Pirates Not Yet Panicking Over Offensive Struggles (+)
PITTSBURGH — The good news is the Pittsburgh Pirates had nine hits against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday evening. That’s their most in a game since collecting 10 hits on Sunday in Philadelphia against the Phillies.
The bad news is the Pirates managed to score only two runs, giving them a combined eight runs over their last five games. All five games during that stretch have been losses.
Other than a three-hit game from Bryan Reynolds on Saturday, the Pirates have had difficulties up and down the lineup of late.
Perhaps the most glaring problems have come in the biggest spots. The Pirates haven’t had multiple hits in a game with runners in scoring position since going 2 for 7 in such scenarios on Monday against the New York Mets. After going 1 for 7 in Saturday’s loss, the Pirates have combined to go 3 for 28 (.107) with RISP in their last four games.
The Pirates squandered a golden opportunity when trailing by a run in the fifth inning on Saturday. Pittsburgh had the bases full with one out and the heart of the order up, but Jack Suwinski and Joey Bart both struck out.
“I didn’t think our approach was bad often today,” said manager Derek Shelton. “It’s just when we had some crucial at-bats, in those situations, we didn’t really execute our plan.”
While the sky feels like it’s falling over PNC Park after going from 9-2 to one game over .500, the current rough patch has lasted all of five games.
Reynolds was the bright spot in an otherwise lackluster game from the lineup. His three singles gave him his first three-hit game of the year.
Reynolds’ big night came on the five-year anniversary of when he made his major-league debut at PNC Park against the San Francisco Giants in 2019.
Now more of a veteran leader on the team, Reynolds understands that while it’s frustrating, there’s still plenty of season left.
“You’ve just got to score. Sometimes you go through little ruts. We’re in a rut right now,” he said. “It’s still Apr. 20. We’ve got time to make adjustments in the box, so we’re going to make adjustments.”
The Pirates’ frustrations boiled over on the field in the fourth inning. The Pirates had two runners on with one out for Rowdy Tellez, but the Bucs’ first baseman popped out in foul ground to Red Sox catcher Reese McGuire.
After McGuire caught the pop fly, Tellez slammed his bat on the ground and broke it into two pieces.
While frustrated in the moment, Tellez is still optimistic about the Pirates’ chances moving forward.
“There’s a handful of guys that have had really good success in their careers,” Tellez said. “There’s a handful of guys in here that haven’t played enough to have an up and down, and there’s a handful of guys in here that have truly had a lot of ups and downs. I think when you have a good mix of everybody, you can bounce things off each other.
“Again, it’s April 20th. I don’t think there’s a lot of things going on. I think the Braves had a losing record the year they won the World Series. I think the Phillies do the same thing every year. Same with Houston. Good teams find a way to win, find a way to overcome adversity. I think we’ll be just fine. It’s a tough little stretch, and it happens.”
While the Pirates are painting an all-too-familiar picture of a promising start quickly swallowed by a long-lasting skid, there is plenty of time to get things back on track.
But there is added pressure this year to win. Shelton already changed up the lineup in hopes of giving it a jumpstart. It didn’t work. If it continues to fail during the coming games, more drastic measures will need to be taken, at least in my eyes.
The Pirate don’t feel the same way. At least not yet.
“Sometimes timely hitting and situations that we don’t capitalize on, they come back to bite you,” Tellez said. “Good teams capitalize on those and you’re not going to do it every time, but more often than not, we will. I’m not too worried about where this team is. We’re young but we’re good, and we have the right guys headed in the right direction.”
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