Gorzelanny struggles as Pirates lose

It was a rough night for Tom Gorzelanny and the Pirates - AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

Tom Gorzelanny was shaky from the start tonight, and that eventually caught up to the Pirates. The Bucs allowed 10+ runs for the third consecutive game, falling to the Phillies by a score of 11-8. Gorzelanny was wild early, walking two in the first before escaping unscathed. Throughout the game, he relied heavily on his off-speed pitches. I would estimate that less than 20 of his 92 pitches touched 90 mph, and he topped out at about 92 mph. That is a few mph lower than we are used to seeing from Gorzo, which makes me nervous. After an early lead, the Pirates fell behind 9-3 as Philadelphia put up four runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. Behind home runs from Matt Kata, Ronny Paulino and Jose Bautista, the Bucs crawled back to 9-6 after eight. But Shawn Chacon allowed two runs in the ninth to put the game out of reach. Chacon has now allowed a run or an inherited runner to score in each of his past ten appearances, raising his ERA to 4.37. Good thing we held on to him at the deadline.

The Pirates, trailing 11-6 entering the bottom of the ninth inning, were able to scratch across two more runs before the final out. In that inning, Freddy Sanchez had one of the worst at-bats I have ever seen. It reminded me of an exhibition game for my high school team. Our coach became frustrated as players repeatedly took called third strikes. In anger, he ordered our hitters to swing at every single pitch, regardless of location. This only lasted a few batters, but it was an absolutely ridiculous thing to watch. This is what I thought of as I incredulously watched Freddy bat in the ninth. He swung at everything, and eventually grounded out on a pitch that was literally around his forehead. Four hours later, I am still perplexed.

Jason Bay looked terrible at the plate today, and horribly misplayed a fly ball in left to top things off. I have no words to explain what has happened to him this year. He looks absolutely clueless. It is depressing.