PITTSBURGH — In the fourth and fifth innings of Friday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, the Pirates’ offense had fleeting chances to mount a comeback.
With a one-run deficit, designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach led off the fourth with a double. Michael Chavis, Jack Suwinski and Diego Castillo stranded him there, recording a groundout, flyout and strikeout, respectively. The Reds added a pair of runs to extend their lead in the fifth, before the Pirates put runners on the corners with two outs for center fielder Bryan Reynolds. He weakly bounced out to the shortstop.
The Pirates’ pitching left much to be desired in what ultimately ended as an 8-2 loss, but futile at-bats with runners in scoring position told a large part of the story, too. More to the point, they became the most recent examples in an alarming trend for the team.
