After having one of the finest six game runs in baseball history, the Pirates are coming back down to earth. They have now lost four straight with a 9-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals Monday.

Starting pitcher Andrew Heaney couldn’t go very deep, as he gave up four earned runs and six hits in three innings. The starting pitching has been a major bright spot, but Heaney couldn’t keep that going.

The Pirates are wasting their good pitching with a lineup that has a batting average of only .230, good enough for 26th in the majors. It’s a sad spot for a team that usually can’t brag about being so good at something like starting pitching.

As far as the hitting in this game, Tommy Pham was a bright spot with a two-run homer in the second while the other Pittsburgh run came late with a Alexander Canario RBI single. But only four hits will not cut it, and Pittsburgh has seen far too many performances like this from their lineup.