MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second time in less than 24 hours, the Pirates faced the possibility of being on the wrong end of a perfect game. And for the second time in less than 24 hours, the team dashed the hopes of a Twins starting pitcher midway through the ballgame. The similarities between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, however, end there.

Pittsburgh mustered only three baserunners in a 2-0 loss to Minnesota in the series finale at Target Field as Dallas Kuechel carried a perfect game into the seventh inning. The club totaled one walk and two hits in one of its quietest offensive games of the season.

“A guy like that really thrives on weak contact,” Connor Joe said of Keuchel. “Unfortunately, we had a lot of weak contact. He got us today, and he had a better game than us.”

Prior to the seventh inning, the Pirates hadn’t put a ball in play that was close to falling in for a hit. Just one of Pittsburgh’s first 15 balls in play had an expected batting average that exceeded .350, and only one batted ball -- Ke’Bryan Hayes’ second-inning 99.2 mph flyout -- could be classified as hard hit.

But with one out in the seventh inning, Bryan Reynolds spoiled the party. On a 3-1 count, Reynolds extended his arms and launched Keuchel’s outside sinker over the head of right fielder Matt Wallner and off the 23-foot wall in right-center field, ending Keuchel’s bid at perfection and causing every home fan at Target Field to groan. Reynolds cruised into second base with a double, and the Pirates escaped having a perfect game thrown against them for the first time in franchise history.

Immediately after Reynolds ended the perfect-game bid, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli lifted Keuchel for right-hander Griffin Jax. Keuchel received a standing ovation as Baldelli approached the mound, an ovation that grew in volume as the left-hander handed the ball to his manager and walked towards the first-base dugout. Before descending the steps, the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner tipped his cap to acknowledge the crowd.

“I think the biggest challenge was the changeup,” said Pirates manager Derek Shelton. “You see why the guy's won a Cy Young, with the ability to execute the changeup like he did, and he executed it both on and off the plate.”

For as well as Keuchel pitched, several Pirates expressed frustration with home-plate umpire Laz Díaz’s strike zone, particularly on pitches that were down-and-away. Shelton assessed that Keuchel took advantage of a “very liberal” strike zone.

“It's extremely challenging,” Shelton said. “You teach guys to stay on the plate, and you teach them to be patient and make sure they get the right pitches to hit, and that causes challenges.”

Added Joe: “It makes it tougher, for sure. As hitters and as an offensive unit, we come up with a game plan of what we’re trying to do to that opposing pitcher. If that guy’s getting more of the plate than he should, as much as we try not to stay from our approach, it makes it tough. How many times can we strike out looking? It’s frustrating.”

Less than 24 hours prior, Twins right-hander Sonny Gray had also flirted with a perfect game, holding the Pirates without a baserunner until Liover Peguero legged out an infield single with one out in the sixth inning. Pittsburgh’s bats awoke after that, scoring three runs in the frame and outscoring Minnesota by five runs (7-2) the remainder of the evening. On Sunday afternoon, in contrast, the offense remained quiet.

Reynolds, who also singled in the ninth inning, was responsible for the Bucs’ only two hits. The one other Pirate to reach base was Joe, who drew a walk in the eighth inning but advanced no further than second base.