MIAMI — When the throw sailed wide of first base, allowing Nick Gonzales to score instead of Jacob Gonzalez hitting into what should've been an inning-ending double play, it looked like the splash of good luck the Pirates have needed.
Turns out it was only a mirage.
Despite the early gift run, the Pirates encountered several speed bumps during an 8-2 loss to the Marlins at loanDepot Park on Wednesday, their third straight loss expanding the distance between Pittsburgh and the final National League Wild Card spot and furthering this frustrating stretch.
While several ingredients contributed to this loss — Carmen Mlodzinski struggled, the offense was once again quiet, and more preventable mistakes plagued the Pirates — it led to a bigger-picture postgame conversation, where manager Don Kelly delivered a message to his players.
“We have to compete,” Kelly said. “[Wednesday] was not good enough. I felt like we felt sorry for ourselves and didn't compete with the fight that we have all season, and we have to be better. We have to find a way, and we have to dig deep in the clubhouse — players, staff, everybody — and find a way."
Asked about Kelly's comments, Brandon Lowe said he thought around the Arizona series (July 27-29) everyone started putting too much pressure on themselves, getting outside of the group's collective comfort zone over the past 15 or so games.
It's easier said than done, obviously. But Lowe believes it’s not so much a lack of effort or fight as it is taking a breath and getting back to how the Pirates played earlier in the season.
“We’ve put this pressure on ourselves, and this is how we’re playing,” Lowe said. “We need to relax a little bit, get back to playing how we can play and do the things the way we’re supposed to be doing them.
“Quit worrying about what could happen in seven weeks. Just get out here, play clean baseball, do what we can do [Thursday] and get out there and have fun again.”
Not much about Wednesday was fun, that’s for sure.
Mlodzinski, with a chance to rebound after allowing five earned runs over three innings in his last start, didn’t make it out of the third this time while giving up four more earned runs.
“Just a bad outing” was how Mlodzinski described it, and he's exactly right.
Coupled with his last start, it hasn’t been the return to the rotation Mlodzinski or the Pirates imagined. After 14 games as a reliever where he had a 2.29 ERA, Mlodzinski has allowed nine earned runs in 5 1/3 innings since rejoining the rotation.
“I think there’s something mechanically going on, some physical stuff I need to clean up,” Mlodzinski said. “I’m definitely not trending in the direction I want to be.”
Mlodzinski left after giving up a double to left to designated hitter Agustin Ramirez. The ball looked playable for Gonzales, although he obviously wasn’t able to react in time.
While Gonzales has been solid at the plate, entering the game with a .304 average, he’s also been worth -13 defensive runs saved, per FanGraphs. That’s last in MLB among third basemen.
Following the double, Evan Sisk took over and struggled with his control. He walked pinch hitter Javier Sanoja and hit third baseman Leo Jimenez with the bases loaded, giving the Marlins a 3-1 lead.
Sisk also walked the next batter, catcher Joe Mack, to force in another run, and second baseman Xavier Edwards extended Miami’s lead to 5-1 with a sacrifice fly.
On the season, Sisk has now inherited 25 runners and allowed 15 of them to score. Overall, Pirates pitchers issued eight walks Wednesday.
“We got to throw strikes there to get out of that inning." Kelly said.
Shortly after the Marlins handed the Pirates a run, they promptly gave it back when Edwards hit a ground ball to Spencer Horwitz. Pittsburgh’s first baseman made a terrific diving stop, but Mlodzinski was late covering, allowing Edwards to reach and center fielder Jakob Marsee to score.
Given where the Pirates sit in the standings — 6.0 games back of the final postseason spot — mistakes like that simply can’t happen.
While Sisk experienced issues throwing strikes, Lake Bachar, in his return to Miami, had the opposite problem, giving up a pair of two-run homers to right fielder Griffin Conine and left fielder Heriberto Hernandez.
The Pirates have now dropped seven of eight, 12 of 15 and 17 of 25 to fall to 58-64 on the year. They were 55-52 when they won the first game of the Diamondbacks series on July 27 but have won just three games since that point.
At the plate, Gonzales and Ronny Simon were the only Pirates with multiple hits. They’ve had just four at-bats with runners in scoring position — all coming Wednesday — in the series and are 0 for 4. Since July 28, the Pirates have scored just 48 runs in 15 games. Only four MLB teams have scored fewer.
“It’s Aug. 12,” Lowe said. “There’s no clinching happening, and no one is out of anything. Things can shake up and get weird here down the stretch.”
As long as there’s more pushback and the baseball gets cleaner, Kelly emphasized.
"The fight has been phenomenal up until this point, but [Wednesday] not good enough,” Kelly said. “We haven't been playing good baseball. The mistakes on the bases, not getting over and covering first base, there are a lot of things we can't let slide. That's what it's going to take to pull out of it."
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.