DENVER — Erik Gonzalez rounded first base and emphatically clapped his hands together, the gesture of someone who knew he came oh-so-close to a really positive outcome. A millisecond before Gonzalez reacted, the baseball settled into the mitt of Rockies center fielder Yonathan Daza, who made a fabulous, running grab by darting into the right-field corner to snare the third out of the seventh inning.
It was that kind of day for the Pirates, who ultimately suffered a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on Monday afternoon. The type where expectation and reality seem to have a tough time getting along. The one where hope and promise peter out at the warning track.
The Pirates arrived at this haven for hitters having won six of nine overall and three of four in St. Louis, including the offensive producing a touchdown on Sunday. They were hitting .283 over their past 10 games, with 10 or more hits in three of their past five.
So, naturally, offense proved to be a struggle here, against a starter in Kyle Freeland who lugged a 7.76 ERA into Monday’s matinee. The Pirates did not manage an extra-base hit, while Freeland went five scoreless and struck out seven before he appeared to tweak something while running the bases.
Monday marked just the fifth time in 104 games that the Pirates have been shut out in Denver, the first since Aug. 6, 2018.
It was also appropriate that the Pirates sent Tyler Anderson to the mound, considering Anderson’s experience here as a former member of the Rockies. As the Pirates worked through scenarios that ultimately led to Max Kranick making his MLB debut Sunday, manager Derek Shelton said one consideration was having Anderson pitch at Coors Field, in the thin air, because of his experience doing it.
Anderson pitched for Colorado for four seasons between 2016-19 and amazingly had a better ERA at home (4.26) than on the road (5.41) during that time.
The left-hander handled Colorado’s lineup well enough, coughing up a pair of earned runs over five, but the Pirates (29-48) simply couldn’t score. The ball Gonzalez hit was the furthest off the bat of a Pirates player, but they had other chances.
Gonzalez grounded out to third and Ke’Bryan Hayes tapped back to the pitcher with two on and one out in the fifth. Jacob Stallings struck out to strand two in the first. All told, the Pirates went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and stranded seven.
The Rockies picked up their first run in the third inning, when Freeland reached on a single and scored thanks to triple to the gap in right-center.
It wasn’t a terrible pitch by Anderson, a sinker located low and outside. Daza smartly took it the other way. If there’s one critical element here, it was how Gregory Polanco handled the ball in the gap.
Polanco did not take a great route, and the ball dribbled to the wall. That allowed Daza to reach third, although the run would’ve scored either way.
Colorado built on its lead in the fifth, thanks to former Pirate Elias Diaz’s solo homer. Entering the game hitting just .161, Diaz jumped on a fastball that Anderson left middle-middle, driving it 433 feet into the pine trees in center field.
It was the 15th homer Anderson has allowed in as many starts this season.
The Pirates have fielded the ball extremely well of late and came into this one with the fewest errors (15) in Major League Baseball since May 9, including none in their past seven games.
Pittsburgh stretched its run of error-less baseball to 71 innings before Anderson failed to field a bunt from Freeland in the fifth.
It looked like the Rockies might add on, as they had the bases loaded with two outs later in the inning. But Anderson executed a terrific slider and got right fielder Charlie Blackmon to swing through it, the Rockies leaving the bases loaded.
Clay Holmes relieved Anderson to start the sixth, ending the left-hander’s day at 82 pitches, 55 for strikes. Anderson gave up two earned runs over his five innings, with one walk and three strikeouts.
Bryan Reynolds stretched his hitting streak to 13 games with a first-inning single. It’s the longest active in the National League, during which Reynolds is hitting .415 (22 for 53) with three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs.
The Pirates lost Colin Moran to a left hand injury after he was hit by a pitch in the first. He’s still being treated and evaluated, the team said.
