The latest display of futility from the Pirates' offense could be measured by a few inches. That's the difference between home plate and Adeiny Hechavarria's fingertips when the shortstop was tagged out by Kurt Suzuki to end a seventh inning rally Monday night at PNC Park.
That's as close as they came to avoiding a third one-run shutout loss in the past week, as the Braves needed only one run in the first inning to win, 1-0, in the series opener. The Pirates had only seven hits, saw another inning end with a runner thrown out at home and their record dropped to 63-63, six games back in the wild card standings.
It spoiled the pitching staff's latest immaculate performance, though they lost their prized trade deadline acquisition after only four innings.
Chris Archer, making his fourth start with the Pirates, was removed as a precaution after suffering a left leg injury while swinging a bat in the third inning. Although Archer again struggled with efficiency, he showed signs of being the front line starter Neal Huntington sought for this playoff push and beyond.
"I felt good the whole game," Archer said. "They did a good job putting some good pitches in play. Overall, I felt good. Again, trending in the right direction. Wish I could have stayed out there, but I think we did the right thing."
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORETodd Tomczyk, the Pirates' director of sports medicine, told reporters afterwards that Archer has checked out "OK" and will be evaluated Tuesday to determine his availability for his next scheduled start. Archer also called his exit "precautionary" since all involved wanted to ensure he would not put too much stress on his arm by pitching through a leg injury.
The injury came after some tangible signs of progress. Archer's final line wasn't spectacular. He allowed five hits, three of which were doubles, with one walk and three strikeouts. The 29-year-old also also needed 76 pitches to get through his four innings. Yet, those who watched the start from behind home plate and in the dugout were encouraged.
"It was better," Francisco Cervelli proclaimed. "This is a process. He's going to be fine." Unlike previous starts, Archer did get ahead of hitters. Archer, at the behest of Cervelli and Ray Searage, even threw his fastball with more confidence. Ronald Acuña Jr. rolled over on the first pitch of the game, and Archer followed by striking out Ender Inciarte with a 96-mph four-seam fastball high in the zone.
He had two strikes on Freddie Freeman with two outs, only for Freeman to double on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Archer got ahead with two strikes on Nick Markakis and again, a two-strike hit, as Markakis broke his bat on a slider a few inches off the ground for an RBI single:
"I did [see more confidence with the fastball], and I thought we were so close to having a big push in the first inning," Clint Hurdle said. "The first two hitters were retired so quick and then unfortunately Freeman stretched him out. Threw a good pitch to Markakis, who breaks his bat, finds the grass and scores a run. ... I thought there was some improvement in some areas."
Archer responded with three consecutive outs after Suzuki's leadoff double in the second, capped by this strikeout of Acuña with his signature wipeout slider:
Again, the Braves led off an inning with a double, as Inciarte lined a ball to right to start the third, and Archer was able to escape unscathed. He struck out Markakis with a high fastball and got Ozzie Albies to ground out following a two-out walk. "It was good, but biggest pitch of the night was the one to Markakis," Archer said. "He put a good swing on a good pitch. Wish I could have executed a little bit better, but I did a good job of minimizing the damage."
The injury occurred later in the third inning, when Archer swung at this high fastball for strike three:
He took the mound for his warmup pitches at the start of the fourth inning and remained in the game after getting checked by head athletic trainer Bryan Housand. Archer needed only 12 pitches to retire the side in order, though he had help from Gregory Polanco throwing Bryse Wilson out at first on a ground ball hit to right field.
Archer walked slowly off the field and was removed for Steven Brault at the start of the fifth inning. "What you’re trying to avoid is having it leak into the arm," Archer said. "All your power and drive comes from your lower half. If you ease up on your lower half, you put more stress on your arm, so we’re just trying to avoid anything serious happening to the arm."
Brault, Edgar Santana, Kyle Crick and Keone Kela combined to throw five scoreless innings to give the offense a chance at a comeback. It's the first time since July 13-18, 1888 that the Pirates lost three of five games despite allowing five or fewer runs in that span, and their 3.10 ERA since July 7 is the lowest in the National League. That's with Archer failing to pitch through the sixth inning since joining the rotation Aug. 3, posting a 4.91 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in 18 1/3 innings.
Archer is adjusting to different pitch sequences since he's facing new hitters in a division much different than the one he just left, as Jameson Taillon explained after watching this latest start. "I think you can see a little bit of the American League style," Taillon said. "Throwing a lot of breaking balls, swing-and-miss stuff, whereas we’re a little different than that. ... We’re trying to be more efficient, get deep into games. It’s going to be lethal for him when he gets a little mix of both, punches guys out and starts saving pitches here and there."
