Pirates destroyed by Cardinals 18-4

It was another ugly one for the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the bottom is beginning to fall out of the season with an 18-4 defeat at the hands of division rival St. Louis Cardinals.

A week ago, the Bucs were actually just a few games out of a playoff spot, but following back-to-back series with the Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs, they’re back to looking like one of the worst teams in baseball.

The Buccos went through five pitchers yesterday, and each and every one of them gave up at least a run, including seven from starter Bryse Wilson in just one and two-thirds innings pitched.

Newcomer Tyler Beede gave up four runs in just two innings, while Chase De Jong was probably the most effective of this mess, giving up just a run off of an Albert Pujols homer in three and one-third. Anthony Banda gave up a single run in one inning, while Josh VanMeter even got some surprise time on the mound, and that went about as expected, as he gave up five runs in just an inning, including Pujols’ second dinger of the day.

Offensively, Michael Chavis was the only multi-hit Bucco, going 2-for-4 on the day, while the Pirates also got a solo shot from Yoshi Tsutsugo (though he’s still just hitting .181 on the season) and a two-run homer from Jack Suwinski, his fourth of the year.

The Pirates are now 16-24 on the year and have slipped to fourth in the NL Central. They’ll be back Monday night versus the Colorado Rockies.

It was an embarrassing one for the Buccos, though they did make a few roster moves, which we’ll update you on today as well.