Worst Play Ever A Lowlight In Pirates' 8-1 Drubbing By Reds

Well, that was miserable. Not only was the Pirates' 8-1 loss to the Reds Tuesday night brutally one-sided, it also featured the single worst play I can remember the Bucs making in quite some time, and that's saying something.

It came in the top of the fourth. With a 1-2 count, Charlie Morton threw a waist-high fastball right down broadway, and Todd Frazier smashed it to the north side notch. Jose Tabata, playing left field, trotted toward it so slowly that I'm sure that, somewhere, Ronny Paulino was shaking his head. Andrew McCutchen, who was actually hustling (leave it to Andrew McCutchen to be the one Pirate who actually did something right on this play), fielded it and threw to Josh Harrison at shortstop. Unfortunately, Harrison then made just about the most baffling, Rick-Ankiel-as-a-pitcher throw I can recall seeing in years -- Harrison had to throw it about 40 feet to third, and somehow it wound up going over the dugout. Tabata remained in the game, which was baffling. Whether he jogged like that because he's hurt or because he just didn't feel like running, you've got to take him out of there.

That about sums it up. The Reds rocked Morton, who allowed four extra-base hits in four innings. Chris Resop (whose struggles, like Morton's, are starting to become more glaring) allowed another run in the sixth, and Jared Hughes gave up three in the third. Meanwhile, the very mediocre Homer Bailey pitched a complete-game four-hitter, striking out five and walking one.

Bright sides? Well, not many people were there to see it. McCutchen (there he is again) tripled. And Brad Lincoln pitched a strong inning.