Not even Paul Skenes could stop the Phillies as he gives up five runs in a 6-0 loss to be swept at the hands of the Phillies. It was the second straight game where the Pirates bats were shutout after the bullpen collapse Friday night. Tyler and Doug recapped this one on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti’s Bros. You can watch/listen to the show here…
Here’s my three takeaways from this sweep…
The Phillies Outclassed the Pirates in Every Way
Even though the record says both teams have the same record, the Phillies were in another stratosphere compared to Pittsburgh this weekend. Both teams came in with good offenses and were featuring their two best pitchers in the rotation. At the end of the day, the Phillies offensive stars (Harper and Schwarber) and friends outslugged the Pirates lineup to the tune of 23-8 in terms of runs scored. Wheeler and Sanchez gave up 0 runs in 16 innings of work, while Skenes and Ashcraft gave up 9 earned runs in their outings. The Pirates bullpen threw away the game on Friday while the Phillies bullpen looked unhittable. The Phillies defense was flashing the leather while Jake Mangum was unable to catch pop-ups that barely hit the warning track. No one is surprised that the Phillies are a better team than the Pirates, considering the star power and the money they have spent. However, the Pirates needed to have their stars step up to the plate this weekend, and instead, the entire team rolled over and died.
Skenes Shows Why Pirates Are Quick to Hook Starters
In the first couple weeks of the season, there was much outrage from the Pirates faithful because the Pirates were removing their starters from games before 100 pitches were hit. Even if they were dealing, it seemed the Pirates were concerned about preserving their arms and making sure they were good to go long into the season. Sunday was a good case study as to why they chose to act this way. Paul Skenes went 16 innings in his last 2 starts and hit 93 mph on a fastball in his last inning versus the Rockies on Tuesday, and the same fatigue showed today. Skenes was able to dominate through 4 innings, despite working up a big pitch count. Then he fell apart in the 5th and 6th innings, where his fastball velocity dropped to 94 mph and his command had fallen apart. The Phillies took full advantage of this and pummeled the tired ace for 5 earned runs, which was an impossible feat to come back from. The MLB season is a marathon, and even the most gifted pitcher to grace the sport needs load management, or else we will get more starts like this one.
It is Time for Marcell Ozuna to Put up or Shut up
The Pirates offense was lifeless today, as Brandon Lowe‘s fan interference double was the only time the Bucs managed to get a base runner past 1st base. Both Ryan O’Hearn and Marcell Ozuna were riding the bench today, O’Hearn because he just landed on the IL and Ozuna because he’s been awful all season. With the Pirates 2nd-best hitter being sidelined for what looks like a month, the team desperately needs their 12 million dollar signing to show the world why we gave him the big bucks. Obviously, Zack Wheeler is an ace, so it’s not surprising that the Pirates struggled to hit one of the best pitchers in baseball. But looking at a lineup without both of those names betrays the lack of depth the Pirates have.
Ozuna has been hitting the ball better in the month of May, but it speaks volumes that Kelly didn’t want him in the lineup after striking out 4 times to Christopher Sanchez on Saturday. Ozuna currently is rocking a 65 wRC+, his batting average is well under the Mendoza line, and he is still deep in negative WAR. The Pirates cannot afford to fall 5 games under .500, and that is something within the realm of possibility if the offense can’t keep up their current pace. Ozuna is the best bet to make sure we never have to worry about that possibility.
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