Just one hit won’t do it
Evans’ single in first prevents drama of possible no-hitter; offensive struggles mount
It’s actually one of the areas where the Pirates thought they’d be OK — offense.
Sure, the pitching was lacking in 2019, especially the bullpen. But even though the Pirates’ lineup does not feature the thump of, sa the Minnesota Twins, it figured to be functional.
Six games into the 2020 season, the Pirates offense has not met expectations. The latest example came Wednesday night in the series finale against the Milwaukee
Brewers, a 3-0 loss at PNC Park as Brandon Woodruff tossed 6⅓ innings of shutout ball.
The Pirates’ lone hit was a
dribbler by Phillip Evans. They struck out 14 times. Only three guys reached base, and nobody touched second. Four of six games thus far have featured either one or no extra-base hits.
“Pretty dominant,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Woodruff. “Executed all four pitches. Obviously kept us off-balance throughout the night.”
Woodruff dominating wasn’t really up for debate. Using a heavy diet of sinkers, four-seam fastballs and changeups, the righthander struck out 10 Pirates, retired 17 in a row at one point and allowed just one ball to leave the infield.
But is there a larger trend here? The numbers from some of the Pirates’ key hitters aren’t pretty, although Shelton insisted that they aren’t pressing.
“I didn’t see any pressed at-bats [Wednesday],” Shelton said. “I saw aggressive swings. I just saw a guy who executed pitches. If guys were pressing at the plate, what happened [Tuesday] night late in the game wouldn’t happen.”
The Pirates rallied with six runs in the final two innings in that game, capped by Adam Frazier’s two-run homer. But that’s very much an outlier when it comes to what we’re talking about here. Consider:
• Josh Bell, an All-Star a year ago, is off to a .174 (4 for 23) start with seven strikeouts.
• Bryan Reynolds, their rookie of the year candidate, is hitting just .100 (2 for 20) with seven strikeouts.
• Though he did not play Wednesday, shortstop Kevin Newman has started the season in a 1-for-16 funk.
• Frazier is hitting .125 (3for-24) with four strikeouts.
While the Pirates are definitely scoring less than last season — they are averaging 3.8 runs per game, down from 4.7 — it’s actually not terrible. Before Wednesday, nine teams had totaled more runs, while the White Sox had also scored 23 runs.
The bigger problem is with sustainable performances coming from guys who are counted upon to do that sort of stuff. If the Pirates are going to compete, they’re clearly going to need more out of the aforementioned group.
“He was just missing our barrels,” Evans said of Woodruff. “He was elevating the fastball and mixing in some good spin, sinking it a little bit. We were taking some good swings up there. Everything looks good on our end.”
Pitching-wise, the Pirates got another decent start, this time from Joe Musgrove. It just got overshadowed by the lack of offense.
On one hand, Musgrove’s slider was terrific, the righthander dotting it around the zone. Musgrove stuck out eight, and six of those came via the slider. He went with a sinker and a curveball for the other two. In 91 pitches (59 strikes), Musgrove threw 26 four-seam fastballs, 21 curveballs, 17 sliders, 12 changeups, 11 sinkers and 4 cutters, according to BaseballSavant.com. Of the 14 swinging strikes Musgrove recorded, half came on his slider.
“We landed the breaking balls a little better,” Musgrove said.
“Slider was sharper. Didn’t have the life on the fastball, but you’ve got to take what you can, work with what you’ve got that night, and I felt like I did that pretty well.”
At the same time, Musgrove once again struggled with the home run, coughing up another two.
Center fielder Ben Gamel gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead with his two-run shot in the third inning. Musgrove missed with a 1-0 changeup, and Gamel made him pay, the 408-foot shot clearing the right-field stands.
In the sixth, second baseman Keston Hiura led off with a home run to center, giving the Brewers a 3-0 lead. Milwaukee’s second baseman has recorded 52 atbats at PNC Park in his short career, and seven of them have ended with a home run trot.
Still, by allowing three earned runs over 5⅔ innings, Musgrove gave his team a chance to win. But the Pirates, who began the day Wednesday hitting a National League-worst .194, endured another sleepy night at the plate.
“No one feels lost,” Musgrove said. “No one feels far off from where they want to be right now.”
Around the horn
For the second consecutive night, Reynolds threw out a runner from left field. Reynolds nailed shortstop Eric Sogard trying to score in the third inning, picking up his MLB-best third outfield assist. … Evans, who singled in the first, has reached base safely in all four of his starts at third base. … The Pirates have dropped eight of their past nine games against the Brewers.