Clint+Hurdle+Colorado+Rockies+v+Pittsburgh+O_ZkCCSXF63lThe Pittsburgh Pirates (81-61) are picking a bad time to start playing some of their worst baseball of the season. The St. Louis Cardinals (83-60) capped off a three game sweep of the Pirates with a 9-2 victory on Sunday afternoon. What was concerning was the Pirates not being competitive in any of the three games and after coming into the series with a 1.5 games lead in the division, Pittsburgh trails the Cardinals by 1.5 games entering Monday’s action.
To complicate matters, the Cincinnati Reds (81-62) are peaking at the right time and have the look of a team primed to surpass the Pirates for the top wildcard spot and possibly over take the Cardinals or Pirates for the division crown before it’s all said and done.
“We weren’t sharp in any particular area of the game all weekend,” manager Clint Hurdle said of his ball club. “They were much sharper than us across the board. It’s very difficult to win a game when you are not functioning.”
The Starting rotation faltered in the series and the Pirates lost Charlie Morton to a foot injury who is being sent back to Pittsburgh to be reevaluated. The good with Morton is that he didn’t re-injure his surgically repaired arm.
The Pirates are trending down, playing .500 ball since July 1, and things don’t get any easier as the Pirates travel to Texas for a three game series with the Texas Rangers (81-61) starting Monday.