PITTSBURGH -- For 13 innings this weekend, the Pirates stood toe-to-toe with the New York Yankees, the current top class of MLB. On Tuesday, the Pirates showed up and outhomered the Bronx Bombers en route to a victory. On Wednesday, in the finale of the short two-game series between the teams, right-hander Mitch Keller evaded damage and looked relatively under control in a scoreless first four innings.
In the fifth, the dam began to leak. Keller allowed an inopportune walk to Joey Gallo, a single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa and then a two-run single from DJ LeMahieu. In the sixth, he gave up back-to-back solo bombs to Josh Donaldson and Gallo, breaking the flood gates open altogether.
The three Pirates pitchers who immediately followed Keller were greeted unkindly. The Yankees plated at least one run facing each of them, including a five-run outburst in the eighth. Then the Pirates put infielder Josh VanMeter on the mound, the fifth time they’ve used a position player to pitch this season. He gave up six runs in the ninth, making it a 16-0 defeat. It’s the fourth time this season the Pirates have lost by 14 runs or more.
This was probably bound to happen to the Pirates eventually. They have obviously struggled to string together wins this season, except, oddly, against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Yankees. Entering Wednesday, they had a 6-1 combined record against arguably the two best teams in baseball, though it should be noted that it was only one game against the Yankees.
New York, on the other hand, came into Wednesday’s game having lost two in a row, and they’ve only lost three games in a row on one occasion in 2022. The odds of the Pirates’ good run against elite teams persisting were probably not very good.
Still, the quickness with which the Yankees flexed their muscles was eye-opening.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why. By Spotrac’s numbers, the Yankees have an estimated 2022 payroll more than 3 1/2-times larger than that of the Pirates. That doesn’t necessarily guarantee success or failure, but it makes the margins for error much different.
For instance, Gallo is slumping this season, but he’s a two-time All-Star batting seventh in the Yankees’ order. You could say the same for Donaldson, a former American League MVP batting sixth. So even though the Pirates held the Yankees’ offensive stars — Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton — in check for most of the series, New York’s fallback plan sure isn’t bad.
On the other hand, the Pirates’ options are more limited. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes and center fielder Bryan Reynolds, more than likely the most proven offensive entities on the roster, tried to rally early. Hayes singled up the middle against Yankees starter Luis Severino, and Reynolds doubled to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Rookie outfielder Jack Suwinski popped out to second, designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach struck out looking and first baseman Yoshi Tsutsugo rolled over to first.
It’s not to say any of those three are bad players, but they aren’t MVPs. Plus, the Pirates’ inability to manufacture runs in good opportunities this season continues to bite them. They never got another runner into scoring position, as the Yankees methodically shut the game down.
Then, to add insult to injury, the Yankees’ best player did show up after all. In the eighth inning with the bases loaded, Judge smoked an 0-1 fastball to left off Pirates reliever Manny Bañuelos. A little on the nose, considering Bañuelos was just recently designated for assignment and traded to the Pirates for cash considerations. This was his first appearance in the black and gold.
After VanMeter pitched the ninth, the Yankees trotted out right-hander Albert Abreu, with his 2.55 ERA, because he hadn’t pitched in a few days and they could afford to burn him, another example of the riches the Yankees have that the Pirates just don’t.
Obviously, one game doesn’t say everything about a season, and it definitely can’t illustrate the scope of two franchises entirely. It certainly won’t force the Pirates to spend $200 million a year, either.
But the Yankees showed their full powers on Wednesday and won, while the Pirates couldn’t put it together and lost. That has happened more often than not this season.
