The season is slipping away from the Pittsburgh Pirates with each loss. After dropping Friday night’s thriller, 8-7, to the Cincinnati Reds, the Pirates fell back to .500 for the first time since July 3. They have now lost seven of their last nine games and sit at 55-56 in the NL Central. As the Reds rallied for a walk-off win after taking the series opener 3-2, a costly infield blunder helped Cincinnati complete the comeback.

The Pirates entered the bottom of the eighth inning, still holding a 7-5 lead over the Reds. However, the game started slipping early on when reliever Wilber Dotel allowed back-to-back singles, ultimately surrendering 2 RBIs to Sal Stewart to tie the score. Mason Montgomery inherited the inning that had already turned costly and registered the second out with runners on the corners. From there, it all went downhill with Nathaniel Lowe at the plate. On a hard-hit ball from Lowe, Nick Gonzales messed up a chance to pull off what should have been an inning-ending play. When a throw to first would have gotten the job done, Gonzales went in for the force out at second and missed.

Posting the sequence of events on X, Talkin’ Baseball quoted the broadcasters’ shock in the caption: “I don’t know why he had in his mind to go to second base… The proper play is just to go to first.”

When Lowe hit a grounder to Gonzales at third, he chose to throw at second for the force out. But 2B Brandon Lowe was far from the bag, and he ultimately failed to catch the ball. Sal Stewart scored the winning run safely from third, as the other two remained safe at base. Following the defeat, the mistake had Gonzales kicking himself.

“It was a hard-hit ball from the lefty. Just trying to throw it to second, get a force out, and once I saw how the shift was and everything, I should have thrown to first and [get] the out there,” Gonzales told MLB.com. “So, it’s on me. Should have thrown to first as soon as I saw nobody there [at second].”

It was an eventful night for the Pirates, and not in a good way. Cy Young winner Paul Skenes’ struggles on the mound persisted. The Reds batters chased him, causing him to give up 5 earned runs on 7 hits, throwing only 4.0 innings. He holds a 9-9 record with a 3.90 ERA so far in the season.

After Skenes exited with Cincinnati leading 5-3, reliever Antwone Kelly threw three shutout innings, keeping the Reds’ lineup in check. Meanwhile, the Pirates hit three back-to-back singles to take the lead. However, it was ultimately futile, as the Reds recovered in the latter half of the frame.

Furthermore, the Pirates’ woes did not end with a loss, as their top offseason addition suffered an on-field injury.

Ryan O’Hearn spotted using crutches after injury

The Pirates are on a four-game losing streak, with their ace navigating a rough stretch. They are already missing key players like Oneil Cruz, Konnor Griffin, and Spencer Horwitz. Now, Ryan O’Hearn has exited the game limping, raising concerns within the clubhouse.

In the ninth inning, O’Hearn was sprinting towards first when he suddenly started limping heavily just before reaching the base. He was in visible pain while clutching at his left quad. Manager Don Kelly and a training staff member helped O’Hearn off the field.

Nick Gonzales revealed that watching O’Hearn get injured affected him emotionally, as it was tough to watch his teammate in pain.

“It’s really hard. I was pretty emotional about it, honestly. That’s a big-time player on our team, but also a leader. I love that guy to death, and feel really bad for him,” Gonzales said, per MLB.com.

Though the Pirates have not revealed any official diagnosis about O’Hearn’s injury yet, the outfielder is likely in for an IL stint. He was seen using crutches inside the clubhouse later.