Musgrove to regroup, face Braves in finale

ATLANTA -- Short starts have been a problem for the Pirates lately, but none of them have been quite like Joe Musgrove's outing on Monday night.

Musgrove was ejected with two out in the first inning, when his 18th pitch of the night grazed Josh Donaldson’s jersey. That set off a benches-clearing incident and led to the ejection of Musgrove, Donaldson and Bucs manager Clint Hurdle. It also forced Pittsburgh’s younger, inexperienced relievers to cover the remaining 8 1/3 innings, and they were hit hard in a 13-7 loss at SunTrust Park.

“Not only do I lose a start, but we put 8 1/3 innings on our bullpen at the beginning of a four-game series with three games to follow in Miami without an off-day,” said Musgrove, who will return to start Thursday’s series finale. “Guys are going to get sent down now, and guys are going to lose money and lose jobs up here all because of a bad decision out on the field.”

• Box score

It was the Pirates’ fourth straight loss and the 14th time this season they have allowed at least 10 runs in a game. The loss dropped them to a half-game out of last place in the National League Central.

One silver lining for the Pirates was Starling Marte, who clubbed two home runs in his third career multi-homer game. Marte was batting .200 with a .641 OPS at the end of April, but an extended hot streak has helped him boost those numbers to .289 and .806. Since moving up to the No. 3 spot in the order, Marte has hit .391 with four home runs in 16 games.

Marte’s last multi-homer game was on Aug. 18, 2014, also against the Braves. His performance helped the Pirates battle back into the game in the eighth. The inning began with Marte’s second homer, and Corey Dickerson pulled the Bucs within three runs with a pinch-hit, bases-loaded single to end a nine-pitch at-bat against reliever Dan Winkler.

“I feel a lot more comfortable at the plate. I feel like I found my swing,” Marte said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. “I feel like I found my groove, being able to hit the ball where I want to hit it. It’s been good.”

Marte’s hot streak was one of the positives on an otherwise vexing night for the Pirates. Everyone was upset about and bewildered by Musgrove’s ejection, and they were already thinking about the short- and long-term impact it will have on a taxed bullpen.

“The collateral damage that comes from it, there’s a lot of it. There’s a lot of it,” Hurdle said. “You’re putting yourself in a position where [relievers] won’t be able to pitch for a couple days and you’ve got to find some arms to take care of the bullpen work.”

Donaldson was upset when Musgrove’s 94-mph, first-pitch fastball brushed the front of his jersey, and both players stared at each other after Donaldson stepped out of the batter’s box. Donaldson later said he didn’t think the pitch was intentional, but he was bothered by Musgrove staring at him. When catcher Elias Diaz stood between Donaldson and Musgrove, Donaldson pushed Diaz aside.

Musgrove removed his hat and glove as the dugouts and bullpens emptied out onto the field. Neither side threw a punch, and the scrum quickly broke up. When the smoke cleared, umpires revealed that Musgrove and Donaldson had been ejected. That decision stunned Musgrove and drew the ire of Hurdle, who was soon ejected by home-plate umpire Brian Gorman.

“I did nothing more than stand my ground. I hit him with a pitch, and he stared at me trying to intimidate me. I’m not going to let that happen,” Musgrove said. “I looked back at him. He had a few words to say. He crossed the line and came at me. I took my hat and glove off and got ready to fight. That’s what got me tossed. I don’t know what else I could have done in that situation.”

The Pirates called on Alex McRae, who had not pitched since June 1, to replace Musgrove. The right-hander covered 4 1/3 innings, undoubtedly earning respect in Pittsburgh’s clubhouse, but he allowed eight runs (six earned) on six hits, including a trio of home runs.

Rookie Geoff Hartlieb gave up two runs in two innings, one of them on Ozzie Albies’ second home run of the night. Fellow rookie Montana DuRapau, recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday afternoon, allowed three runs on three hits in the eighth.

“McRae went out tonight and gave us everything he got,” Hurdle said. “Unfortunately, he ended up with [six] earned runs and threw 95 pitches, and everybody that came in after that gave up runs, which is unfortunate as well.”

Moving back Musgrove’s start temporarily fills one of the two holes in the Bucs’ rotation, although it opens another gap on Saturday in Miami. The good news for Musgrove? He won’t have to let his frustration simmer too long before he gets another chance against the Braves.

“After tonight, I’ll move on. It sucks,” Musgrove said. “I felt really good going into tonight, had a good game plan, stuff felt good in the first inning. Tonight’s over. Go to bed tonight, come back tomorrow with a new approach and get ready to face them on Thursday.”