The Pirates blew a 5-0 lead and lost 7-6 today in the final game of a three-game set at Wrigley Field. The Pirates offense got off to a hot start with a leadoff home run from Oneil Cruz and was followed up by a grand slam from Brandon Lowe. That would be Brandon’s first home run of the game, as he homers twice in a game yet again. Unfortunately, the bullpen trio of Hunter Barco, Justin Lawrence, and Jose Urquidy could not keep the Cubs offense at bay and let the game slip away. The Pirates are now 9-6 and won 2-of-3 games at Wrigley. DiNardo and Doug gave their thoughts on the NS9 Postgame Show that you can watch here on YouTube. Here are my three takeaways from a disappointing loss.
The Oneil Cruz Breakout is Upon Us
I knew something was different here when Oneil Cruz was walked intentionally yesterday against a lefty pitcher. He followed up his 4-5 game on Saturday with another big day and a leadoff home run to start off the Pirates’ offensive train. His OPS on the season sits at 1.044; he has stolen six bases already; he is tied for team leader in home runs; and he is now intimidating enough to get walked by his old kryptonite in lefty pitchers. His strikeout rates will always be high, as he sits at a 28.3% on the season. However, if it is sub 30% and he continues to keep barreling the ball this frequently, this is a lineup catalyst who will end as the team’s best offensive player. Him reaching base twice, including a home run, seems a little overwhelming for him because of how much of a nightmare he has been for opposing arms. The only thing you would like to see him improve upon is his walk rate, which was excellent last year, but as David Ortiz once said, it is a win for the pitcher if Oneil Cruz only gets to first base.
The Pirates Have the Power
The offense of this team and the 2025 Pirates could not be more different. Powered by Brandon Lowe and Oneil Cruz, the Pirates added three more blasts to their top 10 in baseball total today. The home runs were responsible for six of the Pirates’ runs today, taking advantage of extremely favorable windy conditions in the worst baseball park in America. Going from dead last in home runs by a significant margin to a team that can win games solely from the home run is heavy whiplash.
I will take the defensive shortcomings that this team has if we can slug at this level consistently. The best part of the lineup is that we have had four guys hitting reliably for power and have been picking up other guys in the lineup who have struggled so far this season. They have been able to manage the awful starts from Spencer Horwitz and Marcell Ozuna because Lowe, Reynolds, Cruz, and O’Hearn have been roping balls over the fence. They did not lose today because of the bats; the bullpen should be able to take care of a five-run lead that the offense built.
This Bullpen Is One Heart Attack After Another
It’s quite early to be discussing deadline needs, but I do feel like that despite the bullpen achieving results, it is going to be the worst part of the team this year. This is a problem that will be helped by the return of Jared Jones shunting Carmen Mlodzinski to the bullpen, but it needs to be addressed badly. While the back end of the pen is really solid with Gregory Soto and Dennis Santana, the middle relief has been a roller coaster ride between Justin Lawrence, Mason Montgomery, and Hunter Barco. These guys are walking a ton of batters and are making it difficult to get from the 6th to the 8th innings unscathed. Lawrence continued to struggle mightily today, giving up two runs while holding a 6-4 lead in the 8th. Barco also gave the Cubs back a run in his stint that saw three hitters reach base. The Pirates have gotten lucky so far this year with stranding a lot of runners, but with how these last two games against the Cubs have gone, it is quite clear this is not a sustainable way to pitch. We were lucky to not lose on Saturday after the bullpen blew the lead, and it finally caught up to them.
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