Pirates offense punchless again, losing skid hits 4 after shutout loss at Rockies

What was gained from the Pittsburgh Pirates’ longest winning streak in three seasons immediately was given right back.

Saturday’s 2-0 loss at the Colorado Rockies was the Pirates’ fourth consecutive defeat, a skid that quickly followed a four-game winning streak that represented a franchise-best since 2019.

What just a few days ago had the look of an identity-defining, turning point of a road trip headed into the All-Star break for the Pirates now needs a win in Sunday’s series finale just to finish it at 6-6.

“Unfortunately, it comes down to we have to score,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We didn’t score, and that’s the most important thing.”

Offense continues to be what sinks the Pirates during this span — they have just eight total runs over the course of their skid, and three of those runs came during innings that began with a runner on second base (extra-inning losses at the Miami Marlins that began the losing streak).

Saturday’s shutout was the Pirates’ third over their past five games (dating to 2021) at Coors Field, long known as a hitter’s haven. Counting a 13-2 loss in Denver on Friday, the Pirates have managed four runs over five games at Coors over the past two seasons.

Only one Pirates player (Jake Marisnick) has homered over the Pirates’ past six games. The Pirates’ only extra-base hit Saturday was a two-out double by Ben Gamel in the third inning — although Oneil Cruz was held to a single when he hit a ball 372 feet off the right-field wall in the sixth.

Gamel and Tyler Heineman each had two of the Pirates’ six hits. Jose Urena allowed five of them over six inning’s, and Lucas Gilbreath, Alex Colome and Daniel Bard each tossed a scoreless inning to finish of a shutout that was the ninth of the Pirates this season.

Colorado’s Kris Bryant went 3 for 3 with a walk and an RBI single, continuing to torment the Pirates. He has a 1.043 OPS in 97 games and 432 plate appearances against them.

The Pirates’ punchless offense ruined a stellar start from Mitch Keller, who followed up a career-long seven-inning outing with another start that arguably gives him the best two-start stretch of his career.

Saturday, Keller allowed just one unearned run on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts in six innings. He continued to use the sinker that he’s developed this season, mixing it with a slider that was effective and a four-seam fastball that played well up in the strike zone.

“Momentun is really starting to come along, getting some good outings like this before the All-Star break,” Keller said. “Now, we’ll get a nice break and hopefully keep firing back at it when we get back.”

Colorado’s only run against Keller came courtesy a throwing error by Cruz, who could have assisted on the final out of the fifth. Bryant lined the next pitch to center to drive in Connor Joe.

“It came out of his hand a little bit elevated, obviously,” Shelton said. “It’s one of those things that happens. Unfortunately it happened at (an inopportune) time. We’re going to make physical errors, he’s going to make physical errors, that was just one of them.”

The Rockies’ other run came on Charlie Blackmon’s RBI single off Yerry De Los Santos in the seventh.

Colorado has won five in a row.

Sixty-five of Urena’s 94 pitches were sinkers, according to Statcast. They averaged 97.1 mph while thrown but only 88.1 mph off the bat.

“We saw a power sinker, and we chased to much down,” Shelton said. “We had to get him up, and we didn’t do a very good job of that.”

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