An anemic offense has been on full display for the Pittsburgh Pirates over the past two evenings en route to two losses at Wrigley Field vs the Chicago Cubs.
A 6-3 defeat on Friday evening saw the Pirates muster a modest seven hits. However, five of those seven knocks came in the eighth and ninth innings, when the game was already out of reach.
The Pirates entered the eighth down 4-0. Gregory Polanco recorded a double and Jarrod Dyson drove him in with an RBI single, which was followed by an Adam Frazier single. That one run was, unfortunately, all the Pirates could bring home.
Before two solo blasts by Josh Bell (1st) and Colin Moran (4th) in the ninth of off the once-dependable Craig Kimbrel, the Pirates surrendered two more runs. They hit the ball very hard off of Kimbrel, but it wasn't enough to overcome a five-run deficit.
Saturday evening saw much of the same, as Pittsburgh entered the seventh inning with just one hit across.
Trailing by a 2-0 mark, singles by Kevin Newman and Bryan Reynolds, in addition to a Gregory Polanco walk, gave the Pirates a bases-loaded opportunity with two outs. However, Phillip Evans grounded out third to end the threat.
Pittsburgh reliever Michael Feliz surrendered a two-run blast to Kyle Schwarber in the bottom of the eighth (before leaving with an injury), which pushed the Cubs' lead to 4-0.
The Pirates threatened in the top of the ninth, but it wasn't enough, again.
Kevin Newman started off the frame with a single. Josh Bell struck out, but Colin Moran hit his fifth homerun of the young season to cut the lead to 4-2. Bryan Reynolds doubled and advanced to third on defensive indifference, and was brought across on an RBI groundout by Gregory Polanco. Phillip Evans walked, but Jose Osuna grounded into a force out to end the game.
The Pirates (2-6), desperate for a victory, will square off with the Cubs (6-2) in the final game of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Wrigley Field.
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