For a few days, the Pirates’ lineup was at full strength.
Wednesday night’s 2-1 loss to the Dodgers at PNC Park might be the last time we can say that for a while.
In the fifth inning of that contest, first baseman Colin Moran was hit in the hand by an errant David Price 93 mph fastball. After walking about halfway down to first, Moran crouched over in pain and left shortly after with his hand wrapped in a towel.
“It’s frustrating. One of our better hitters and our No. 4 overall hitter,” Derek Shelton said. “We’ll just have to wait and see what the results are.”
Moran did not start Thursday, and after the game, Shelton said Moran was not available off the bench, though x-rays on his hand "came back fine." Shelton said Moran's pain tolerance is going to dictate how he will be used going forward.
Moran is fresh off a groin injury that shelved him for nearly a whole month. Wednesday was just his third game back from the injured list.
If he does miss time, utilityman Phillip Evans could slide into the first base job, like what was originally expected the first time Moran went on the injured list. Evans tweaked his hamstring shortly after Moran’s injury, which led to the Pirates going to Will Craig.
Craig cleared waivers and was outrighted to Class AAA Indianapolis Wednesday. If they want to call up another first baseman with some versatility -- mostly corner outfield and third base in a pinch -- giving Craig another look is not out of the question. But the luster is gone, not just because of his infamous fielding mistake, but because he slashed just .217/.277/.300 with one home run over his 65 plate appearances this year.
Right now, he’s in a mix of players that includes Dustin Fowler, Anthony Alford and Kevin Kramer. Players who were once high draft picks or prospects, but have fallen off dramatically.
The Pirates would need to bring up another position player though if Moran is unavailable because they have been operating under a four-man bench. Erik González and Ben Gamel have both received some playing time at first and could provide insurance there.
But what losing Moran really signifies is potentially having the lineup shortened one key player. This Pirates team can’t rely on the long ball. They need to string hits together, which they haven’t really done this year.
In Wednesday’s loss to the Dodgers, the Pirates left 10 men on base and went just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
“We’ve created scoring opportunities, and we’ve not gotten the big hit at times,” Shelton said. “We’ve hit the ball hard. Like tonight, we hit the ball hard three times in those situations and didn’t get a ball to fall, and that’s kind of how the game goes.”
Entering play Wednesday, the Pirates’ .211 batting average with runners in scoring position was the second-worst in baseball, ahead of only the Brewers. Moran, on the other hand, is hitting .323 in those scenarios.
For a team with three high-OBP guys (Adam Frazier, Ke'Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds) at the top of the order, losing the guy who could drive them home again is a blow the offense didn’t handle well.
After losing Hayes to a left wrist injury in the second game of the season, Moran wasn’t presented as many run scoring opportunities without him in the No. 2 spot. For a few days, the Pirates got a look at their offense at full strength.
They may have to wait to see it again.
