After their recent historic homestand, the Pittsburgh Pirates are back to being themselves.
The Pirates followed up their surprising six-game winning streak with six straight road losses, getting swept by the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals. Their bats went into hibernation, getting shut out in all three Mariners games and scoring just nine runs in the six losses — four of which came by one run.
It’s tough to win when you don’t score runs, which is what happened in Seattle. It’s also tough to win when you can’t keep the ball in the yard, which is what happened in Kansas City.
Coming into the series, the Royals had managed just 15 home runs in 44 games at Kauffman Stadium this year. Their offense ranks near the bottom of the league in numerous categories, which is a big reason why they have a losing record this season despite their outstanding pitching.
However, that didn’t stop Kansas City from shocking Pittsburgh’s stellar pitching staff. The Royals bashed nine homers, accounting for 12 of their 17 runs during the series — including all four of their runs in Wednesday’s 4-3 victory.
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The Pirates slugged three homers but couldn’t keep up with Kansas City’s stunning power binge, which produced more long balls than the team’s previous 14 games combined. If Pittsburgh’s pitchers had done a better job of limiting their mistakes and keeping the ball in the park, they probably would have emerged with a win or two.
After allowing their most home runs in a three-game series this year, the Pirates will turn to Paul Skenes to stop the bleeding on Friday night against the Minnesota Twins. Unfortunately, he has a tough matchup against fellow All-Star Joe Ryan, so he’s unlikely to get much run support in his final start before the All-Star Break.
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Featured image via John Froschauer/Imagn Images