Pirates Get Shutout by Rays, Lose Series
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PITTSBURGH —The Pittsburgh Pirates struggled from the plate once again, losing in a shutout to the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-0 at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla.
The Pirates are now 1-5 on the season and have dropped their past four games, which included their last game against the Rays, 6-1 on March 31, losing the series.
They lost three games to the Miami Marlins on the road on walk-offs, 5-4 on both March 27 on Opening Day and then March 29 in 12 innings, plus 3-2 on March 30. Their only win came 4-3 on March 28.
Pittsburgh's 1-5 start is their worst through five games since they started 1-6 in the 2021 season, when they ended up with a 61-101 record.
Pirates called-up rookie right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington and had him start in his MLB debut against the Rays.
Harrington got into trouble early in the first inning, allowing a single to Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz and walking second baseman Brandon Lowe.
He got third baseman Junior Caminero to fly out, but then fellow rookie in Rays right fielder Jake Mangum would hit a double, scoring both Diaz and Lowe for a 2-0 lead.
Harrington forced second baseman Curtis Mead to fly out, but then allowed a single to left fielder Kameron Misner. Mangum would come around and Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz missed the ball when he picked it up, allowing Misner to score and make it a 3-0 lead.
He ended the first inning with his first strikeout against shortstop Taylor Walls and had a decent second inning, only allowing a single to Diaz, while getting three ground outs.
Harrington allowed a single to Mangum to start the third inning. Mangum then stole second base and after he walked Mead, he threw a wild pitch that moved both runners up a base. Misner would hit a sacrifice fly off of him and make it 4-0.
Diaz singled off of him in the fourth inning and then Harrington allowed a two-run home run over the right field wall from Lowe, making it a 6-0 deficit.
He finished his day by allowing seven hits, four walks and six earned runs with just two strikeouts over 90 pitches.
The Pirates had chances from the plate early on, as they had two hits in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
They would ground out into double plays in both the third and the fourth innings and grounded out twice in the fifth inning, ending their chances and reflecting their poor hitting this season, fifth worst batting average in the MLB coming into this contest.
The Rays added another run in the eighth inning, as centerfielder Jonny DeLuca leadoff with a triple and Lowe would hit a single to bring him home to add onto the lead.
Pittsburgh did have some solid bullpen pitching, as right-hander Justin Lawrence and left-handers Caleb Ferguson and Joey Wentz pitched scoreless innings in relief.
The Pirates will finish their three game series with the Rays on April 2, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.