The Pittsburgh Pirates were no-hit by the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
On the other side, Domingo German allowed seven runs, six earned, in three innings, leading to a 12-0 loss where Rowdy Tellez pitched an inning. It was the third appearance for Tellez on the mound since August 24th.
This was one of the worst losses of the season by the Pirates, in a category that is adding a lot of contending games in the last month. There was no hope on either side of the ball.
The Pirates won two of three games against the Cubs in this series, which helps to mitigate the conclusive loss. They lost the season series to the Cubs today, which is almost a microcosm of their 2024 season. The Pirates win two in a row, lose the third game horribly, and after a few more losses before their next two wins, they end up below .500 on the season.
The lone bright spot was that Ryan Borucki pitched a scoreless inning in his return from the injured list.
Manager Derek Shelton seemed to take offense to a question about using Tellez in the eighth inning. Shelton responded to the question that the game was 11-0 at the time. The response made me question at what point does the team give up?
If Shelton is admitting to giving up in the eighth inning, with only three outs remaining in a blowout no-hitter, that’s one thing. At what point in that game did the mindset shift from winning that game to preserving their odds for future games? At what point did the no-hitter become inevitable, not just for Shelton, but for the players he manages?
At what point does it become acceptable for Shelton to wave the white flag, to the point where a reporter can’t even ask about the situation?
Greensboro’s Playoff Roster Will Have Prospects
Next week, the Greensboro Grasshoppers will be in the South Atlantic League playoffs. On Wednesday, I detailed the prospects at the level, which has been given a boost by a few promotions from Bradenton over the last month. Read about the players to watch in Greensboro during their playoff stretch.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Esmerlyn Valdez and Jhonny Severino each had two homers to give the Marauders an 8-6 victory on Wednesday night. Carlson Reed carried a perfect game into the seventh inning for Greensboro. Bubba Chandler was on the mound for Indianapolis. Read about all of Wednesday’s minor league action in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
