Bucs blanked by Sánchez as left-handed pitching continues to puzzle Pittsburgh

PHILADELPHIA -- The Pirates have batted so poorly against left-handed pitchers that they benched two of their best hitters as a possible solution. Against one of the best southpaws in the sport, the latest iteration of a possible answer faltered.

Pittsburgh fell to Philadelphia 8-0 Tuesday night, tallying just three hits in seven innings against NL Cy Young candidate Cristopher Sánchez. The Pirates haven’t won a game against a left-handed starting pitcher since May 26, and rank 13th in the National League with a .677 OPS against lefties.

“We've got to keep going and find something, because we've got to be better against lefties,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said postgame.

It was just over a month ago when Sánchez went the distance against Pittsburgh, striking out a career-high 13 and allowing only six hits. In the second rendition of Sánchez versus the Pirates this season, Kelly elected to play the ultimate splits game.

Pittsburgh rolled out a lineup of all right-handed or switch-hitters for the first time all season. The experiment included the subtraction of usual key cogs Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn. Billy Cook mixed in to center field for the usual Jake Mangum and Endy Rodríguez started at first base.

The decision wasn’t as blasphemous as it may seem. Lowe has a .576 OPS against lefties in 2026 despite his All-Star caliber season. O’Hearn is batting only .247 versus southpaws.

The splits didn’t stop Sánchez. He struck out five of the first six batters and retired the side in order through the first two frames. Pittsburgh didn’t record its first hit until the fourth inning, when Nick Gonzales singled through the right side with two outs. Sánchez walked two batters, two more than he did on May 16 in Pittsburgh.

Billy Cook and Esmerlyn Valdez each recorded hits, and Sánchez was out after seven shutout innings. Cook explained that Pittsburgh chased a little too much, giving Sánchez an added advantage. Sánchez’s nasty changeup was especially hard to hit as he tunneled it with the sinker.

Konnor Griffin felt the changeup, which produced 15 whiffs total and three for Griffin, had the same arm action as the sinker. Griffin struck out twice against Sánchez. He felt the lineup entered with a good plan, but didn’t execute. Kelly felt the same.

“I felt like we got out of our approach, trying to do too much,” Kelly said.

As the Phillies went to a right-handed reliever, the Pirates immediately turned back to their usual crew. O’Hearn pinch-hit for Henry Davis and walked. By the time Sánchez was out of the game, the damage was already done as the Phillies' offense produced five runs. They added three more in the eighth.

Sánchez now owns a 1.08 career ERA against the Pirates. Pittsburgh’s offense has proven to do everything and more all season, producing the second-best OPS (.754) in baseball. But lefties are the definitive kryptonite.

“We got some real good hitters, and we just got to have one good game, and we'll get rolling,” Griffin said. “It's just, try not to overthink it too much and make it a big deal when there's a lefty on the mound.”