Pirates blanked by Marlins as second-half slide continues

Matt Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Aug 11, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MIAMI — After playing 17 games in as many days and winning just five of them, the Pirates hoped Monday’s off day would be the reset needed to kickstart a postseason push.

It was not.

The Pirates lost to the Marlins, 2-0, Tuesday night in front of a scant crowd of 9,366 at loanDepot park, opening a pivotal three-game set with an anemic offensive showing and a curiously short start from Paul Skenes (9-11, 3.88 ERA).

He threw 65 pitches in five innings — his third fewest of the season, and fewest since April 18.

As for the offense, the Pirates totaled just four hits and were shut out for the fourth time since the All-Star break. The Marlins’ Eury Perez (6-9, 3.39) twirled seven scoreless innings and struck out seven.

The Marlins opened the scoring in the third when Esteury Ruiz hammered a high Skenes fastball high into the left field seats for a solo home run. Later, in the fifth, Skenes plunked Ruiz before giving up a single to Xavier Edwards.

On the next batter, after a stolen base by Ruiz, Jacob Gonzalez bounced an errant throw to first base, scoring Ruiz and putting the Marlins ahead, 2-0.

Michael Petersen took over for Perez in the eighth, but the change didn’t matter for the Pirates. Neither did the change to Pete Fairbanks in the ninth. They struck out twice in the eighth and went down 1-2-3 in the ninth.

It was over when …

The Pirates couldn’t advance Gonzalez in the eighth inning. He got on first with a one-out single, but Henry Davis and Jake Mangum struck out in succession to end the frame.

On the mound

Skenes gave the Pirates a fine — albeit not dominant — five innings before being pulled for Yohan Ramirez.

He did get three of his four strikeouts with the fastball, but Skenes’ velocity on the pitch averaged 95.7 mph, down from his season average of 96.9. The Marlins nearly doubled their 2-0 lead in the fifth when Griffin Conine lined a deep fly ball to left field, but Bryan Reynolds leapt for an inning-ending home run robbery.

Skenes has now eclipsed six innings just once since May 12.

Ramirez tossed a scoreless three innings while striking out five to bridge the Pirates into the ninth, but the offense still couldn’t capitalize.

At the plate

The Pirates had few answers for the 6-foot-8 Perez, managing just three hits across seven innings and four in total. They didn’t put a runner in scoring position the entire game, and Ronny Simon was thrown out at second trying to stretch a single to a double in the seventh.

Aside from Simon, the Pirates’ only hits were third-innings singles from Esmerlyn Valdez and Davis — the latter a two-out bunt — and the eighth-inning single from Gonzalez.

Bucs bites

— Before the game, manager Don Kelly said Endy Rodriguez is “day-to-day” with the hip discomfort that led him to be scratched from the lineup Saturday against the New York Mets.

— Ramirez quietly continues his excellent run of form out of the bullpen. He’s given up only one hit this month and surrendered just one earned run since June 3, spanning 22 appearances.

Up next

The Pirates return to loanDepot park for Game 2 of the series at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday. They have yet to announce a starting pitcher in a matchup against Marlins righty Janson Junk (5-7, 4.63).