PHOENIX — Despite flying across the country and changing time zones, the Pirates hoped to bottle the momentum they built against the Reds over the weekend and perhaps even build on it.
That didn’t happen.
Instead, zero offense, too many free passes and a concerning trend in the outfield combined to produce a 9-0 loss to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday at Chase Field.
The loss dents the Pirates’ chances of a productive outcome in this series, which they had a golden opportunity to leverage considering Arizona had lost four in a row, seven of 10 and arrived home from a 2-6 road trip.
Oh, and the Diamondbacks were sporting the second-worst ERA in baseball at 5.07. It mattered little on this night, as manager Don Kelly watched from the Pirates’ front office suite, serving a one-game suspension.
Kelly certainly didn’t miss much.
"They got the momentum [Tuesday] and rode it," Joey Bart said. "We had none, from the beginning.
"Usually a big homer or a big inning gets it going. When we have those innings, we can get dangerous fast. We just didn’t have that today. Just have to recoup, get ready to go [Wednesday] and bring it."
Bubba Chandler started and did well to gather himself after a 38-pitch first inning. Three of Chandler’s six walks came in the opening frame, while Arizona scored a pair of runs.
To his credit, Chandler made it through five innings covered enough innings to not hamstring the bullpen.
Yohan Ramirez — who was warming in the first — relieved Chandler in the sixth and also had a tough time throwing strikes, walking one and hitting two. The Diamondbacks scored five times in the sixth to turn this one into. Rout.
"Out there trying to pitch and trying to dominate," Chandler said. "Some days you do, some days you don't. I'm confident. Grinded my butt off [Tuesday]. Think I'll keep that one in the back pocket and know that we can do it. Go out there Sunday and do it."
Chandler's right: He did grind his butt off. Two earned runs allowed over five innings is just fine. But it's also true that Chandler needs to be around the zone more. He’s up to 26 walks in 34 innings, which leads Major League Baseball.
It’s a shame, too, because his stuff has mostly been unhittable. Chandler didn’t allow a hit after that first inning, though he obviously can’t average 6.9 walks per nine innings.
"Just trying to keep him in the zone, keep him on the attack, keep him comfortable," Bart said. "Talking to him between innings and pumping him up, letting him know how good his stuff is.
"As a young player, it takes some time to figure out who you are, what you can do. I think that’s what he’s doing right now."
Arizona grabbed a 1-0 advantage in the first thanks to designated hitter Adrian Del Castillo’s sacrifice fly. Former Pirates Ildemaro Vargas made it a 2-0 game a batter later by hitting a hanging slide 380 feet into center field for a double.
It was a good swing by Vargas, taking advantage of a mistake pitch from Chandler, but the play should’ve been made. Bryan Reynolds and Oneil Cruz converged, and it looked like Reynolds slowed up on a play he should’ve made.
This obviously isn’t the first time Pirates outfielders have had communication issues, something that has dated back to early in the regular season when Kelly talked about the need to establish more non-verbal communication.
While it wasn’t scored an error, the Pirates have made plenty of those this season. Too many. Only five MLB clubs had made more. Between the walks — Pirates have the eighth-most and fielding miscues — they’re simply giving too much away.
That was a big theme in the sixth, when Ramirez put two on for Gabriel Moreno. Arizona’s catcher went down and got a two-strike slider, lining it into right field for a double and a 3-0 lead.
After Ramirez hit center fielder Alek Thomas, shortstop Geraldo Perdomo hit a soft liner to right that went down as a double. Arizona scored its final two runs of the inning when Konnor Griffin couldn’t get Thomas at home and right fielder Corbin Carroll’s sacrifice fly brought in Perdomo.
At the plate, the Pirates went library quiet against left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who worked seven scoreless frames against them, allowing just two hits and striking out seven.
It was the first time a Diamondbacks pitcher has worked six or more innings since April 17.
"He lives on the edges," Bart said. "I got one pitch to hit and flew out. The rest was a steady mix on the edges. That’s kind of how he did all of us."
As for Chandler, there's no doubt his stuff is really good, resulting in four strikeouts against Arizona. But with a 4.76 ERA and four of seven outings where he’s walked at least four, the Pirates have something to monitor over the next few weeks.
With Jared Jones eligible to come off the 60-day injured list on May 26, do they make Carmen Mlodzinski a reliever or would it make more sense to move Chandler and keep Mlodzinski in the rotation?
There’s time to figure all of that out. It starts with Chandler being in the zone more and climbing the ladder, as Bart said.
"As a young player, it takes some time to figure out who you are, what you can do," Bart said. "I think that’s what he’s doing right now. The last couple starts have been great steppingstones.
"What I’ve been telling him is just get a little better each time. You can’t jump the ladder and be the best out of the gates. Very few people do. So just keep getting a little bit better, keep working in the right direction. I think that’s the way he’s gonna get to be where he can be."
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.