The Pirates couldn’t afford to drop a series to the National League’s worst team. Entering just one game over .500, Pittsburgh fell in the first two games by one run before salvaging the series finale with an 8-6 win over the Rockies at Coors Field on Sunday.
Pirates starter Jared Jones exited the start after taking a comebacker off his right elbow in the bottom of the third inning. Pittsburgh’s bullpen worked six innings as its offense poured on eight runs to head home in the win column.
Still, losing the series to Colorado was not what the Pirates had in mind. Nearly at the halfway point of the season, here are five stats that put the setback in perspective.
50 years
Pittsburgh found itself in a peculiar position. In each of the first two games of the series, the Pirates trailed by one with the tying run on third and no outs in the ninth inning. They failed to get the run across both times, becoming the first team in the last 50 years to be in the situation in two consecutive games and not win either of them, according to STATS.
On Friday, Pittsburgh loaded the bases and Tyler Callihan struck out before Jared Triolo grounded into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play. On Saturday, the Pirates had the bases loaded with one out in the top of the ninth and Callihan struck out again. Jake Mangum put the ball in play, but an interference call ended the game. Those are two games Pittsburgh will want back.
7-17-1 series record
The Rockies’ series win over the Pirates was just their seventh through the first 25 opportunities of the season. Pittsburgh avoided being the third team Colorado has swept all season.
The Pirates haven’t won consecutive series in June, last winning two in a row by beating the Twins to end May and starting June with a series win over the Astros. Pittsburgh is 12-11-2 in 25 series thus far, already beating the Rockies in a series in mid-May. While a tiebreaker between the two squads likely won’t matter, the teams tied the season series, 3-3.
4 combined runs in 2 games
The Pirates have chugged through June without two of their most dynamic offensive players: Konnor Griffin and Oneil Cruz. Griffin landed on the IL on May 31, while Cruz hasn’t played since June 7. Pittsburgh went cold against Kyle Freeland and Tomoyuki Sugano, combining for four runs in the first two games against the Rockies.
In the 12 games since Cruz and Griffin have both been out, the Pirates are still averaging 4.8 runs per game. Sunday was a welcome sign that this top offense is here to stay, and the first two games of the series were likely a fluke.
7 straight
The Pirates continue to falter with their ace on the mound. On Saturday, Paul Skenes delivered another start with two earned runs or fewer -- his fifth in a row. Pittsburgh didn’t win any of those games, and has lost in each of Skenes’ last seven starts.
Skenes struck out eight and allowed only four hits across six innings against the Rockies on Saturday night. His efforts resulted in his seventh loss of the season, and his record now (6-7) is below .500 for the first time since he lost on Opening Day. Skenes is next in line to start against the Reds on Friday, where he’ll look for his first victory in 45 days.
28 of 31 games
Pittsburgh is 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card standings after its trip to Denver. It will certainly regret not taking care of the league’s worst team, with 28 of the next 31 games coming against teams with records currently over the .500 mark. The only three that wouldn’t be against said teams are versus the division-rival Cincinnati Reds.
The Pirates are 17-25 against teams with a record of .500 or better through 78 games. Pittsburgh’s upcoming gauntlet includes matchups with the division-leading Braves and Brewers, the AL-best Yankees and multiple teams ahead of the Pirates in the NL Wild Card race.