Bullpen struggles again, as Pirates can't close out opener against Phillies

If there weren't concerns over the Pirates bullpen prior to Friday, they certainly exist now.

After Gregory Soto blew a three-run lead in the ninth, Dennis Santana struggled in the 10th inning of an eventual 11-9 Pirates loss to the Phillies at PNC Park.

Pittsburgh led, 8-3, after six innings but struggled to close it out, Don Kelly's club losing for the fourth time in 23 tries when leading after a half-dozen frames.

It's also the seventh loss for the Pirates this season when scoring at least six runs. A big reason has been a bullpen that now has a 5.90 ERA in May.

Philadelphia grabbed a 9-8 lead in the 10th on a double from right fielder Brandon Marsh, who came within feet of knocking the ball over the right-field fence. Catcher Rafael Marchan followed two batters later by lining a sinker into center to increase Philadelphia's lead to 11-8.

Soto and Santana were supposed to be the Pirates' lockdown pair to close games, but it certainly didn't work out that way in the opener of a three-game series.

The Phillies' ninth-inning rally started with left fielder Edmundo Sosa reaching base on an error by Konnor Griffin. A walk and a single loaded the bases for Kyle Schwarber, who had two home runs in the game and leads MLB with 20 on the season.

Soto walked Schwarber, plating a run and making it an 8-6 game before first baseman Bryce Harper cranked a slider to center field for a 388-foot single. That brought in two more, tying the game at 8.

For much of the night it looked like the heroics would belong to Brandon Lowe, who enjoyed his third multi-homer game of the season.

Braxton Ashcraft pitched into the seventh inning, and Marcell Ozuna also homered. But it wasn't enough to absorb another bullpen meltdown.

How frustrating was it? The Pirates also had a 6-0 lead after three.

Oneil Cruz knocked in two with his single up the middle. Lowe doubled Pittsburgh’s lead with his first bomb of the night, connecting on a 2-1 heater left over the middle of the plate. Ozuna followed by a 438-foot bomb Yohan Ramirez caught in a cone.

The six-run inning was the most by the Pirates against Philadelphia since an eight-run ninth during a 15-2 win at the Phillies on Sept. 15, 2016.

At home, the Pirates hadn't enjoyed an inning that big against the Phillies since July 4, 2010 (6 runs in an 8-5 win).

The Phillies rallied for three runs in the fourth and fifth, starting with a sacrifice fly off the bat of second baseman Bryson Stott. Schwarber cut the Pirates' lead to three with a two-run homer.

Lowe's second homer was even more impressive than the first: 422 feet to right-center off former Pirate Tim Mayza, a lefty. Lowe is now on pace to hit a career-high 43 this season.

Obviously it mattered little because the bullpen couldn't close it out.

Ashcraft's night

Ashcraft allowed four earned runs over 6 2/3 innings. He gave up seven hits but didn’t walk anyone and struck out five, his ERA increasing a little to 3.09.

Spin pitches carried the day for Ashcraft, as they accounted for all five of his strikeouts. It might not have been Ashcraft's best stuff, but it was more than enough to give the Pirates a chance to win.

Kelly let Ashcraft start the seventh at 91 pitches but pulled him to go left-on-left when Schwarber came up for a fourth time. The move made sense. But Schwarber didn’t miss a middle-middle fastball from Mason Montgomery, crushing it 408 feet at 110.7 mph to center for his MLB-high 20th of the season and second of the game.

Schwarber has nine home runs in his past eight games.

Hernandez debuts

Seth Hernandez, Pittsburgh’s top prospect with Konnor Griffin graduating to MLB regular, debuted with High-A Greensboro, and his outing looked similar to what he did at Low-A Bradenton.

Hernandez didn’t allow a run or a hit over five innings at Jersey Shore, walking four and striking out seven. The right-hander threw 70 pitches, 41 for strikes. He also racked up 18 whiffs.

In seven Minor League starts this season, Hernandez has a 0.82 ERA in 33 innings while walking 11 and striking out 57.

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.