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PITTSBURGH — Chicago White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. thought he had drawn a walk.
But Pittsburgh Pirates starter Rich Hill got a called strike, running the count full in a fifth-inning matchup. Robert drove the next pitch just over the right-field wall for his second two-run homer of the game Friday.
The Sox had plenty of offense, but a rough week continued for the pitching staff in a wild 13-9 loss in front of a sellout crowd of 39,167 at PNC Park.
Bryan Reynolds came within a double of the cycle while driving in six to lead the Pirates in their home opener. It’s the third time in four games the Sox have allowed at least 12 runs.
“I don’t have concern with the pitching, I really don’t,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. “These guys have done it before, they’ve done it for a while now. It’s just one of those stretches.
“Obviously there are adjustments to be made. They’re working on it. But concerns? I don’t.”
The Sox (3-5) let two early leads slip away.
“We were given leads and I kept giving them up,” Sox starter Lucas Giolito said.
Robert’s second homer tied the game at 7.
The Pirates responded with five runs in the bottom of the fifth, four charged to reliever Jake Diekman. Reynolds knocked in three with a triple to right against Jimmy Lambert and scored when Elvis Andrus’ throw to third skipped away from Yoán Moncada, making it 12-7.
The Sox had four homers — Robert’s two, a two-run shot from Jake Burger and the first of Oscar Colás’ major-league career. The Colás homer came in the ninth.
Robert matched a career-high with five RBIs. Tim Anderson had four hits for the 14th time in his career.
The Pirates had 19 hits, including a solo home run from Carlos Santana in the second and a three-run blast from Reynolds in the fourth.
The Sox were coming off a series in which they gave up 13 homers in three games against the San Francisco Giants. They allowed 12 and 16 runs in the two losses in the series.
“It’s been a combination of a lot of things,” Grifol said. “We’ve left pitches up that the other clubs haven’t missed. We’ve had a lot of seeing-eye singles and fly balls that dropped in.
“These guys are good, they’re going to figure this thing out. I have full confidence in that. And it will be nice when they do and we put it all together.”
Giolito allowed seven runs on 12 hits with three strikeouts in four innings.
“We’ve got to do a better job, we’re going deep enough into games, especially me (Friday),” Giolito said. “We’ve got to show that he has confidence sending us out there longer.
“But giving up a bunch of hits and runs is not going to get the job done. It taxes the bullpen more, so it’s a pretty bad spot to be in. But the good side is it’s pretty early in the season and we’ve just got to make adjustments.”
Before the game, the Sox designated Ruiz for assignment and selected the contract of pitcher Jesse Scholtens from Triple-A Charlotte.
Ruiz excelled during the World Baseball Classic with Venezuela but had a bumpy start to the season, allowing nine runs on eight hits in four appearances. He had four walks and three strikeouts in 3⅔ innings. Ruiz allowed three homers in two outings during the series against the Giants.
Ruiz had a 4.53 ERA in 178 appearances (one start) with the Sox from 2017-23.
“He was a good competitor, and he’s going to end up pitching for somebody,” Grifol said before the game. “And he might end up pitching for a long, long time. For this bullpen right now the most important thing was getting someone here with length, and Jesse is the guy.”
Scholtens was a nonroster invitee to spring training after signing with the Sox as a minor-league free agent on Dec. 20.
“It’s a culmination of a lot of time from my family, my coaches, all the teams I played for,” Scholtens said before the game.
Scholtens made his major-league debut Friday, allowing one run on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks in three innings.
“(He) threw strikes (and) was composed,” Grifol said after the game. “Kept them off-balance and made good pitches when he had to.”
The Sox also signed reliever Alex Colomé to a minor-league contract, and he’ll be activated with Charlotte on Saturday. Colomé had 42 saves during two seasons with the Sox in 2019-20. He had a 5.74 ERA in 53 relief outings with the Colorado Rockies last season.
