Pirates are taking it 'pitch by pitch' and hoping it evens out

BALTIMORE -- Before the Pirates went their separate ways on Saturday night following their latest loss, manager Derek Shelton briefly held court. Shelton seldom pulls the team meeting card in this fashion, but after the Bucs lost, 2-0, against the Orioles at Camden Yards, their 11th loss in their last 12 games, Shelton wanted his team to convene.

The meeting was quick. The message was simple.

“He was like, ‘Y’all are playing really well,’” recalled Ke'Bryan Hayes. “Early in the year, we were kicking peoples’ [butts]. Now, we’re not having some luck. You just have to move forward and can’t really dwell on it too much. You just have to take it pitch by pitch each day. Just continue to play hard and things will even out.”

Over the last two weeks, the Pirates have desperately searched for that one play that even things out, the lucky break that sets the table for a momentum-shifting, pressure-alleviating win. In the seventh inning, that one play alluded them yet again.

Orioles right-hander Tyler Wells kept Pittsburgh's offense quiet for the first six innings, but with two outs in the seventh and the Pirates trailing by two runs, Carlos Santana and Jack Suwinski drew back-to-back walks to put the tying run on base. On a 2-1 count, Miguel Andújar drove a 2-1 fastball from Wells to the right-field warning track; if the ball landed anywhere but a glove, the Pirates would’ve tied the game. Instead, right fielder Anthony Santander made a leaping catch to deny Andújar of extra bases and keep the Pirates scoreless.

"When you're going good, those are the balls that either are four feet to … his right, the ball goes out of the ballpark and we're winning 3-2, or that's the ball that hits off the top of the wall and all of a sudden we're in a 2-2 game,” Shelton said. “It's one of those things that we have to continue to grind, we have to continue to create our own breaks. I'm confident in this club being able to do it. We saw it earlier in the year. When you have young players, sometimes they put a little pressure on themselves. We have to relax and go pitch by pitch."

Added Hayes, “Just kind of bad luck. Off the bat, looked like it could have went out. Santander made a really good play. Probably a play, if he had to do it 10 times, he may only make it one or two times.”

As a result of Santander’s run-saving play, Roansy Contreras ended up stuck with the tough-luck loss despite allowing two runs across seven innings, tied for the most innings he’s pitched in a single game.

Contreras’ first two innings were defined by the long ball; Adley Rutschman homered on a slider that caught a little too much plate in the first, and Gunnar Henderson homered on a curveball in the second. From there, Contreras held the Orioles scoreless from innings three through seven.

"I think tonight was probably the best stuff Ro's had all year long,” Shelton said. “He gives up two solo homers … but other than that, I thought he was outstanding. He was pretty much in control other than that. Not a lot of contact, he got fly balls and he did a really nice job.”

Contreras’ outing was just the second quality start a Pirate has recorded this month, the other being Mitch Keller’s shutout. On Sunday afternoon, Pittsburgh will once again send Keller to the mound to play the role of stopper, to snap another losing streak. The Pirates aren’t strangers to team meetings this season, but tomorrow, they hope a win can do all the talking that’s needed.

“Each day is a new day,” Hayes said. “You got to take it pitch by pitch. You just got to be focused every single pitch on offense and defense. They’re playing really good ball right now. Just got to wash it after, what you did wrong, what you did right. You just got to keep playing hard. At the end of the day, the game will even out.”