PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was a fifth inning as sloppy as the field conditions that doomed the Pirates in a 6-0 loss to San Diego in game one of three. The Bucs have lost four of its last five and now at least four games out of the final Wild Card spot. It’s the eighth time the Pirates have been shutout this year.
After a simple groundout, a ball off the glove of first baseman Rowdy Tellez ruled a double. Then a soft liner placed between second baseman Jared Triolo and shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa for a single and runners at first and third. Centerfielder Ji Hwan Bae races in on a short fly ball by Tyler Wade. Bae slides to catch it and it goes off the top of his glove. If he keeps his feet, he catches it waist-high and has a chance to throw the runner out at home. Instead that is ruled a single which is then followed by a hit batter and two legitimate singles for a 4-0 Padres lead.
36-year-old Donovan Solano would drive in two more runs with a single in the ninth inning for four RBI on the night. Solano has 25 RBI in 186 at bats this year.
Starters out early
Instead of delaying the start of the game, it began even with threatening skies and a bad forecast. Bailey Falter gave up a single in each inning, the first erased by a double play. The second hit with two outs which was followed by a ground out.
After throwing 66 pitches in his first game back from left triceps tendonitis, Falter wasn’t able to return throwing only 20 pitches in two innings, 14 for strikes.
"Yeah, it was definitely frustrating, for sure,” Falter said. “I feel like we all saw this coming, but for some reason we still played on time. But that's above my pay grade. My job is to go out there and toe the rubber when I'm told, and that's exactly what we did."
While Falter was out after two, the Padres best starter this season, Dylan Cease, only went one inning allowing a two-out double in a scoreless first inning throwing 14 pitches.
So where there talks of just delaying the start?
“Yeah, there was (conversation) and the rain came faster than we thought,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton. “All indications that we got from the rain were that it was not gonna be here that early. The two indications we got were that the rain was definitely not gonna be here that early, so then if you wait, then you sit for an hour and a half then it doesn't rain. Then the second thing was, we thought the duration of the rain was gonna be longer than it was but it was further out, and evidently, you guys know I'm not a meteorologist, but it came really fast and hard. It came in so fast and so hard and got out, I think that's why we had the volume of water we had.”
Long delay
Originally slated to restart at 8:15 following a downpour, 1:14 after the delay began, the umpires and reps from each side noticed the warning track in left field was still waterlogged. As crews worked on that and eventually made it playable with three groundcrew members with rakes and a motorized vehicle, they noticed the same issue in right field. They had to wait for Major League Baseball to approve the conditions so they could resume the game.
"We got a lot of rain very quickly as you guys were all aware," Shelton said. "The field itself, we were able to get the tarp on in time, but the warning track took a ton of water and we had to get it to the point where it was just playable. I think the challenge, and I think Matt Brown and his crew did a good job, it was the entire warning track. Once they got that area in left-center field, that pond in left-center field cleared out and we thought that was playable but then we had to go to right field and get that water off. So, I just think it was the amount of rain in such a short period of time that was a challenge."
“Tonight’s intense rain caused a flash flood effect on the warning track resulting in the drainage system to be overrun by dirt flowing off the warning track,” said Pirates Senior Vice-President of Communications Brian Waricki in a statement. “PNC Park crews worked diligently to clear the drains and divert the water to the best of their abilities. During that process, there were active conversations with all involved to ensure the playing surface was safe to continue play. Once all parties agreed, the game was resumed.”
“We appreciate the patience of our fans. We will be rewarding their patience by issuing two complementary tickets for every account who scanned into tonight’s game. Redemption details will be emailed directly to those accounts.”
Cruz out
Shortstop Oneil Cruz was not available for the game on Tuesday. He was out sick and is day-to-day.
Big debut
In his first game since being promoted from Bradenton to Greensboro, 21-year-old, left-handed hitting catcher Omar Alfonzo went 4 for 4 with a two-run home run and four RBI. His OPS, after one game at High A, is 2.750.
Up Next
Another lefty for the Pirates Wednesday night, Marco Gonzales (1-1, 3.72 ERA) against RHP Michael King (9-6, 3.26 ERA). The 29-year-old had a 2.75 ERA and 2.29 ERA in 2023 and 2022 respectively, mostly coming out of the bullpen. King had a big July, 3-1, 1.82 ERA, 24.2 innings, 29 strikeouts, six walks, 0.69 WHIP. Dan Zangrilli starts the North Shore Tavern Leadoff Show at 5:45p on 93.7 The Fan.