PITTSBURGH — What is the most appropriate way for this Pirates’ season to end?
It probably starts with a failure to sweep the final series of the season. The Pirates had a chance Sunday, for the 16th time this season, to sweep their opponent —this time, the Cincinnati Reds. And for the 16th time in 2021, the Pirates failed to capitalize, losing 6-1 in their season finale.
The loss makes Pittsburgh the first team in franchise history and the seventh in MLB history to go through an entire season without sweeping a single series.
That storyline has persisted throughout the entire season, as time after time the Pirates have found ways to let their sweep opportunities slip away. But it also doesn’t say much about the team, other than that it has struggled to string together several wins in a row. That much is evident by its 61-101 record to finish the year. Beyond that, though, Sunday’s finale was filled with plenty of the same themes that have persevered through the season.
First, there was right-hander Mitch Keller. The 25-year-old, who has struggled for almost the entire season, was coming off a bad start his last time out, when he allowed six runs on nine hits and three walks over four innings. You’ll recall that early this season, when things were especially rocky for Keller, he would oscillate between good and bad starts, looking wonderful one time out before floundering the next.
He became more consistent when the calendar turned to November, but in keeping with the themes of the season, it was only right that Keller would bounce back in his final start of the year. The Pirates only allowed him three innings of work, but he struck out three, and allowed one run in the third inning on a pair of doubles from the Reds.
And then, just as has been the case countless times in the back half of the season, the bullpen took over and got hammered. Even if the group bullpen numbers are solid on the whole this season, the current iteration of Pirates’ relievers is a mess. Six of the team’s active relief arms entering the game had ERAs over 5.00.
This time, it was right-hander Cody Ponce who struggled in the fifth inning. The Reds tagged him for four runs on five hits, including a three-run homer by Joey Votto. Cincinnati added another run off left-hander Anthony Banda in the seventh, on a solo home run by Aristides Aquino.
There also was the requisite silliness in this game. In that blow-up fifth inning, Reds second baseman Jonathan India nearly missed the bag at second base, the Pirates challenged it, and the umpires called India out. Upon review, they changed the call, and manager Derek Shelton went out to argue. He was eventually ejected from the game in the fifth inning, sent back to the clubhouse to finish the season.
And then, because it isn’t all bad for the Pirates, there was the last bit of the game. The entire season, the hope has been in the minor leagues where the Pirates’ prospects represent the chance at winning seasons ahead. All year, when things are bad in the majors, Pirates fans can look to any one of the affiliates and its top prospects to see steady successes.
Here at the end of the season, the Pirates called some of those players up, including shortstop Oneil Cruz, the slugging 22-year-old who has torn up Class AA Altoona and Class AAA Indianapolis in 2021. In his final at-bat of the game, with the score well out of reach, Cruz got an 0-2 changeup below the zone. He went down, dropped to knee, and flicked the ball 408 feet to right-center, onto the riverwalk.
Cruz has played in two games this season. There is more of a sample size needed to have any idea what he will become. But he homered nonetheless, with an insane swing that very few players on the planet could have made.
So in a 6-3 loss that was typical of the Pirates, there was still hope. That will have to carry fans through to 2022.
