Game Log: June 19, 2026 @ Rockies

After the good feeling of taking the series in Sacramento, the Pirates flew to Denver and gave one away to the Rockies. They lost the opener 4-3, coughing up the lead in the eighth, and going down with the bases loaded in the ninth.

For seven innings, Kyle Freeland carved them up, collecting eight strikeouts over 7.1 innings. The bats had nothing for him. Chandler matched him about as well as you could ask, going six innings and giving up two runs, the only real damage being a Rumfield homer in the fourth.

Then the eighth happened, and for a few minutes at least, things were looking up. They finally got into the Colorado bullpen. Triolo doubled in Valdez, Reynolds came off the bench to single in Triolo, and Nick Gonzales tripled in Horwitz to take a 3-2 lead.

It did not last. Montgomery came on for the bottom of the eighth and handed it right back. Carrigg singled, and Braxton Fulford pinch-hit a two-run double that put Colorado back ahead 4-3. The Pirates’ bullpen gave this one back, which is what this bullpen does.

The ninth stung a bit too. Down a run against Senzatela, they loaded the bases with nobody out. In typical Pirates fashion, Callihan struck out and then Triolo grounded into a game-ending double play.

So they fall back to .500 at 38-38, and they do it by dropping the opener to the worst team in baseball. As mentioned in the last game log, those questions about consistency still remain. And they didn’t wait long to show it. On to the next one.