The Pirates' pitching set a franchise record Thursday night in the 7-1 loss to the Nationals at PNC Park.
And, as one might expect from that outcome, it wasn't a good one.
In the eighth inning, Washington's Howie Kendrick got a hold of a Chris Stratton fastball, launching it 417 feet into the left-field bleachers at an exit velocity just north of 110 mph.
In the ninth, also off Stratton, Anthony Rendon went even higher up into those same bleachers:
Those were the 184th and 185th home runs opponents have hit against Pirates pitching this year. According to the Baseball-Reference Play Index, the Kendrick home run set a franchise record for the most allowed in any season, topping the 183 allowed by the 1996 team that played at Three Rivers Stadium, a more hitter-friendly venue. Before that, the record had been held by the terrible 1953 team with 168 allowed, albeit over a 154-game schedule.
The 2016, 2017 and 2018 teams all flirted with that record, finishing with 180, 182 and 174 homers allowed, respectively, but those were over a whole season. There are still 35 games left in this one.
It does raise the question of how much of this is on the pitchers and how much is due to the almost universally acknowledged juiced ball.
"The ball's playing different this year," Clint Hurdle replied when asked about that after the game. "However, at the same time, our home run total, here at home, I think it's in the mid-50s somewhere. I think we went over 100 tonight giving them up, which is more home runs than we've given up in any other year. We still have 18 home games to play. So it's a combination of having pitches better located, and the league in general's hitting more home runs. We haven't, and we are definitely paying the price for missed execution off the mound."
The Pirates have hit 59 home runs at PNC Park, including an Adam Frazier solo shot Thursday, compared to the opponents' 97.
For those wondering if the Pirates will set a new major league record this year, it is nearly impossible. They are currently in a tie for the 11th most home runs allowed in Major League Baseball. This year's Orioles set the major-league record with 260 and counting, breaking the previous record held by the the 2016 Cincinnati Reds (258). The National League-worst this season is the Phillies, who have 204.
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