Barstool BushBarstool fan site

Kansas City Royals at Pittsburgh Pirates

Sun Sep 201:35 PM ETPittsburgh, PA
By JR·1 min read
Kansas City RoyalsKC(67-89)
Pittsburgh PiratesPIT(79-77)
3—4
FINAL
Final123456789RHE
KC
100000200391
PIT
00010102—481

TLDR: Kansas City grabbed a late lead at PNC Park, and Pittsburgh took it right back — a 2-run eighth sealed a 4-3 win, a 4th straight victory, and a series sweep of a Royals club that's now lost 4 in a row.

Michael Wacha and Lake Bachar took the ball Sunday at 1:35 PM ET for the series finale, each looking to shake off a rough last time out — Wacha coming off a loss to Houston, Bachar off a 2-inning, 47-pitch start that leaned hard on Pittsburgh's bullpen.

FINAL
Spread
WIN
Total
Royals
(67-89)
LLLLW
3
Pirates
(79-77)
WWWWL
4
1st pitch74°

Pittsburgh answered a Kansas City rally with a 2-run 8th to win the finale 4-3, completing a 3-game sweep and extending its winning streak to 4 games, while the Royals dropped a 4th straight. The bullpens both teams worried about going in decided it, and Pittsburgh's got the last word.

Royals
  • Grabbed a 3-2 lead with a 2-run 7th
  • Wacha kept Pittsburgh quiet through the middle innings
  • Scored in only 2 of 9 innings
  • Bullpen surrendered the lead right back in the 8th
  • Lost a 4th straight, swept in this series
Pirates
  • Answered right back with 2 in the 8th to win it
  • Completed a 3-game sweep of Kansas City
  • Bullpen locked down the finale after the go-ahead rally
  • Scored in only 3 of 8 innings
  • Trailed entering the 8th, needed a late rally
  • Managed just 8 hits against a last-place club

Neither pen entered this one whole. Kansas City was already down Craig Kimbrel to bereavement leave with several other arms lost for the season, and Pittsburgh's own relief corps had been covering for Bachar's short outings for weeks — the exact kind of depleted-bullpen matchup that tends to decide a game late rather than early.

Michael Wacha
Michael Wacha
(9-9)·3.33 ERA
Sep 15 @ Astros
L
6.0IP
4ER
2K
1BB
99P
09/20 Lineup
Lake Bachar
Lake Bachar
(1-4)·3.56 ERA
Sep 15 vs Brewers
L
2.0IP
1ER
1K
2BB
47P
09/20 Lineup

It played out that way. Kansas City scratched across a run in the 1st, then went quiet before a 2-run 7th put the Royals up 3-2 — the kind of hold-a-lead spot the tired Pittsburgh pen was supposed to be vulnerable in.

Pittsburgh answered immediately. A 2-run 8th flipped it back to 4-3, and the Pirates' bullpen shut the door from there, extending the win streak that had already carried them through the first two games of this series.

Kansas City Royals
(67-89)
09/20L@Pirates3-4
09/19L@Pirates5-6
09/18L@Pirates5-8
09/17L@Astros2-6
09/16W@Astros5-2
Pittsburgh Pirates
(79-77)
09/20WvsRoyals4-3
09/19WvsRoyals6-5
09/18WvsRoyals8-5
09/17WvsBrewers7-4
09/16LvsBrewers4-5

The Polymarket chat lit up right as it happened — the room's busiest stretch landed around the time of that go-ahead 8th, with one poster holding Pittsburgh offering, "If I get 100 reactions I will put 5k rn on the PIT," and pulling 116 reactions for it.

Kansas City Royals
(12)
  • bereavementCraig Kimbrel (RP) — Kimbrel (1-4) took the loss Monday against the Diamondbacks, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and a walk while striking out one over one inning.09/19
  • 15-Day-ILTony Gonsolin (SP) — Gonsolin (elbow) allowed three runs on four hits and no walks while striking out three over five innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Omaha on Thursday.09/18
  • 15-Day-ILBeck Way (RP) — Way (back/shoulder) has been shut down for the remainder of the season, per MLB.com.09/02
  • 60-Day-ILConnor Seabold (RP) — Seabold (lat) struck out one across a perfect inning with Triple-A Omaha on Thursday.09/18
  • 60-Day-ILJames McArthur (RP) — McArthur (elbow) allowed three runs on three hits and no walks with one strikeout across two-thirds of an inning in a rehab appearance with Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Wednesday.09/10
  • 60-Day-ILCarlos Estevez (RP) — Estevez will undergo season-ending surgery on his right shoulder next week, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.09/01
  • 60-Day-ILNick Mears (RP) — Mears (shoulder) was diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome Saturday and will undergo season-ending surgery, MLB.com reports.08/26
  • 60-Day-ILLuinder Avila (SP) — Manager Matt Quatraro said that Avila is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.08/06
  • 60-Day-ILStephen Kolek (SP) — Manager Matt Quatraro announced that Kolek is scheduled to undergo Tommy John surgery on his right elbow Wednesday, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.08/04
  • 60-Day-ILCole Ragans (SP) — Ragans underwent UCL repair surgery on his left elbow Wednesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.07/02
  • 60-Day-ILJonathan India (2B) — no06/04
  • 60-Day-ILAlec Marsh (SP) — The Royals placed Marsh (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08
Pittsburgh Pirates
(6)
  • 10-Day-ILEsmerlyn Valdez (RF) — Valdez (hamstring) isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cubs.09/12
  • 15-Day-ILBraxton Ashcraft (SP) — Ashcraft (arm) played catch Friday but is not expected to return this season, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.09/18
  • 15-Day-ILIsaac Mattson (RP) — The Pirates recalled Mattson from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.09/08
  • 15-Day-ILKirby Yates (RP) — The Pirates placed Yates on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a right shoulder impingement.09/03
  • 60-Day-ILEndy Rodriguez (C) — The Pirates transferred Rodriguez (hip) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.09/01
  • 60-Day-ILMitch Keller (SP) — The Pirates placed Keller on the 60-day injured list Monday due to a right arm teres major muscle injury.08/03

For Kansas City, it's a lost September getting longer — 4 straight losses now, 3 of them in this series alone, with a bullpen that can't hold what its lineup builds. For Pittsburgh, a shaky rotation spot behind Bachar didn't matter once the bullpen got the ball with a lead to protect.

More Stories