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.
