The Pirates have now dropped 4 straight games and are 3-7 in their last 10 as they lose to the Reds by 1 run yet again. Paul Skenes looked poor today and let the last place Reds tally 5 runs off of him and the bullpen ran out of steam yet again. The snake bitten Bucs are likely to lose Ryan O’Hearn for a long period of time after he exits tonight’s game with an injury. Things are looking bleak for the Pirates as they aim for a series split at best with Cincinnati, and dreams of Buctober are fading into that good night. The team continues to be unable to get out of its own way and injuries have caused major problems all over the field. I don’t know how you fix this with one trade deadline. Watch Jim and DiNardo break the game down in further detail here:

Nick Gonzales Cannot Continue As Our 3rd Baseman

In the words of Joe Block tonight: “If Nick Gonzales does what every 3rd baseman’s done, forever, and throws the ball to first base, the inning ends and the game is tied.” Instead, his inexcusable error is the deciding factor that sinks the Pirates below .500. While Lowe has to catch the baseball, there is no universe where Gonzales does not get Nathaniel Lowe out if he just makes the normal play. Nick Gonzales has been a useful bat this year, and no one can deny it. It is not his fault that the team has asked him to take on 3rd when his natural position is 2nd base (where his defense is also abysmal). His decision-making and lack of range at 3rd is continuing to cost the Pirates runs to the point that I genuinely believe this team might be 10 over if Ke’Bryan Hayes was still here. I understand the bat needs to be in the lineup, but Gonzales will continue to cost the Pirates games if he’s allowed to man 3rd every day. There has to be a change.

Paul Skenes Has to be Better

This is one of the few times I would agree with many fans that Skenes has to be better. He cannot use the defense as an excuse; he gave up 5 runs over 4 innings, all on his own. Striking out 7 batters means nothing when you allow 11 base runners, including 4 walks and 2 home runs on the day. Skenes wasn’t facing some gauntlet of hitters; he was giving up nukes to JJ Bleday and Sal Stewart. When the team is facing a rough patch of games like the Pirates are now, they need to lean on their elite talent. Instead, Skenes forced them to play in a close game despite the offense hammering Hunter Greene. It was unrealistic to expect him to maintain a sub-2 ERA for his whole career, but it makes sense why Pittsburgh fans are frustrated that he isn’t delivering Cy Young results in the year they are finally trying to compete in.

Ryan O’Hearn Is the Cherry on Top of the Injury Crisis

Ryan O’Hearn could barely put weight on his leg tonight, running out a ground ball to 1st base, and is poised to be on the IL for a while. He joins the growing list of Pirates who have missed significant time, with Oneil Cruz, Spencer Horwitz, Endy Rodriguez, Konnor Griffin, and Ryan O’Hearn (now twice!). We as a fan base have been truly robbed of something special with all these injuries. Not only would these guys being healthy power us to some victories in this rough patch, they also make us better defensively. We are stretching our position players so thin we are going to see Jacob Gonzalez man 1st base going forward until Horwitz recovers from his concussion. This is what saddens me most this season, because there is so much talent here and we have never been able to fully realize it. Injuries have played a major part of that waste.