Timing is perfect for an off day
Losing streak now longest since 2011
WASHINGTON — It’s a cliche that functions the same way in hockey as it does baseball — the off day that miraculously always seems to come at a good time.
Here’s an educated guess that it’s more than a cliche for the struggling Pirates, who suffered a 3-1 loss to Washington at Nationals Park on Thursday to produce their first 10-game losing streak since July 29-Aug. 7, 2011.
In this case, the off day probably comes at a great time. Any excuse to get a day away from this.
During series sweeps at the hands of the Dodgers, Brewers and Nationals, the Pirates have experienced myriad issues. Offensive futility. Questionable managerial decisions. Pitchers’ inability to throw strikes or keep the ball in the park. Opposing teams
playing well. Even some chalky balls, as Chad Kuhl explained.
As frustrating as the past 10 days have been for the Pirates, there’s really only one thing they can do.
And no, it doesn’t involve selling the team, retiring en masse or relocating the team to a remote island.
“I think the off day will be big, to let everybody clear their heads,” Bryan Reynolds said. “Then when we get back to the park after the off day, we’ll just try and have a good plan at the plate, try and clean it up, and it’ll turn.”
The Pirates — and their fans’ sanity — should certainly hope so. Because what has happened with this club lately is certainly no way to live.
Things like having to sift through why some starters (Chase De Jong Wednesday and JT Brubaker Monday) get just 71 pinches while others such as Tyler Anderson are afforded dozens more; manager Derek Shelton let Anderson go six innings and 102 pitches Tuesday despite the fact that he allowed six runs — or twice as many as De Jong and Brubaker combined.
De Jong on Wednesday threw a few extra pitches in the fourth, the result of some makeable plays that the Pirates didn’t make, but it seems like that line of demarcation has not only been thin but also inconsistent.
Shelton did offer some insight postgame Wednesday, explaining that he’s mindful of innings jumps coming out of a shortened season. However, his hook with pitchers lately has been tough to decipher, especially removing Wil Crowe after walking the leadoff man Sunday … only a few minutes after Shelton let him hit with the bases loaded and the Pirates trying to grow a lead.
Also Kuhl getting 93 pitches the day before, despite laboring through 3⅓ innings.
“Obviously, as a competitor, I want to keep going,” De Jong said, describing his fourth inning Wednesday. “As a starting pitcher, it’s my job to get deep into the games. But what [Shelton] said had merit. I know in that situation, it’s a laborsome inning. We got through it. We didn’t let anybody score. At that point, OK, I did my job.”
It’s also true that many of these decisions would look different if the Pirates were capable of consistently scoring runs. Right now, they’re not. Gregory Polanco began the day hitting .203. Phillip Evans had a .451 OPS in the past 24 games. It’s only natural for those on the outside to question the process.
Why doesn’t Shelton stick with his starters longer? Why is Polanco playing this much? Why is Ka’ai Tom, who began the game hitting .071 in June, the first man off the bench? Why did Shelton let Polanco hit against Brad Hand in the eighth when Erik Gonzalez was available off the bench and has an OPS against lefthander (.760) that dwarfs that of Polanco (.300)? Why didn’t third-base coach Joey Cora send Reynolds in the fourth, when center fielder Victor Robles’ throw was way off line?
The Nationals took a 1-0 lead on Yan Gomes’ homer in the first. They stretched it to 30 on a two-run shot to rightcenter from Josh Bell in the seventh. The Pirates picked up their only run in the eighth, when Ke’Bryan Hayes stroked a one-out double, and Reynolds scored him with a single.
Pirates hitters have started “vacillating” in their approach, Shelton said. Some are too aggressive. Others aren’t aggressive enough. It’s an ugly mix that adds up to a 23-44 record and the most frustrating stretch of games since Shelton took over, yet the Pirates manager remains undeterred.
“It would bother me if we didn’t continue to grind,” he said. “We had the winning run at the plate in the ninth inning. There was a situation where we saw guys playing hard. There’s no magic elixir. If there was, I’d be using it already.”