The injury prevented Archer from building on his strong finish, though it wouldn't have mattered given the offense's struggles. The Pirates are now 9 1/2 games back in the Central Division and will play the Braves two more times before embarking on a nine-game road trip. The off-day Thursday can provide Archer with additional rest, and he'll try to accomplish what's eluded him since arriving only a few weeks ago.
"The one thing I’ve always prided myself in this game is being on the field. But I think it was a smart move," Archer said. "Like they told you guys, precautionary. Just trying to be smart, so I can be out there in five days instead of letting it linger and potentially doing something worse."
1. It happened again.
Some at-bats were short. Others were long but fruitless because of bad luck. Either way, the outcome was troubling for Hurdle. It's the first time since 1968 the Pirates have lost three 1-0 games in a month, let alone in one week. They grounded into two more double plays and went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position. That one hit was by Corey Dickerson, a single to center with Hechavarria on second base in the seventh inning.
The result:
"They score one run and you don’t talk about their offense, and if we score one run it’s a different game, maybe we’re still playing," Hurdle said. "We’ve had a couple plays at the plate with the reviews. It was a great play. That guy’s a really talented center fielder. That’s a nice play by the catcher at home. We’re hunting the plate, we’re not getting there."
Hechavarria, who went 2 for 4 with a double, was the only player with a multi-hit game. Dickerson struck out to lead off the first and grounded into an inning-ending double play in the fifth. Adam Frazier was hitless in four at-bats. Cervelli grounded into a double play after Josh Bell's leadoff single in the second. Again, they couldn't generate momentum.
Sure, some bad luck has played into it, but they couldn't make hard contact on Wilson, a 20-year-old right-hander recalled before first pitch. The Pirates hit only two balls off Wilson that had an exit velocity over 98 mph, according to Statcast. Their hardest-hit ball of the night was by Polanco, a double to right off Sam Freeman, a lefty.
"I think we’d all like to score runs," Hurdle said. "From that standpoint, guys are up there battling. ... I see guys just not getting hits or having quite as productive at-bats as you’d want."
2. Two fine throws to help the staff.
Archer couldn't put away Wilson, either. Wilson had only 17 at-bats in the minors all season — only three were in Triple-A — and he still hit a line drive to right in the fourth that had an exit velocity of 97.5 mph. Wilson's sprint speed to first was measured at 27.6 feet per second, which is slightly above league average.
While Polanco approached the ball, Archer pointed towards first base to see if his right fielder would try to throw out the pitcher and end the inning. Polanco delivered a 97-mph throw to get the out. It was his eighth outfield assist of the season and 42nd of his career. "That was huge," Archer said. "Our defense has been picking us up lately. To play like that is good to see."
Cervelli then bailed out Brault in the fifth when he threw out Acuña at third base to end the inning, and he threw out Dansby Swanson at second base in the ninth. Cervelli's caught 18 runners trying to steal bases this season, ranking second among all National League catchers. That's the second-most of his career and seven more than he had in 78 games last season.
"It’s everything," Cervelli said. "I feel comfortable and can move everywhere. I’m new. I’m a little kid again."
3. Harrison can't be replaced.
Josh Harrison was going to be removed in the 11th inning during Sunday's game because he aggravated a left hamstring injury and was out of the lineup for the series opener Monday. Kevin Newman started at second and went 0 for 2. He will likely see more playing time with Jordy Mercer currently on the disabled list, and the Pirates can't afford to carry an injured player on the bench.
Harrison's been dealing with this injury for the past six weeks and told reporters in Minneapolis that he didn't feel 100 percent until Tuesday night. The Pirates may want to put him on the disabled list to err on the side of caution and ensure he's healthy for September, but that would require them to either recall Max Moroff or possibly activate Sean Rodriguez from the disabled list.
Frazier would start most games if Harrison is to miss time, but he can be a liability defensively. Plus, Harrison was also starting to gain traction at the plate. He had hit safely in four of his last five games with at least one at-bat and in eight of his last 10, batting .306 in 36 at-bats during that span. He's also batting .298 in 15 games this month. Even his defense had looked better in the past week. They can ill afford to lose him. Though Newman is a capable defender, he lacks Harrison's range. Plus, Hurdle can't continue to use Jordan Luplow as a pinch-hitter with a runner on in a one-run game.
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY
Pirates vs. Braves, PNC Park, Aug. 20, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS
