Pirates Losses Are Getting More Wild
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates saw another game come to a disappointing conclusion, but in even worse fashion than anticipated.
The Pirates had a chance to tie the game or take the lead with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth inning vs. the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on June 20, down 2-1.
Pirates center fielder Jake Mangum appeared to have tied the game with a ball hit to Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros, who couldn't get the ball out of the glove in time, but Karros complained about something, prompting the umpire crew to deliberate.
The umpires then agreed that Pirates pinch-runner Billy Cook committed interference on Karros, which prompted manager Don Kelly to come out of the dugout and argue with the umpire crew, but with no ability to challenge, the Pirates would suffer a defeat.
Why Umpires Were Right About Call
There was confusion about what Cook actually did that constituted interference, but later replays showed exactly why the umpires called him out.
Cook advanced from second base to third base on the grounder from Mangum, but clipped the glove of Karos in the process, which was why Karos was furious after the play and is clearly an out.
#Rockies hold on for white-knuckle, 2-1 win over #Pirates. Game ends in odd fashion. Pittsburgh loaded bases with one out. A strikeout followed then a runner’s interference to end the game as Cook’s foot made contact with Karros’ glove. pic.twitter.com/J2ShxlZ6ad
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) June 21, 2026
"They said that they got together and that Billy kicked his glove, which he did," Kelly said. "Looking at the replay, I just didn't know if he saw that, why it wasn't immediately and why they had to get together to call it."
Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke with crew chief Todd Tichenor, who was the first base umpire in this game, who relayed much of the same info that Kelly said postgame.
"He has to avoid the fielder making a play on the ball," Tichenor said to Beazley. "That is it ... There was contact made as he was in the act of fielding the baseball."
Billy Cook Discusses Final Out for Pirates
No one was more frustrated postgame than Cook, who came on for left fielder Bryan Reynolds to try and help the Pirates get the win or at least tie it.
Cook said that he was surprised that he was called out, as he didn't feel his cleat touch Karros' glove, but saw via replay that it happened and couldn't dispute it.
“Yeah, I mean, first and foremost, Jake puts a ball in play, two outs I’m going on contact, I know I can’t get hit by the ball, so I beat the ball," Cook said. "No contact with the third baseman and I’m just running and I guess he clipped my cleat just barely, because I was past him. So I was just as surprised that they didn’t call anything and that also that they did.”
There were certain situations that Cook could've gotten into to give the Pirates a run scored, but in the end, he didn't take it too harshly, knowing that he wouldn't have done that play any differently.
“Yeah you look back and you’re like, well, I could’ve stopped and if I get into a rundown, get tagged out the run scores, but I beat the ball and that’s what I’m trying to do and not make contact with the fielder and then if that happens, then we have bases loaded, two outs, because Jake beats that out every time. Can’t stop and get tagged out before it scores so just running through and unfortunate as it happened.”
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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.