shooting yourself in the foot. Whether that's a result of nature or nurture, Clint has to raise the club's baseball IQ a few points.

Notes:

• This is the Pirates first two-game losing streak of the season and the first series they've dropped. It was also the first time they were shutout this year.
• Jordy went 2-for-3 and Starling stayed hot with a walk & a knock. Corey Dickerson’s hit streak ended at 11 games, one short of matching his career-longest stretch.
• 8,869 was tonight’s paid attendance. The Pirates gave everyone in the house a voucher for a lower-level ticket to another non-weekend game later this year as they left the yard, so they're not completely tone-deaf. It was all of 34 at game time and snowy.